JP6531211B2 - Autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner.

  There is known an autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner which cleans the room while moving autonomously. The autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner has a rechargeable battery as a power source, and the control device controls the traveling motor for driving the wheel unit and autonomously travels while scraping dust using a motor-driven rotating brush Suction with a suction fan to clean.

  Patent Document 1 describes a combination of traveling along a boundary and random traveling while traveling along a boundary, while detecting the boundary and an obstacle with a sensor that detects the boundary of a planned travel region.

JP-A-11-212642

  However, when traveling along a wall or combining random traveling, for example, the vicinity of the boundary is likely to be cleaned by traveling along the corner, and the central side of the area is likely to be cleaned by random traveling etc., but the area slightly away from the boundary is cleaned. It is easy to leave.

The present invention made in view of the above circumstances is:
Body and
A drive unit for driving the main body;
And obstacle detection means capable of detecting an obstacle;
It is an autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner which turns around the perimeter of a desk, a chair, or a leg of a table which the obstacle detection means detected.
The second invention of the present invention made in view of the above circumstances is:
Body and
A drive unit for driving the main body;
And obstacle detection means capable of detecting an obstacle;
It is an autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner for a floor surface of a room which turns 360 ° or more in an area within 350 mm around the periphery of the desk, chair or table leg detected by the obstacle detection means.
The third invention of the present invention made in view of the above circumstances is
Body and
A drive unit for driving the main body;
And obstacle detection means capable of detecting an obstacle;
It turns more than 170 ° in the area within 350 mm around the perimeter of the desk, chair or table leg detected by the obstacle detection means, goes straight on in the same direction after the turning or turns again at a turning radius larger than the turning It is an autonomously running vacuum cleaner for a room floor which cleans including the area between the adjacent desk, the chair or the legs of the table.

The perspective view which looked at the autonomous travel type vacuum cleaner of Example 1 from left front. FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner of the first embodiment. AA sectional drawing of FIG. The perspective view which shows the internal structure which removed the case of the autonomous travel type vacuum cleaner of Example 1. FIG. The external appearance perspective view which looked down on the charging stand of Example 1 from the front upper direction Flowchart of travel control of the first embodiment A flowchart showing the steps taken by the step around the wall of the first embodiment (A) to (f): A diagram showing details of the initial traveling step S110 of the first embodiment The figure which shows the detail of the wall approach running step of Example 1 Flowchart of Main Driving Step of Embodiment 1 The figure which shows an example of the traveling locus of the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner by the main traveling step of Example 1 The figure which shows the aspect which the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner of Example 1 turns around a thin obstacle. The figure which examines the relationship between turning radius r1 of Example 1, clearance dimension L of a leg of a chair, and right and left dimension D of a main body Flow chart showing the details of the traveling step behind the wall according to the first embodiment Diagram for explaining which one of the right-shifting traveling mode and the left-shifting traveling mode of the first embodiment is preferred to have a high frequency Diagram showing the difference between near wall travel and far wall travel according to the first embodiment Flowchart showing the details of the return travel step of the first embodiment The figure which shows the detection range of the wide range receiver of Example 1, and the detection range of a narrow range receiver. The figure which shows an example of the traveling locus in the return driving | running | working step of Example 1 The figure which shows the traveling locus in intensive cleaning mode of Example 2 The figure which shows the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner which performs wall near run and wall far run continuously in Example 3. The figure which shows the traveling locus at the time of performing the step by which the wall in Example 4 or reflective traveling is performed.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Similar components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the same description will not be repeated.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner of the first embodiment as viewed from the left front, and FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner. The direction in which the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner S normally travels is forward, vertically upward is upward, the drive wheels 2 and 3 are opposite, the drive wheel 2 side is left, and the drive wheel 3 side is right. Do. That is, as shown in FIG.

  The autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner S is an electric device which automatically cleans a predetermined cleaning area (for example, floor Y of a room) while autonomously moving it. The autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner S includes a case 1 (1 u, 1 s) forming an outer shell, a pair of lower drive wheels 2 and 3 (see FIG. 2), and an auxiliary wheel 4. The autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner S further includes a rotating brush 5 at the lower rear, a guide brush 6 at the lower center, and a side brush 7 at the lower front, and a distance measuring sensor 8 for front as an obstacle detection means on the inner side. Is equipped.

  The driving wheels 2 and 3 are wheels that can move the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner S forward, backward, and turn by rotation of the driving wheels 2 and 3 themselves. The drive wheels 2 and 3 are disposed on the left and right sides in the diameter direction, and are rotationally driven by wheel units 20 and 30 each configured by a traveling motor and a reduction gear. The auxiliary wheel 4 is a driven wheel and is a freely rotating caster. The driving wheels 2 and 3 are provided on the center side in the front-rear direction of the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner S and on the outside in the left-right direction, and the auxiliary wheel 4 is provided on the front side in the front-rear direction and at the center side in the left-right direction There is.

  The side brush 7 is provided on the front side of the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner S and on the outer side in the left and right direction, and has a vertical axis as a rotation axis, as shown by arrow α1 in FIG. The area on the front outside of the vacuum cleaner S is rotated to sweep in the direction from the left to the right inward from the left and right direction, and the dust on the floor surface is collected on the central rotating brush 5 side. The two guide brushes 6 are provided on the inner sides in the left-right direction with respect to the drive wheels 2 and 3 respectively, and guide the dust collected by the side brushes 7 so as not to escape from the width of the rotating brush 5 to the outside It is a brush.

  The rotating brush 5 is a brush whose rotation axis is in the horizontal direction, and is provided behind the drive wheels 2 and 3 of the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner S. The left and right direction positions of the left and right side end portions of the rotary brush 5 can be made inside the drive wheels 2 and 3 or inside the guide brush 6 respectively.

  3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A of FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an internal configuration of the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner S with the case removed. FIG. 4 shows a state in which the dust collection case 12 is removed.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner S internally includes a rechargeable battery 9, a control device 10, a suction fan 11, and a dust collection case 12. The dust collection case 12 has a suction port 12i formed above the rotating brush 5 as an inlet. Further, the dust collection case 12 has a dust collection filter 13 attached to the outlet.

  The rechargeable battery 9 is, for example, a rechargeable secondary battery which can be reused by charging, and is accommodated in the battery accommodating portion 1s6. The rechargeable battery 9 is disposed across the left and right ends of the autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner S.

  The electric power from the rechargeable battery 9 is supplied to various obstacle detection means 8, 15, 16, the control device 10, the motors of the drive wheels 2, 3 and the various brushes 5, 7, the suction fan 11, and the like. The autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner S is generally controlled by the control device 10.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the suction fan 11 is disposed near the center of the lower case 1s. When the suction fan 11 and the rotating brush motor 5 m are driven, dust such as a floor surface is scraped by the rotating brush 5. The scraped dust is introduced into the dust collection case 12 through the suction port 14 and the suction port 12i. The air from which dust has been removed by the dust collection filter 13 is exhausted through the exhaust port 1s5.

(Outline of operation of autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner S)
Here, a rough operation of the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner S will be described. The autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner S is autonomously moved by the driving wheels 2 and 3 and the auxiliary wheel 4 (see FIG. 2), and can move forward, reverse, turn left and right, turn around the corner, and the like. Then, the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner S collects dust collected by the side brush 7 and the guide brush 6 and adhering to the periphery of the rotating brush 5 by the suction force of the suction fan 11 through the suction port 14. The air is drawn into the dust collection case 12 from the suction port 12i at the inlet of the case 12 and retained in the dust collection case 12 by the dust collection filter 13 at the outlet.

