JP7124606B2 - Autonomous cleaning device - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an autonomously traveling cleaning device capable of autonomously traveling, and more particularly to an autonomously traveling cleaning device provided with a collection box for collecting sucked substances such as dust.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an autonomously traveling cleaning device called a so-called cleaning robot is known. This cleaning device cleans the surface to be cleaned by moving autonomously over the surface to be cleaned such as the floor, sucking in air from the suction port of the intake nozzle directed toward the surface to be cleaned, and sucking in dust on the surface to be cleaned. do. The sucked dust (aspirate) is collected in a dust collection box attached to the cleaning device.

In recent years, due to labor shortages and soaring labor costs, etc., there is a shortage of cleaning personnel for cleaning wide-ranging spaces such as concourses at stations, airports, and shopping malls. For this reason, the introduction of industrial-use autonomously traveling cleaning devices (see Patent Document 1), which are designed to autonomously travel and have high cleaning performance and high safety, is progressing. This type of autonomous cleaning device has a collision avoidance function that allows it to move safely without colliding with passers-by, obstacles, walls, or the like.

JP 2018-112917 A

However, the conventional industrial self-running cleaning device has a large and heavy structure due to the necessity of providing high performance for industrial use. Therefore, for example, when there are undulations on the surface to be cleaned such as a floor surface, if only one end of the intake nozzle in the width direction comes into contact with the undulations, a large load is applied to the contact portion in the direction of travel, and the contacting side There is a risk that the cleaning device will swivel, and depending on the situation, the cleaning device will tip over.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an autonomously traveling cleaning device capable of preventing abnormal turning and overturning by preventing contact between the air intake nozzle and the undulations, even if the surface to be cleaned has undulations. to provide.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an autonomously traveling cleaning device that can easily maintain the air intake nozzle when foreign matter that cannot be sucked is mixed into the air intake nozzle or when the air intake nozzle is clogged with dust. to provide.

(1) The present invention is an autonomously traveling cleaning device that cleans a surface to be cleaned while autonomously traveling on the surface to be cleaned. The autonomously traveling cleaning device includes a drive transmission unit that transmits a conveying force in the advancing direction of the autonomously traveling cleaning device to the surface to be cleaned while maintaining the traveling posture of the device main body, and a predetermined distance from the surface to be cleaned. a collection box for collecting aspirated substances sucked from the suction port of the suction nozzle; a support holder that supports the box and is supported by the main body of the apparatus so as to be movable in the vertical direction; and a rotating body provided on the support holder so as to be positioned at The support holder is configured to move upward when an upward external force is applied to the rotating body, thereby retracting the intake nozzle upward from the cleaning position.

Because of this configuration, when a convex undulation on the surface to be cleaned approaches the intake nozzle while the autonomous traveling cleaning device is running, the rotating body rides on the undulation, and the rotating body moves away from the undulation. receive an external force in the upward direction. This external force causes the support holder to move upward with respect to the apparatus main body, and retract upward from the cleaning position where the intake nozzle can be cleaned. As a result, the intake nozzle is prevented from coming into contact with the undulations, making it possible to prevent abnormal turning and overturning caused by contact between the intake nozzle and the undulations.

(2) In the autonomously traveling cleaning device of the present invention, the intake nozzle is provided with a rotating brush. The rotating body is rotatably supported by the rotating shaft of the rotating brush.

With this configuration, the rotating body can be provided on the support holder together with the intake nozzle without providing a separate structure for supporting the rotating body.

(3) The suction port has a shape elongated in the width direction of the device main body intersecting with the traveling direction. The rotating shaft is rotatably supported through side plates at both widthwise ends of the intake nozzle. The rotating body is rotatably supported by both end portions of the rotating shaft projecting outward in the width direction from the side plate.

Since the rotating bodies are provided at both end portions of the rotating shaft in this way, it is possible to prevent the side plate on one side in the width direction from suddenly turning due to contact with undulations.

(4) At least two rotating brushes are provided side by side in the traveling direction. In this case, the rotating body is rotatably supported by the rotating shaft of the rotating brush on the traveling direction side.

Because of this configuration, when the autonomously traveling cleaning device is traveling in the advancing direction, the rotating body reliably comes into contact with the undulations of the surface to be cleaned before the intake nozzle comes into contact with the undulations on the surface to be cleaned. . As a result, abnormal turning and overturning can be prevented, and damage to the intake nozzle can be prevented.

(5) In the autonomously traveling cleaning device of the present invention, an elastic member that biases the support holder upward with a spring force smaller than a downward force due to the total weight of the intake nozzle, the collection box, and the support holder. Further prepare.

With this configuration, even if the upward external force received by the rotating body when it comes into contact with the undulation is smaller than the gravitational force due to the total weight of the support holder, etc., the spring of the elastic member With the help of force, the support holder can be smoothly moved upward.