  When dust is accumulated in the dust collection case 12, the user appropriately takes out the dust collection case 12 from the main body portion Sh, the dust collection filter 13 is removed, and the dust is discarded.

  The bumper 1 b is installed so as to be movable in the front-rear direction according to the force acting from the outside when colliding with an obstacle such as a wall. The bumper 1 b is biased outward by a pair of left and right bumper springs (not shown).

  When the acting force at the time of collision with an obstacle acts on the bumper spring through the bumper 1b, the bumper spring is deformed so as to fall inward in plan view and urges the bumper 1b outward while retracting the bumper 1b Tolerate. When the bumper 1b separates from the obstacle and the acting force described above disappears, the biasing force of the bumper spring restores the bumper 1b to the original position. The retraction of the bumper 1 b (that is, contact with an obstacle) is detected by a bumper sensor 15 (see FIG. 4) described later, and the detection result is input to the control device 10.

  The dust collection case 12 shown in FIG. 3 is a container for collecting the dust sucked from the floor surface Y via the suction port 14 formed in the suction portion 1s4. The dust collection case 12 has substantially the same horizontal dimension as the rotating brush 5.

  The main body of the dust collection case 12 for storing the collected dust has a shape whose lower surface corresponds to the shape of the upper portion of the suction portion 1s4, and is provided with a suction port 12i of substantially the same opening shape facing the suction port. The suction port 12i can be provided with a dust sensor (not shown) that detects dust passing through the suction port 14. The dust sensor detects the amount of dust passing through the suction port 14 and can change the suction power of the suction fan 11 or change the rotational speeds of the drive wheels 2 and 3 accordingly.

(Relationship between the dust sensor and the suction port 1s4)
When the autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner S travels forward and the suction port 1s4 reaches the area with dust, dust is sucked into the suction port 14, and the dust sensor detects dust. A certain amount of time is required for the dust sensor to detect dust after the front end of the suction port 1s4 reaches the dust and to change the suction force of the suction fan 11, which is referred to as t. Also, let L be the front-to-rear dimension of the suction portion 1s4, that is, the front-to-back dimension of the opening to the floor surface of the member (rotating brush storage portion) to which the rotating brush 5 is attached (see FIG. 2 etc.). In the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner S of the present embodiment, the forward speed is set to be substantially constant, which is v. The autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner S is set such that v is less than or equal to L / t. As a result, when the dust reaches the area where there is much dust, the dust sensor detects dust before the suction portion 1s4 passes the rear end of this area, and the suction power of the suction fan 11 can be increased. In addition, in order to set it as such v, it is preferable to mount the floor surface sensor which detects the material of a floor surface, etc., and to adjust the rotational speed of the driving wheels 2 and 3. However, the speed when assuming that the floor surface is flooring may be set so as to satisfy the above relational expression. Further, information may be stored or information may be obtained from an external device so that the speed setting can be made according to the floor surface, and the user may specify the setting of the floor surface.
Further, t may be a rise time of the suction force of the suction fan 11.

(Obstacle detection means 8, 15, 16)
As an obstacle detection means, a bumper sensor 15 shown in FIG. 4, a distance measuring sensor 8 for the front, and a distance measuring sensor 16 for the floor are provided. The bumper sensor 15 is a sensor, for example, a photo coupler, which detects that the bumper 1 b comes in contact with an obstacle by the backward movement of the bumper 1 b. When an obstacle contacts the bumper 1b, the sensor light is blocked by the backward movement of the bumper 1b. A detection signal corresponding to this change is output to the control device 10. The bumper sensor 15 is provided on the left front and the right front, respectively, and can distinguish whether an obstacle is present on the right side, the left side or the front side of the bumper 1 b.

  The front distance measuring sensor 8 is a distance measuring sensor that measures the distance to an obstacle using, for example, an infrared ray, and is installed 5 to 15 mm inside from the surface of the bumper 1 b. The forward distance measuring sensor 8 can detect the distance to the obstacle ahead of the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner S quantitatively or in two or more stages. The vicinity of the distance measurement sensor 8 of the bumper 1b is formed of resin or glass which transmits infrared light. The front distance measuring sensor 8 detects reflected light of infrared light from an obstacle, and measures distance based on the intensity of the reflected light. If the intensity of the reflected light is strong, it is determined that it is near, and if it is weak, it is far. That is, the distance from the obstacle is not determined by the binary values of 0 and 1, but it is a distance measuring sensor which can determine the distance from the obstacle in multiple stages (analogically).

  A total of five forward distance measuring sensors 8 are provided: a front surface 8a, a left side surface 8b, a right side surface 8c, a left front 8d between the front and the left side, and a right front 8e between the front and the right side. In this embodiment, all five "distances" can be measured in a plurality of steps, and in addition to the distance to the obstacle on the side of the main body Sh, the distance to the obstacle on the front of the main body Sh can be measured. As a sensor capable of quantitatively measuring only the left side surface 8b and the right side surface 8c, it is possible to measure only the distance to the obstacle on the side of the main body Sh.

  Note that visible light, ultraviolet light, or a laser may be used as the front distance measurement sensor 8. Further, instead of a distance measuring sensor of a type that measures the intensity of infrared light, it may be a type that measures a distance by sensing a light receiving position of reflected light or a type that measures a distance from a time when reflected light returns.

  The floor surface distance measuring sensor 16 shown in FIG. 2 is a distance measuring sensor using infrared rays to measure the distance to the floor surface, and has four positions (16a, 16b, 16c, 16d) on the lower surface of the lower case 1s. Installed in By detecting a large level difference such as stairs by the floor distance measuring sensor 16, it is possible to suppress the falling of the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner S. For example, when the floor distance measuring sensor 16 detects a step having a size of about 30 mm or more in front, the control device 10 (see FIG. 3) controls the drive wheels 2 and 3 to retract the main body portion Sh to perform autonomous traveling. The traveling direction of the vacuum cleaner S is switched.

  The control device 10 illustrated in FIG. 3 is configured by mounting, for example, a microcomputer (Microcomputer) and peripheral circuits on a substrate. The microcomputer reads out a control program stored in a ROM (Read Only Memory), expands it in a RAM (Random Access Memory), and is executed by a CPU (Central Processing Unit) to realize various processing. The peripheral circuit includes an A / D / D / A converter, drive circuits of various motors, a sensor circuit, a charging circuit of the rechargeable battery 9, and the like.

  The control device 10 executes arithmetic processing in accordance with the operation of the operation button bu by the user and signals input from various obstacle detection means (sensors 8, 15, 16), and various motors, suction fans 11, etc. Input and output signals.

  The auxiliary wheel 4 shown in FIG. 2 is provided at the center in the left-right direction at the front of the lower case 1s. The auxiliary wheel 4 is a wheel for keeping the main body Sh at a predetermined height together with the driving wheels 2 and 3 to smoothly move the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner S. The auxiliary wheel 4 is rotatably supported by the lower case 1 s so that the auxiliary wheel 4 is driven to rotate by a frictional force generated with the floor surface Y with the movement of the main body portion Sh and further rotates 360 ° in the horizontal direction.

(Charging station 91)
FIG. 5 is an external perspective view of the charging stand 91 looking down from the front upper side. The charging stand 91 includes a backrest portion 92 extending substantially perpendicularly to the floor surface, and a base portion 93 parallel to the floor surface and extending forward. The height of the backrest 92 is slightly higher than the height of the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner S, and an infrared LED (not shown) for transmitting a feedback signal on the upper portion of the backrest 92, a light emission circuit for emitting the infrared LED, It has an electronic substrate including a charging circuit for supplying power to the rechargeable battery 9 of the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner 1. Power is supplied to the electronic board from a power cord 99 connected to a power cord connecting portion 94 on the side of the charging stand 91 and electrically connected to a commercial power source.

  Moreover, the base part 93 is equipped with the electric power feeding terminal 95 when charging the charging battery 9 of autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner S. As shown in FIG. The feeding terminal 95 has two poles of positive and negative electrodes, and is provided on the convex top of the base portion 93 divided into right and left around the approximate center of the horizontal width of the base portion 93.

  The feeding terminal 95 contacts the power receiving terminal 21 (see FIG. 2) provided on the bottom surface of the lower case 1s when the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner S returns to the charging stand 91, thereby supplying power to the rechargeable battery 9. be able to.

(Travel control)
FIG. 6 is a flowchart of travel control. When the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner S detects a lap traveling step S100 starting from the charging stand 91 and going around the wall and detecting a wall or an obstacle, for example, the traveling direction in the direction away from the wall or obstacle A main traveling step S200 for changing or traveling around an obstacle, a wall traveling step S300 for traveling near some walls, and a return traveling step S400 for returning to the charging stand 91 are executed. . The main travel step S200 and the in-the-wall travel step S300 can be repeatedly executed several times alternately according to the remaining amount of the rechargeable battery 9 and the elapsed time from the start of cleaning (return travel start determination step S2).

For example, when instructed by the user to start cleaning by pressing the cleaning start button or the like, the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner S determines whether to carry out the wall traveling step S100 or the main traveling step S200. Specifically, if the cleaning start instruction is received when the connection to the charging stand 91 is detected, the wall traveling step S100 is performed on the wall, otherwise the main traveling step S200 is performed (step S1) ).
Since the charging stand 91 is usually installed near the wall, the effective cleaning mode immediately after the start can be selected by performing the determination in step S1. If the cleaning start instruction is received when the connection to the charging stand 91 is not detected, the process proceeds to the beginning of the main travel step S200 to perform forward travel (step S210). In general, when receiving a cleaning start instruction from a place other than the charging stand 91, the user often issues the cleaning start instruction with the front side of the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner S directed to the dust-rich area. For this reason, by setting the first process of the main travel step S200 to be forward, it is possible to smoothly clean the area where there are many dusts.
Each step will be described in detail below.

<Warring around the wall step S100>
FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing the steps performed by the on-wall lap travel step S100. The wall traveling round step S100 includes an initial traveling step S110 starting from the charging stand 91, a wall approaching traveling step S120 in which the predetermined side of the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner S is moved toward the wall, and a wall approaching traveling step S120. A check step S101 is executed to check whether the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner S has rotated 360 ° or more in total. The rotational angle in the check step S101 is accumulated by discriminating the rotational direction between positive and negative. When the rotation of 360 ° or more is detected in the check step S101, the process proceeds to the main travel step S200, and while the detection is not performed, the wall approach travel step S120 is continued. Hereinafter, the rear surface side of the charging stand 91 will be described as the wall W.

<< initial driving step S110 >>
FIGS. 8A to 8F are diagrams showing the details of the initial traveling step S110.
At the start of the initial traveling step S110, the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner S is electrically connected to the charging stand 91 (FIG. 8A). When the initial traveling step S <b> 110 is performed, the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner S retreats and separates from the charging stand 91. The retreat distance at this time is larger than half of the front-rear dimension of the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner S (FIG. 8 (b)).

  Next, the autonomously traveling type vacuum cleaner S turns (superposition rotation) so that the side of the power cord connecting portion 94 to which the power cord 99 is connected is in front of the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner S (FIG. c)). In this embodiment, as a result, the left side of the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner S is positioned on the charging stand 91 side. The rotation angle of the super pivot can be 45 degrees or more and 100 degrees or less, for example, approximately 90 degrees.

  Note that the turning direction in ultra-fine ground turning is random when the front distance measuring sensor 8 on the front side, for example, the front distance measuring sensor 8a, 8d, or 8e detects an obstacle, the front distance measuring sensor 8 near the side surface For example, when the front distance measuring sensor 8b or 8c detects an obstacle, it can be opposite to the detected side. That is, when the front distance measuring sensor 8b on the left side detects it, when the front distance measuring sensor 8c on the right side detects clockwise in the top view (clockwise), it can be made counterclockwise in top view (counterclockwise). .

  Next, the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner S advances and escapes from the front of the charging stand 91 (FIG. 8 (d)). It is preferable that this advancing distance be longer than the dimension when the power cord 99 of the charging stand 91 is linearly extended.

  Next, the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner S turns so as to face the wall W side by 90 degrees, preferably 5 degrees or more and 30 degrees or less (Fig. 8 (e)). Furthermore, the autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner S moves forward and approaches the wall W at a point farther than the size when the power cord 99 is straightened (FIG. 8 (f)). That is, the power cord 99 is avoided, and the wall W at a point farther than this is approached. In addition, it may replace with super-trust place turning and may turn.

  By performing the initial traveling step S110 in this manner, it is possible to smoothly transition to the wall approaching traveling step S120. Further, by starting traveling in the direction toward the power supply cord 99 during the execution of the initial traveling step S110, it is possible to suppress the power supply cord 99 from being approached and being entangled. That is, the start position of the initial traveling step S110 is the position of the power supply cord 99 because the positional relationship between the autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner S and the charging stand 91 is clear as compared with other scenes (for example, return traveling step S400). It is easy to estimate and run to avoid this.

<< wall move running step S120 >>
FIG. 9 is a view showing the details of the wall alignment traveling step S120.
The autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner S in which the wall shifting traveling step S120 is being executed has a rotation angle (in the top view in the present embodiment) opposite to the predetermined side (left side in the present embodiment) which is shifted to the wall side. The wall alignment traveling step until the clockwise rotation angle is 360 ° or more, or until a predetermined time elapses, or until the wall alignment traveling step S120 is started. Continue S120. In addition, determination of a point can be performed, for example, using a rotation amount of a wheel, a gyro sensor, or a camera.

  For example, as illustrated in FIG. 9A, the case where the shape of the room is surrounded by a simple square wall W and there is no other furniture will be described. By executing the initial traveling step S110, first, the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner S travels with the left side approaching the wall W using the front distance measuring sensor 8 provided on the left side surface 8b and the left front surface 8d. To control. When the forward distance measuring sensor 8 detects the front wall W while continuing to move forward, it turns by approximately 90 ° in the clockwise direction in top view, changes the course, and then moves forward. Similarly, detection of the wall W by the distance measuring sensor 8 for the front and turning of the sensor are repeated, and when the rotation angle reaches 360 ° clockwise, the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner S is presumed to have traveled around the room Then, the wall alignment traveling step S120 is ended (step S130), and the process proceeds to the main traveling step S200.