(6) The autonomously traveling cleaning device of the present invention includes a driving unit that applies an upward driving force to the support holder to lift the air intake nozzle from the cleaning position to a maintenance position where maintenance of the air intake nozzle is possible. Prepare more.

Because of this configuration, when foreign matter that cannot be sucked is mixed into the intake nozzle or the intake nozzle is clogged with dust, the intake nozzle can be raised to the maintenance position. This makes it possible to easily maintain the intake nozzle.

According to the present invention, even if the surface to be cleaned, which is the object to be cleaned, has undulations, it is possible to prevent abnormal turning and overturning by preventing contact between the intake nozzle and the undulations.

Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to easily maintain the intake nozzle when foreign matter that cannot be sucked is mixed into the intake nozzle or when the intake nozzle is clogged with dust.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the front side of the floor cleaning apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the floor cleaning apparatus. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the rear side of the floor cleaning device, and shows a state in which the expansion nozzle is arranged in the accommodated posture. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the rear side of the floor cleaning device, showing a state in which the extended nozzle is arranged in the side cleaning posture. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the floor cleaning device. 6 is an enlarged view of a main part VI in FIG. 5. FIG. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the structure of a support holder included in the floor cleaning device. FIG. 8 is a side view of the rear portion of the floor cleaning device, (A) is a view showing a state in which the collection box of the floor cleaning device is attached, and (B) is a view showing the collection box on the floor. It is a figure which shows the state removed from the cleaning apparatus. FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a slide support mechanism that supports the support holder. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a state in which the support holder is arranged at the maintenance position. FIG. 11 is a view of the single support holder as seen from the front side. FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram showing a cross section taken along line XII-XII in FIG.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, the following embodiment is an example which actualized this invention, and does not limit the technical scope of this invention. In the following description, the up-down direction D1, the front-rear direction D2, the left-right direction, or the width direction D3 shown in each drawing is used.

[Floor cleaning device 10]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the front side of a floor cleaning device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The floor cleaning device 10 (an example of an autonomously traveling cleaning device of the present invention) autonomously travels forward (in the traveling direction) on the floor 23 (surface to be cleaned) of the concourse of an airport, station, shopping mall, etc. It is an autonomously traveling cleaning device that automatically cleans the floor surface 23, generates a suction force for sucking air with a blower or the like, and sucks dirt such as dust and dust on the floor surface together with the air by the suction force. It is a device that separates garbage with a filter and collects it in a collection box 16 (see FIG. 2). The floor surface cleaning device 10 automatically cleans the floor surface 23 while traveling based on various kinds of cleaning information input in advance, such as the travel route, cleaning area, cleaning time period, and return position for charging. .

The floor cleaning apparatus 10 is merely an example of the autonomously traveling cleaning apparatus of the present invention, and the present invention cleans the road surface such as an outdoor walkway or roadway while autonomously traveling. It is also applicable to cleaning devices.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the floor cleaning apparatus 10. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the floor cleaning device 10 includes a device main body 11 and functional units provided in the device main body 11 . Specifically, the device main body 11 includes a traveling portion 12 (an example of the drive transmission portion of the present invention), a motor 13, a battery 14, an intake unit 15, a collecting box 16 (an example of the collecting box of the present invention), and a support holder. 17 (an example of a support holder of the present invention), an intake nozzle 18, an expansion nozzle 19, an operation unit 20, a display panel 21, a holder moving mechanism 50 (an example of a driving unit of the present invention), a control unit 40, and the like. there is

As shown in FIG. 1, the apparatus main body 11 has an exterior cover 11A that constitutes its exterior. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the device main body 11 has a chassis 11B at its lower portion. Chassis 11B is provided substantially parallel to floor surface 23 . Further, inside the device body 11, a support frame for supporting each of the functional units described above is appropriately provided.

As shown in FIG. 2 , the running section 12 is provided on the lower portion of the device main body 11 . The traveling portion 12 is attached to the chassis 11B to transmit the conveying force in the advancing direction to the floor surface 23 while maintaining the traveling posture of the apparatus main body 11 . The traveling part 12 has a pair of wheels 121 for traveling and four casters 122 .

The wheels 121 are rotatably supported at the center of the chassis 11B in the front-rear direction and at both ends in the width direction D3. The four casters 122 are for maintaining the running posture of the apparatus main body 11, and are rotatably supported at both ends of the front end of the chassis 11B and both ends of the rear end of the chassis 11B. The outer peripheral surfaces of the wheels 121 and the casters 122 are supported by the floor surface 23 while the floor cleaning apparatus 10 is placed on the floor surface 23 . As a result, the device main body 11 is maintained in the running posture shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 .