  Next, as illustrated in FIG. 9B, the shape of the wall W is not limited to a quadrangle, and a general room where furniture F1 to F5 is arranged will be described. By executing the initial traveling step S110, first, the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner S travels with the left side approaching the wall W using the front distance measuring sensor 8 provided on the left side surface 8b and the left front surface 8d. To control. When forward movement is continued and it is detected that the front distance measuring sensor 8 provided on the left side surface 8b or the left front surface 8d is separated from the wall W, approximately 90.degree. Change course and then move forward. Thus, the rotation angle to the same side as the predetermined side (the counterclockwise rotation angle in the present embodiment) is calculated as a negative value. That is, it calculates as what rotated by -90 degrees. After that, as illustrated in FIG. 9B, the autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner S moves by moving the wall W and the furniture F1 and F2 to the left side, and the rotation angle is 0 °, 90 °, 0 It changes with 90 °, 180 °, 90 °, 180 °. At this time, the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner S is traveling between the furniture F3 and F4, but while traveling traveling with the furniture F3 on the left side, the autonomous traveling is performed on the furniture F4 at some time. It is assumed that the right side of the type vacuum cleaner S collides and the bumper sensor 15 detects the furniture F4. In this case, the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner S turns so that the detected part of the furniture F4 is on the left side. Specifically, the rotation angle becomes 0 ° by turning 180 ° in the counterclockwise direction. As described above, by turning the same position as the predetermined side, the end condition of the wall alignment traveling step S120 is satisfied immediately after the obstacle opposite to the predetermined side is detected. To suppress.

  In the middle of the wall alignment traveling step S120, the detection of an obstacle by the front distance measuring sensor 8 on the opposite side to the predetermined side may be ignored.

  And autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner S runs in the state where it approached furniture F4 on the left side, and rotation angles become -90 degrees, -180 degrees, -270 degrees, and -360 degrees. Thus, when the rotation angle in the direction opposite to the predetermined direction is increased and the absolute value exceeds the threshold, the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner S is something other than the wall W, for example, the central side of the room It is estimated that the vehicle is traveling around the installed furniture F, and travels in a direction away from the obstacle currently being approached ("disengagement" in the figure). In the present embodiment, the threshold is −360 °. At the time of “disengagement”, it is preferable that the rotation angle be + 360 °.

  In this way, the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner S that has left the furniture F 4 travels so that the obstacle found after the leaving is closer to the left. Then, when the rotation angle is 360 ° or more, or when a predetermined time has elapsed, the wall alignment traveling step S120 is ended.

<Main driving step S200>
FIG. 10 is a flowchart of the main travel step S200, and FIG. 11 is a view showing an example of a travel locus 52 of the autonomous travel type vacuum cleaner S in the main travel step S200.
The autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner S travels in the room 50. The room 50 is surrounded in a rectangular shape in top view by the walls W1 to W4. In the room 50, legs 55a to 55d of the desk 55 are placed as illustrated on the lower left side in FIG.

  When the main traveling step S200 is started, the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner S determines a natural number X which is an end trigger of the main traveling step S200. The timing of the determination of the natural number X is not limited to this, but can be determined randomly from, for example, 4 to 7 as a value.

<< Judgment of obstacle type >>
The autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner S can determine the type of obstacle according to how many front distance measurement sensors 8 detect the obstacle substantially simultaneously. The autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner S has a plurality of forward distance measurement sensors 8 spaced forwardly of the main body Sh, and can detect obstacles in different directions.

  Therefore, with respect to the natural number a, among the plurality of forward distance measurement sensors 8 disposed in front of the main body Sh, only the forward distance measurement sensors 8 of a number or less (for example, a = 1 can be made) approached the obstacle In the case of detection, it is determined that the detected obstacle is as thin as the leg 55 of the chair. Also, when no front distance measuring sensor 8 detects an obstacle, when one or both of the left and right bumper sensors 15 detect an obstacle, it is determined that the obstacle is a thin obstacle.

  On the other hand, when more than a, for example, two or more forward distance measuring sensors 8 detect an obstacle, it is determined that the detected obstacle is a wide obstacle such as the wall 51. In this case, for example, two adjacent front distance measurement sensors 8 detect an obstacle.

  The detection range of each of the front distance measuring sensors 8 is set so as not to overlap with each other, and in the case of a thin obstacle such as a leg 55 of a chair, a or less or 0 front distance measuring sensors 8 Is easy to detect an obstacle, while it is less likely that more than a front distance measurement sensors 8 detect an obstacle at the same time. Moreover, when a thin obstacle is located in the middle between two forward distance measuring sensors 8, depending on the setting of the detection range of each of the forward distance measuring sensors 8, none of the forward distance measuring sensors 8 detects an obstacle. Sometimes. In this case, the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner S continues to move forward, and an obstacle contacts the bumper sensor 15. Therefore, when a or less, for example, 1 or 0 front distance measuring sensors 8 detect the proximity of an obstacle or when the bumper sensor 15 detects an obstacle, it can be discriminated as a thin obstacle. . The autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner S of the present embodiment performs an avoidance action such as super-trust turning or turning when the front distance measuring sensor 8 detects an obstacle. In addition, as a result of the obstacle being located in a range where the front distance measurement sensor 8 can not detect the obstacle, even if the bumper sensor 15 detects the obstacle, the avoidance action is performed.

  As described above, when a large number of distance measurement sensors (for example, distance measurement sensors for front 8) are arranged and the detection ranges of the respective distance measurement sensors overlap in a wide range, a thin obstacle is detected. For example, a may be set to 2 or more by increasing the number of detection sensors that are determined to have failed.

<< Reflective Driving >>
When the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner S detects an obstacle by the forward distance measuring sensor 8 or the bumper sensor 15, the traveling direction is changed to perform "reflecting traveling" which travels in a direction away from the estimated point of the detected obstacle. Can. It is assumed that the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner S starts main traveling step S200 from P1 in the figure and advances (step S210) and approaches a point P2 close to the wall W2 which is an obstacle. At this time, in the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner S, for example, the front distance measuring sensor 8 detects the area of the point P2 in the wall W2 (step S220). Then, it is determined whether or not this detection is the X-th (step S201), and if it is less than the X-th, for example, the traveling direction is turned by rotating in place the spot (counterclockwise) in top view counterclockwise. After changing, the process proceeds (step S230 or step S240 is performed, and the process returns to step S210). That is, by moving forward after turning to the ultra-competitive ground, a traveling locus as if it is reflected by the wall W2 is shown (reflection traveling). If it is the X-th time (step S201, YES), the main travel step S200 can be ended (step S250). In steps S230 and S240, "turning" can also be performed, but the details of the turning will be described later.

<< cornering travel >>
The turning can be, for example, a substantially circular or circular arc movement centering on a point other than the center of gravity of the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner S. For example, in the case of the substantially circular motion, the turning radius can be substantially constant and the turning angle can be approximately 360 °, and in the substantially arc motion, the turning radius can be substantially constant and the turning angle can be less than 360 °.

  The turning radius is not necessarily constant, and when the turning radius is changed while turning, the traveling locus of the autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner S is curved. For example, after turning at a turning radius r1 at a certain angle, turning at a turning radius r2 may be at a certain angle.

  The lower limit of the turning angle of the turning movement is not particularly limited, and may be 90 ° or more, 180 ° or more, 270 ° or more, or 360 ° or more. The upper limit of the turning angle is not particularly limited, but if the same area is cleaned frequently, the cleaning area can not be effectively expanded, so 720 ° or less, 540 ° or less, 450 ° or less, or 360 ° or less is preferable. The details of the other turning travel will be described later.

<< Example of cleaning >>
Now, it is assumed that the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner S whose direction is changed cleans the room illustrated in FIG. As the wall W1-W4 is approached, the reflection traveling to change the traveling direction is repeated (the angle of the corner turn may be changed at random) is repeated, and a point P3 near the desk leg 55a and a point near the desk leg 55c Suppose you approached P4.

  If it is determined that the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner S has a thin (small) obstacle (for the sake of convenience, the first obstacle) as the desk legs 55a to 55d in front or side (Step S202, YES), "turning" in which the main body is turned is executed at a high frequency as compared with the case where it is determined that the obstacle is not a thin obstacle (step S230). At this time, the turning angle is not particularly limited and may be around the periphery of the first obstacle, but can be 180 ° or more, preferably 270 ° or more, in order to collectively clean the place very near the first obstacle. Further, the turning radius r1 can be set to "small turning travel" which is smaller than "the large turning travel" executed in step S240. In the small turning travel, the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner S is turned so as to go around relatively near the detected obstacle point.

  In the present embodiment, after execution of the small turning travel, turning is performed at a turning radius r2 larger than the turning radius r1. Details of this will be described later. In addition, reflection travel is performed less frequently than when it is determined that the obstacle is not a thin obstacle. The turning and the reflection are performed alternatively.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the obstacle is not a thin obstacle (step S202, NO), the reflection travel is performed more frequently than when it is determined that a thin obstacle is present, and less frequently than when it is determined that a thin obstacle Do "turning" at. The mode of this cornering may be different from the mode in the case of step S230 as described in the present embodiment, but may be the same. The reflection travel and the turning travel are alternatively performed.

<< cornering when it is estimated that the fine thing is near >>
The turning angle may be randomly determined when it is estimated that a thin obstacle is approached (step S230), or the turning angle may be changed based on the detection frequency of the thin obstacle. . Also, these two may be combined. For example, in the case of determining the detection frequency of a thin obstacle, when there are a large number of thin obstacles in the vicinity, for example, a plurality of chairs under the table, the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner S is a thin obstacle Soon after discovering, there is a high possibility of detecting another thin obstacle. In this way, if a narrow obstacle is detected again within a predetermined time after finding a thin obstacle, for example, within 1, 2, 3 or 4 seconds, such a turning angle of less than 180 ° It becomes difficult to clean the center side of the area where obstacles are convoluted. Therefore, also in order to firmly clean the dirt around the leg 55 of the chair, if a narrow obstacle is detected frequently, the sweep angle is made larger than the swing angle with respect to the obstacle just discovered, and intensive cleaning is performed. It is better to let It should be noted that "within a predetermined time after finding a thin obstacle" may be replaced with "within a predetermined time after finishing a turning immediately after a thin obstacle has been found or a super-trust turning". In the present embodiment, the turning operation is performed after turning around the corner in the vicinity of the thin obstacle. When the turning operation is finished, the main body Sh goes straight.

  FIG. 12 is a view showing an aspect in which the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner S pivots around a thin obstacle. For example, the case where cornering is performed in step S230 will be described. First, as shown in FIG. 12A, the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner S has a number of a or less (hereinafter described as a = 1) front distance measuring sensor 8 on the left side of the main body Sh or a bumper sensor on the left side of the main body Sh. As a result of detecting the leg 55d of the chair, it is determined that the thin obstacle is in the left front (Step S202, YES).

  Then, the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner S first changes the direction from the direction (left side) of the detected obstacle (first obstacle) so that the front side of the main body is separated. For example, the corner is pivoted clockwise in top view. After that, as illustrated in FIG. 12 (b), it travels in an arc shape centering on the left side of the main body Sh (pivoting operation: first pivoting step). Here, about 270 degrees of cornering traveling as an obstacle whose center is detected is performed with a turning radius r1 substantially equal to the left-right dimension of the main body Sh, but the lower limit value is not particularly limited. For example, it may be 170 degrees or more, or 180 degrees or more, 200 degrees or more, or 270 degrees or more.

  Here, step S230 may be ended and the process may transition to the forward step S210, but the next separation step may be performed continuously.

  Next, as illustrated in FIG. 12C, it is possible to take a radius r2 larger than the radius r1 and continue the turning operation. Thus, it is possible to separate from the first obstacle (separation step). The separation step may be straight, but with the radius r2, it is easy to find a second obstacle described later. That is, by performing the swing traveling with the larger swing radius r2 after the swing travel with the swing radius r1, it approaches the leg 55c (second obstacle) of another chair adjacent to the chair leg 55d. It is possible to perform a turning motion. Thereby, one front distance measuring sensor 8 or bumper sensor 15 detects the leg 55c of the chair. After that, as exemplified in FIG. 12 (d), the turning operation described with reference to FIGS. 12 (b) and 12 (c) can be performed on the second obstacle (second turning step) . It is preferable that the turning angle at this time be larger than the turning angle with respect to the leg 55d of the chair discovered immediately before. In this embodiment, it is set to 360 °, which is larger than the pivot angle of 270 ° made earlier with respect to the leg 55d of the chair.

  This enables effective cleaning of the area around the two or more or three or more chair legs 55 and the center side of the chair. Since the number of legs of a chair or table is usually four, it is possible to control to perform reflective traveling or to advance when the turning operation around a thin obstacle is repeated three or four times, for example. . At this time, the turning angle around the third and / or fourth obstacle is preferably 200 ° or more and 450 ° or less.

  When the separation step is performed, the turning angle in the separation step is preferably less than 360 ° in order to improve the cleaning efficiency even when the obstacle is not found. In addition, it is preferable that the second turning step be performed on an obstacle reached within 5 seconds, for example, or an obstacle within a distance of 220 cm after the first turning step. As furniture, a table with a large distance between legs can be covered within this range. Although the second turning step may be performed for any obstacle found after the first turning step, this may cause the frequency of the reflection travel to become too small.

<< Radius r1 of turning or small turning
FIG. 13 is a diagram for examining the relationship between the turning radius r1 and the gap dimension L of the leg of the chair and the left and right dimension D of the main body Sh. The autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner S of the present embodiment determines the turning radius r1 within the range where it can pass between the legs of two chairs. Specifically, (turning radius r1) + (half D / 2 of the left and right dimensions of the body Sh) is set to be smaller than the gap dimension L of the leg of the chair. That is, the relational expression r1 <L−D / 2 is satisfied. According to the inventor's investigation, when L is set to 350 mm, it is possible to make a turning radius that can pass between the legs of the chair for many proportions of chairs. Therefore, it is preferable that the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner S that has detected a thin obstacle pivot with a pivot radius that satisfies the relational expression r1 <350 mm−D / 2. In particular, such a turning radius r1 is preferably selected when performing small turning. The turning radius r1 may be set as the lower limit, and in particular, when it is estimated that a thin object has been detected, turning traveling with the turning radius r1 may always be performed, or other modes may be used.

<< radius r2 of turning or second turning >>
For example, when it is estimated that there is a wall or a large obstacle nearby (step S240), when turning is performed, turning can be performed with a turning radius r2 larger than the turning radius r1. This makes it easier to effectively turn around a large obstacle and to widen the cleaning area.