The rotating shaft of the wheel 121 is connected to the output shaft of the motor 13 via a transmission mechanism such as a reduction gear. Therefore, when the motor 13 is driven and its rotational driving force is output from the output shaft, the rotational driving force of the motor 13 is transmitted to the wheels 121 . In this embodiment, a motor 13 is provided individually for each of the pair of wheels 121 . Therefore, the rotation speed of each wheel 121 is controlled by individually driving and controlling each motor 13 . For example, if the rotation speed of each wheel 121 is controlled to be uniform, the floor cleaning apparatus 10 moves straight, and if the rotation speed of each wheel 121 is controlled to be different, the wheel 121 with slow rotation speed moves forward. , the floor cleaning device 10 turns.

The intake unit 15 is provided inside the device main body 11 above a battery 14 which will be described later. The air intake unit 15 generates a suction force for sucking air from an air intake nozzle 18 which will be described later, and has a plurality of air intake fans 151 (blowers), an air intake manifold 152 and an exhaust manifold 153 . The intake manifold 152 has three intake ports 154 arranged side by side in the width direction D3, and each intake port 154 is connected to a flexible hose 24 for intake. One side of an exhaust pipe (not shown) is connected to the exhaust manifold 153 . The other side of the exhaust pipe is connected to the chassis 11B, and its exhaust port is arranged in the space between the chassis 11B and the floor surface 23. As shown in FIG. As a result, when the intake fan 151 is driven, air is sucked from the intake port at the tip of each flexible hose 24, and the air passes through the flexible hose 24, the intake manifold 152, the intake fan 151, the exhaust manifold 153, and the exhaust pipe. and is discharged to the outside from the exhaust port.

The battery 14 is provided in the central part of the device body 11 . The battery 14 supplies driving power to the motor 13 and the intake fan 151 . In addition, the battery 14 supplies driving power to a lifting motor 56 (see FIG. 12) of the holder moving mechanism 50, which will be described later.

As shown in FIG. 2, the collection box 16 is provided on the rear surface of the device main body 11 . The collection box 16 is covered with a cover 161 while attached to the apparatus main body 11 . A support holder 17 for detachably supporting the collection box 16 is provided on the back side of the apparatus main body 11 , and the collection box 16 is detachably attached to the support holder 17 . Note that the cover 161 is attached to the support holder 17 .

The support holder 17 is provided with three intake ports 174 . The intake port 174 passes through the front side surface of the support holder 17 and reaches the discharge port of the collection box 16 . An end of the flexible hose 24 is connected to each intake port 174 . A suction nozzle 18 is provided at the bottom of the support holder 17 , and an expansion nozzle 19 is provided at the side of the support holder 17 . Each nozzle 18 , 19 communicates with collection box 16 . Accordingly, when the intake unit 15 is driven, the air sucked from the intake nozzle 18 and the expansion nozzle 19 flows through the collecting box 16 and into the flexible hose 24 . Details of the collection box 16, the support holder 17, and the intake nozzle 18 will be described later.

3 and 4 are perspective views showing the appearance of the rear side of the floor cleaning apparatus 10. FIG. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the expansion nozzle 19 is provided on the left side of the support holder 17. As shown in FIG. A housing portion 176 , which will be described later, is provided on the left side of the support holder 17 , and the expansion nozzle 19 can be housed in the housing portion 176 . The expansion nozzle 19 is supported by the support holder 17 . Specifically, the expansion nozzle 19 is placed in the accommodation posture (the posture shown in FIGS. 1 and 3) in which it is accommodated in the accommodation portion 176, and in the left floor surface 23 of the apparatus main body 11 when it is tilted leftward from the accommodation portion 176. is supported by the support holder 17 so that the posture can be changed between a side cleaning posture (postures shown in FIGS. 4 and 8) in which the cleaning is possible. In this embodiment, the expansion nozzle 19 is supported so as to be rotatable between the accommodation posture and the side cleaning posture with the vicinity of the lower end portion of the support holder 17 as the center of rotation. 3 shows a state in which the extended nozzle 19 is arranged in the accommodation posture, and FIG. 4 shows a state in which the extended nozzle 19 is arranged in the side cleaning posture.

The operation unit 20 is provided on the upper part of the rear surface of the apparatus main body 11 . The operation unit 20 is attached to the exterior cover 11A. The operation unit 20 is a device operated by an operator, and is, for example, a terminal device having a touch panel capable of touch operation. Various types of cleaning information for the floor cleaning apparatus 10 (information such as travel route, cleaning area, cleaning time period, return position, etc.) can be input from the operation unit 20 . The input cleaning information is transferred to the control unit 40 and used for travel control by the control unit 40 .