<< End of Main Driving Step S200 >>
When the X-th obstacle is detected and the main travel step S200 is ended in step S250, the autonomous travel type vacuum cleaner S may have a small remaining amount of the rechargeable battery or a predetermined time has not elapsed from the start of cleaning (Step S2). When the rechargeable battery remaining amount is relatively, and only a relatively short time has elapsed from the start of the cleaning (step S2, NO), the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner S proceeds to the step S300. Since the determination of step S250 is performed in a state where the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner S detects an obstacle, the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner S is a thin obstacle, a wall, or the like when moving to a wall-traveling step S300. It is located near. Even when a thin obstacle is detected, the process can proceed to the step S300. This is because when the thin obstacle is a leg of a chair or the like, escape from the vicinity of the chair is facilitated.

<In-the-wall traveling step S300>
FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the details of the in-wall traveling step S300. The autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner S that has started the step S300 of traveling by the wall determines whether the main body Sh is located near the wall (step S301). Specifically, it is determined whether or not two or more (more than a) forward distance measuring sensors 8 detect an obstacle. When one or less (a or less) front distance measuring sensor 8 or bumper sensor 15 detects an obstacle (step S301, NO), the autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner S travels in a reflected manner to carry out the obstacle again. If it detects, it will return to step S301.

  When two or more front distance measuring sensors 8 detect a wall (step S301, YES), the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner S measures the distance to the wall using the front distance measuring sensor 8, Travel along this wall. At this time, it is determined whether the wall traveling traveling along relatively close to the wall is performed or the wall traveling traveling along relatively far of the wall is traveling (step S320).

  In this embodiment, the near wall traveling is a mode in which the main body Sh travels approximately 10 mm or more away from the wall, and in the far wall traveling is a mode in which the main body Sh travels away from the wall near traveling Generally, the main body Sh is separated from the wall from half to full width of the horizontal width of the rotary brush, that is, 0.4 times to 1.2 times the horizontal width of the rotary brush 5 in this embodiment, 60 mm or more and 150 mm or less It is a mode to run into. As in the present embodiment, the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner S which detects the wall in a non-contact manner and executes the reflection traveling etc. by using the distance measuring sensor 8 for the front is compared with the cleaning in the vicinity of the wall to other parts. May be difficult to do. For this reason, cleaning efficiency is improved by traveling near the wall. In addition, in the reflective running, the cleaning efficiency at a position slightly away from the wall tends to be reduced compared to the center side of the room, and furthermore, the autonomous running type electricity in which the rotating brush 5 is located on the rear side as in this embodiment. The vacuum cleaner S may have difficulty in cleaning the position slightly away from the wall. For this reason, cleaning efficiency is improved by traveling away from a wall.

  In the present embodiment, as a result of the study of the inventor, in order to further improve the cleaning efficiency, the frequency of occurrence of near wall travel is made higher than the frequency of occurrence of far wall travel in step S320.

  Next, it is determined whether the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner S performs right shift traveling by moving the right side of the main body Sh toward the wall or travels left shift traveling by moving the left side of the main body Sh toward the wall (Step S330). In this embodiment, in the wall-surrounding traveling step S100, the mode in which the main body Sh approaches the wall and the same side as the side on which it travels is moved to the wall is performed more frequently than the other mode. That is, in the present embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 8, the left shift travel mode in which the left side of the main body Sh is driven close to the wall and travels is executed in the wall travel step S100, so the left shift travel mode is high in step S330. It is made to appear in frequency.

  FIG. 15 is a diagram for explaining which one of the right-shifting traveling mode and the left-shifting traveling mode is preferable as the high frequency. The autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner S which has traveled to the left in the circumferentially traveling step S100 is going to travel the room clockwise in a top view (dotted arrow in the figure). For this reason, it is preferable to frequently execute the left shift traveling mode so that the cleaning proceeds in the same turning direction also in the step S300 traveling in the wall. However, if the execution probability of the left shift travel mode is 100%, it may be difficult to escape when entering a bottleneck road, so it is preferable to execute the right shift travel mode although it is relatively infrequent.

  For the same reason, in the left-side running mode and the right-side running mode, in the wall-surrounding traveling step S100, the number of walls to be cleaned at one time in the mode where the main body Sh approaches the wall and approaches the side It is preferable to adjust the number of walls determined so as to be more than the number of walls to be cleaned at one time in the other mode.

  FIG. 16 is a diagram clearly showing the difference between near wall travel and far wall travel. In the figure, a dotted arrow indicates a traveling locus of reflection traveling of the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner S, a solid arrow indicates a traveling locus of near wall traveling, and a broken arrow indicates a traveling locus of far wall traveling. This will be described with reference to FIG. The autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner S which finished the main traveling step S200 near the wall W and shifted to the wall traveling step S300 executes, for example, right traveling on the wall near two walls (steps S320, S330, S340). The end of one wall can be determined by the detection of an obstacle by the front distance measuring sensor 8 in addition to the right front distance measuring sensor 8. The autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner S which finished cleaning of the two walls ends the wall side traveling step S300, and checks the remaining amount of the rechargeable battery and the elapsed time from the start of the cleaning (step S2). When the remaining amount of the rechargeable battery is relatively long and the elapsed time from the start of cleaning is relatively short (step S2, NO), the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner S shifts to the main traveling step S200. Thereafter, as described above, when the main traveling step S200 ends and the processing proceeds to the wall traveling step S300, this time, right traveling to the wall is executed along the two walls (steps S320, S330, S340).

  When the remaining amount of the rechargeable battery decreases or a predetermined time elapses from the start of cleaning (step S2, YES), the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner S proceeds to a return traveling step S400.

  The detection sensitivity of the front distance measuring sensor 8 (right side in the above example) opposite to the wall can be zero or dull during execution of the step S300. For example, in the case where the autonomous vacuum cleaner S comes into an area where walls and obstacles exist on three sides, if the front distance measuring sensor 8 on the opposite side to the wall responds, it does not invade this area and returns. And there is a risk that cleaning can not be performed sufficiently. For this reason, during the execution of the step S300, it is possible to effectively clean such a region by making the sensitivity of the front distance measuring sensor 8 opposite to the wall dull or neglecting detection. become.

<Returning Driving Step S400>
FIG. 17 is a flow chart showing the details of the return travel step S400, FIG. 18 is a view showing the detection range 300 of the wide range receiver 30 and the detection range 310 of the narrow range receiver 31, FIG. FIG. In FIG. 19, a dotted arrow indicates a trajectory during reflection traveling, a broken arrow indicates a trajectory traveling along the wall, and a solid arrow indicates a trajectory when the charging stand is connected.

  The autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner S that has started the return traveling step S400 travels so that the wide range receiver 30 or the narrow range receiver 31 detects a signal emitted by the infrared LED of the charging stand 91. First, the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner S checks whether a signal of an infrared LED is detected (step S401). During the return travel step S400, this confirmation is always performed, and as soon as the signal of the infrared LED is detected, the processing of step S401, YES is performed to execute the feedback control to be connected to the charging stand. This feedback control can be performed by various known methods.

  When the charging stand is not detected (step S401, NO), first, the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner S preferably performs 360.degree. Rotation or ultra-fine turn (step S410).

  Next, a reflective run is performed. This reflection traveling may be in the same manner as that described in the main traveling step S200, or may be transitioning to traveling on the wall (step S430) with a smaller number of reflections than that. In addition, it is preferable that the position where the obstacle is detected and the corner turn is performed is a position away from the wall W as compared with the main traveling step S200. For example, it may be possible to make a superfine turn at a position as far away from the wall W as in the case of far-the-wall travel.

  Next, traveling along the wall is performed (step S430). This wall traveling can be performed in the same manner as described in the wall traveling step S300, but the frequency of the wall far traveling mode is more than 50% or the wall traveling mode compared to the wall traveling step S300. It is preferable that the frequency of is higher than the near wall traveling mode. For example, the far-the-wall driving mode can be performed with a probability of 100%. Since the charging stand is often installed near the wall W, it is easy to detect the charging stand by increasing the frequency of the far-the-wall driving mode. Moreover, it is preferable to separate the reflection position in the reflection travel from the wall W as compared to the main travel step S200.

  In addition, it is preferable that the number of walls to be cleaned at one time be different between the right-aligned traveling mode and the left-aligned traveling mode. Specifically, the number of walls in the traveling mode closer to the charging stand from the side opposite to the power cord 99 is increased. In this embodiment, since the power cord 99 is located counterclockwise from the charging stand in the top view of the room, the number of walls in the left-shifting travel mode, which is clockwise, is large, for example, 2 to 5 walls, right-shifting The number of walls in the traveling mode can be small, for example, one wall.

  If the charging stand can not be detected even after traveling by the wall, the process shifts to reflection traveling (step S420) again.

The configuration of this embodiment can be the same as that of Embodiment 1 except for the following points.
FIG. 20 is a diagram showing a traveling locus in the intensive cleaning mode. The autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner S can execute the intensive cleaning mode during the cleaning operation described in the first embodiment or as an operation independent of the cleaning operation described in the first embodiment. For example, it may be performed during execution of the main travel step S200 or the like, or may be performed according to a user's operation command.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 20 (a), the user mounted the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner S so that the front of the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner S faces the area D where dust is concentrated. The situation will be described as an example. In this state, when the user inputs an intensive cleaning mode command, for example, by pressing a command button provided on the main body Sh, the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner S executes the intensive cleaning mode.

  First, the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner S advances, for example, 1 m forward. Then, after turning in the direction of a soft turn by turning clockwise or counterclockwise, a turning movement (helical movement on a plane) is performed to gradually reduce the turning radius. However, the turning center may not be constant. At this time, if the locus is drawn paying attention to the center of the top view of the main body Sh, each time it turns once, the horizontal width of the rotary brush is approximately half to the full width, that is, 0.4 times the horizontal width of the rotary brush 5 The trajectory is set to transition inward by a length L2 of 1.2 times.

  After turning is completed, the autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner S advances again, for example, by 1 m, as illustrated in FIG. 20 (b). After that, after turning around in the direction opposite to that of the above, the turning movement is performed to gradually reduce the radius.

  By executing such an intensive cleaning mode, the heavily soiled area D can be effectively cleaned. In addition, when performing intensive cleaning mode according to a user's operation command, if the direction which advances first is made the front, if a user mounts autonomous travel type vacuum cleaner S towards area D, You can do a good, intuitive mode. After moving forward and cleaning a part of the dust in the area D, it is not necessary to install the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner in the area D by performing a turning motion to reduce the turning radius (it is installed in front of it) In addition, it is possible to reduce the risk of scattering dust in the rising operation immediately after the start.

The configuration of this embodiment can be the same as that of the embodiment 1 or 2 except for the following points.
This will be described with reference to FIG. The autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner S of the present embodiment can continuously perform near wall travel and far wall travel. Specifically, for example, when the wall-traveling and the right-shifting traveling are performed, immediately after that, the traveling mode with the other option of step S320 and step S330 is performed. That is, traveling close to the wall and running to the left are performed.

  In this way, the cleaning efficiency at the wall can be improved.

The configuration of this embodiment can be the same as that of any of Embodiments 1 to 3 except for the following points.
FIG. 22 is a diagram showing a traveling locus when performing a step S300 in the vicinity of a wall or a reflective traveling. While the autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner S detects an obstacle while the forwardly traveling distance measurement sensor 8 on the right side detects an obstacle, the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner detects the obstacle. It can be estimated that on the right front side of S, there is a "corner" where the front and side walls meet. At this time, the autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner S changes its course to the right front so as to approach obliquely to the corner. That is, the path is changed to the direction detected by the front distance measuring sensor 8 (in this embodiment, since the front distance measuring sensor 8 on the right and front sides is detected, the right front). Thereby, the cleaning efficiency of the corner can be improved.

  Such traveling is preferably performed during execution of the near wall traveling mode described above. Moreover, as a mode which changes a course, various well-known modes, such as turning and a super soft turning, can be adopted.

  The “frequency” described above can be considered, for example, the steps performed when one cleaning is performed. For example, the frequency can be determined based on the cleaning content performed through one start to end of the flowchart illustrated in FIG.

[Other technical ideas]
The present application includes the following technical ideas. Appendices m-n (m and n are natural numbers) listed as technical ideas can be combined optionally with some or all of the constituent elements as long as the context is not impaired.
(Supplementary Note 1-1)
An autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner having a power receiving terminal electrically connectable to a charging stand having a power cord connecting portion, and two drive wheels facing each other, and capable of receiving an operation command,
A charging pad separation step which proceeds to move away from the charging pad when receiving an operation start command at least when electrically connected to the charging pad;
An autonomously traveling electric vacuum cleaner characterized by performing, in this order, a cord-side advancing step which proceeds to the side provided with the power cord connecting portion.

  According to Supplementary Note 1-1, it is possible to provide an autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner in which contact with the power cord of the charging stand is suppressed.

(Supplementary note 1-2)
After starting the cord side advancing step, when observed in a direction perpendicular to the advancing direction in the charging stand separating step and in a direction parallel to the cleaning surface, the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner is the power cord connecting portion An autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner characterized in that it travels so as to overlap the charging stand at a position separated by a length of a power cord connectable to the.

(Appendix 2-1)
A wall alignment traveling step of traveling by moving a predetermined side of the main body to a wall using a distance measuring sensor,
Reflective travel that changes the course away from the detected obstacle or wall using the distance measurement sensor or bumper sensor;
It is an autonomously traveling type electric vacuum cleaner which performs traveling near a wall traveling along a wall using the distance measuring sensor,
In the wall alignment traveling step, the wall alignment traveling step is ended when the angle by which the main body has turned in the opposite direction to the predetermined side by the ultra-fine turning reaches at least 360 °.
The autonomous traveling type electric cleaning characterized in that, in the step of traveling near the wall, the direction in which the predetermined side is moved to the wall is performed more frequently in the case where the opposite side to the predetermined side is moved to the wall. Machine.

  According to the additional statement 2-1, since it becomes easy to turn around a cleaning area | region in predetermined cleaning in one-time cleaning, the autonomous travel type vacuum cleaner which improved cleaning efficiency can be provided.

(Supplementary note 2-2)
In the above-the-wall traveling step, the average value of the number of walls traveling when the predetermined side is moved toward the wall is closer to the wall than the predetermined side. The autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner according to Appendix 2-1, characterized in that it is larger than the average value.

(Appendix 3-1)
An autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner having a drive wheel and a brush, comprising:
An autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner characterized by performing a pivoting motion to gradually reduce a pivoting radius after advancing.

  According to Supplementary Note 3-1, it is possible to provide an autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner capable of intensively cleaning the area while suppressing the spread of dust.

(Appendix 3-2)
The autonomous traveling type electric according to Additional statement 3-1, wherein the turning radius becomes smaller by 0.4 times or more and 1.2 times or less of the horizontal width of the brush in every turning around in the turning movement. Vacuum cleaner.

(Appendix 4-1)
It is an autonomously traveling type vacuum cleaner which executes a wall approach running step of cleaning the wall by using a distance measuring sensor,
The distance measuring sensor includes a front distance measuring sensor and a side distance measuring sensor provided in front of and on the side of the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner,
An autonomously traveling electric vacuum cleaner characterized in that when the front distance measuring sensor detects an obstacle while the side distance measuring sensor detects an obstacle, the route is set to the side close to the side.

  According to Supplementary Note 4-1, it is possible to provide an autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner having an improved efficiency in cleaning the corner.

(Appendix 4-2)
An autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner that obliquely approaches a corner where the front wall and the side wall are in contact while performing a wall alignment traveling step of cleaning a wall by using a distance measurement sensor.

(Supplementary Note 5)
A rotary brush attached to the main body, a rotary brush housing portion having the opening and having the rotary brush housed therein, a driving wheel for moving the main body forward, a dust sensor for detecting dust passing through the opening; An autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner comprising: a suction fan capable of changing a suction force according to a signal from a dust sensor;
Assuming that the moving speed v of the main body, and the time t from when the dust sensor detects dust to when the output of the suction fan starts to increase is t, the front and rear dimension L of the rotary brush storage unit, the relational expression v ≦ L An autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner characterized in that / t holds.

(Appendix 6-1)
It is an autonomously traveling type vacuum cleaner which executes a traveling step by the side of a wall which cleans the side of a wall using a distance measuring sensor,
As a wall running that runs along the wall,
An autonomously traveling electric vacuum cleaner characterized by performing a near wall traveling step and a far wall traveling step traveling away from the wall more than the near wall traveling step.

  According to Supplementary Note 6-1, it is possible to provide an autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner with an improved cleaning efficiency in the vicinity of the wall.

(Appendix 6-2)
In the far-the-wall traveling step, the vehicle travels at a position away from the wall at least 0.4 times and not more than 1.2 times the lateral width of the brush as compared to the near-wall traveling step. Self-propelled vacuum cleaner as described.

(Appendix 6-3)
The self-propelled traveling vacuum cleaner according to Additional remarks 6-1 or 6-2, characterized in that a reflected travel is performed to change the course in a direction away from an obstacle or a wall detected using a distance measurement sensor.

(Appendix 6-4)
The autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner according to any one of appendices 6-1 to 6-3, wherein the near wall traveling step is executed more frequently than the far wall traveling step.

(Appendix 6-5)
Supplementary note 6-1 to 6-4, wherein the far-the-wall traveling step and the near-the-wall traveling step are continuously performed.

(Appendix 6-6)
Supplementary note 6-1 to 6-5, wherein a return traveling step of returning to the charging stand is performed, and in the return traveling step, the far wall travel is performed more frequently than the near wall travel. An autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner as described in the paragraph.

(Appendix 7)
Has multiple range sensors,
An autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner which executes a wall shifting traveling step of moving a predetermined side of a main body toward a wall by using a part of the distance measuring sensor,
An autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner characterized in that the sensitivity of a distance measuring sensor provided on the side opposite to the predetermined side is lowered or the output of the distance measuring sensor is neglected during execution of the wall alignment traveling step.

  According to Supplementary Note 7, it is possible to provide an autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner which is easy to get in between furniture etc. and to perform cleaning in the wall alignment traveling step.

(Appendix 8-1)
Distance measuring sensor or bumper sensor provided on the main body,
An autonomous vacuum cleaner having two drive wheels facing each other, comprising:
A first turning step around the first obstacle;
Separating from said first obstacle;
Performing a second pivoting step of rotating 180 ° or more, 270 ° or more, or 360 ° or more around the second obstacle, or a pivoting angle or more in the first pivoting step in this order; Autonomous vacuum cleaner.

  According to Supplementary Note 8-1, it is possible to provide an autonomous vacuum cleaner capable of effectively cleaning around two obstacles located relatively close to each other.

(Appendix 8-2)
The turning radius r1 in the first turning step satisfies a relational expression r1 <35 cm−D / 2 with the dimension D of the main body in the direction in which the driving wheel is opposed. The autonomous travel type vacuum cleaner according to 1.

(Appendix 8-3)
The second swinging step is performed around a second obstacle located at a position to arrive within 5 seconds after traveling around the first obstacle. The autonomous travel type vacuum cleaner according to 8-2.

(Appendix 8-4)
The autonomous traveling type electric cleaning according to any one of appendices 8-1 to 8-3, characterized in that, in the separating step, turning with a turning radius r2 larger than a turning radius r1 of the first turning step is performed. Machine.

(Appendix 8-5)
15. The autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner according to any one of appendices 8-1 to 8-4, wherein the first turning step rotates around the periphery of the first obstacle by 270 ° or more.

(Appendix 8-6)
Around the perimeter of three or four obstacles by the combination of the first pivoting step, the spacing step and the second step,
The autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner according to any one of appendices 8-1 to 8-5, wherein a turning angle around the third or fourth obstacle is 200 ° or more and 450 ° or less.

(Appendix 9)
An autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner which detects an obstacle or a wall using a plurality of distance measuring sensors or bumper sensors and turns around the detected obstacle or the wall,
The autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner characterized in that the number of the distance measuring sensors or the number of the bumper sensors having detected an obstacle or a wall at one time has a turning radius of the turning and a positive phase interval.

2, 3 Drive wheel 5 Rotating brush 8 Forward distance measuring sensor 9 Charging battery 11 Suction fan 12 Dust collecting case 14 Suction port 15 Bump sensor 16 Floor distance measuring sensor 30 Wide area receiver 31 Narrow area receiver 91 Charging stand S Autonomous traveling Type vacuum cleaner Sh body part

Claims (6)

Body and
A drive unit for driving the main body;
And obstacle detection means capable of detecting an obstacle;
The autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner which turns around the perimeter of a desk, a chair, or a leg of a table which the obstacle detection means detected. It has a side brush provided on the front side of the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner and on the outward side in the left-right direction,
The autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the swing is performed such that the side brush is positioned on the desk, the chair, or the leg side of the table .   The autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the swing is performed while setting a center on the desk, the chair, or the leg of the table. Body and
A drive unit for driving the main body;
And obstacle detection means capable of detecting an obstacle;
The autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner for the floor surface of a room which turns 360 degrees or more in an area within 350 mm around the periphery of the desk, chair or table leg detected by the obstacle detection means .   Body and
  A drive unit for driving the main body;
  And obstacle detection means capable of detecting an obstacle;
  It turns more than 170 ° in the area within 350 mm around the perimeter of the desk, chair or table leg detected by the obstacle detection means, goes straight on in the same direction after the turning or turns again at a turning radius larger than the turning An autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner for a room floor, including an area between the adjacent desk, the chair, or the table legs, for cleaning.   The autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner for a floor surface of a room according to claim 5, wherein the desk swivels by 180 ° or more, 200 ° or more or 270 ° or more in an area within 350 mm around the periphery of the desk, the chair or the leg of the table. .

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