The display panel 21 is provided on the front surface of the device body 11 . The display panel 21 is, for example, a liquid crystal panel. Various types of announcement information are displayed on the display panel 21 by the control unit 40 during cleaning. The announcement information is, for example, information indicating that cleaning is being performed, guidance information regarding the floor being cleaned, and the like.

The holder moving mechanism 50 is provided inside the device main body 11, and is provided on the back side of the device main body 11 as shown in FIG. The holder moving mechanism 50 supports the support holder 17 so as to be movable in the vertical direction D1, and transmits a driving force in the vertical direction D1 to the support holder 17 to move the support holder 17 in the vertical direction D1. Details of the holder moving mechanism 50 will be described later.

The control unit 40 is provided on the upper part of the device main body 11 . The control unit 40 controls running of the floor cleaning apparatus 10, driving of the intake fan 151 of the intake unit 15, elevation of the support holder 17 by the holder moving mechanism 50, screen display of the display panel 21, and the like. The control unit 40 includes, for example, control devices such as a CPU, ROM, and RAM, and storage media or storage devices such as HDD and flash memory. The CPU is a processor that executes various kinds of arithmetic processing. The ROM is a non-volatile memory in which control programs such as BIOS and OS for causing the CPU to execute various processes are stored in advance. The RAM is a volatile or non-volatile memory that stores various information, and is used as a temporary memory (work area) for various processes executed by the CPU. The control unit 40 controls the running of the floor cleaning apparatus 10, the driving of the intake fan 151, the lifting and lowering of the support holder 17, etc. by executing various control programs pre-stored in the ROM or storage device by the CPU. do.

[Support holder 17]
5 and 6 are perspective views showing the floor cleaning device 10 with the exterior cover 11A removed. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a support holder 17 is provided on the rear side of the floor cleaning device 10. As shown in FIGS. Inside the device main body 11, a plate-shaped vertical frame 11C is provided that extends upward from the rear end portion of the chassis 11B. A support holder 17 is attached to the vertical frame 11C. In this embodiment, as will be described later, the support holder 17 is supported by the vertical frame 11C of the apparatus main body 11 so as to be movable in the vertical direction D1.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the support holder 17. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 7 , the support holder 17 has a base portion 171 extending in the vertical direction D<b>1 and a box housing portion 172 fixed to the base portion 171 .

The base portion 171 is formed by bending a sheet metal, and is composed of a base plate 171A attached to the vertical frame 11C and side plates 171B and 171C projecting rearward from both ends of the base plate 171A in the width direction D3. It is configured. Three intake ports 174 for connecting ends of the flexible hoses 24 are attached to the upper end of the base plate 171A. The intake port 174 is formed in a cylindrical shape protruding forward from the base plate 171A.

Three communication holes 175 are formed in the upper end portion of the rear surface of the base plate 171A. The communication hole 175 is formed at a position corresponding to the intake port 174 . The discharge port 167 (see FIG. 11) provided on the side surface of the collection box 16 is connected to the communication hole 175 while the collection box 16 is attached to the box housing portion 172 . This connects the flexible hose 24 and the collection box 16 so that suction from the collection box 16 is possible.

An air filter 169 (see FIG. 12) is provided inside the collection box 16 to collect and remove dust and other contaminants from the air discharged from the discharge port 167 to clean the air. As the air filter 169, for example, a chemical filter, HEPA filter, ULPA filter, or the like can be used.

The box housing portion 172 detachably supports the collection box 16 . The box accommodating portion 172 is fixed to the rear side surface of the base portion 171 and arranged at the center of the base portion 171 in the width direction D3. The box accommodating portion 172 is formed by bending a sheet metal, and includes a mounting plate 172A fixed to the base portion 171 and side plates 172B and 172C projecting rearward from both ends of the mounting plate 172A in the width direction D3. It is composed of Since the box accommodating portion 172 is shorter in the width direction D3 than the base portion 171, as shown in FIG. are housed in

As shown in FIG. 7, the rear side of the box accommodating portion 172 is open, and the upper side is also open. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8, the collection box 16 can be pulled up rearward and obliquely upward with respect to the box accommodating portion 172 with the door (not shown) provided on the cover 161 opened. Collection box 16 can be easily removed from portion 172 . Here, FIG. 8 is a side view of the rear portion of the floor cleaning apparatus 10, FIG. 8(A) shows a state in which the collection box 16 is attached to the box housing portion 172, and FIG. , the collection box 16 is removed from the box housing portion 172. FIG.

As shown in FIG. 7, a rectangular opening 177 elongated in the width direction D3 is formed in the bottom surface 172D of the box housing portion 172. As shown in FIG. The opening 177 communicates with the intake nozzle 18, which will be described later. With the collection box 16 attached to the box housing portion 172 , the intake port 168 (see FIG. 8B) provided on the bottom surface 16A of the collection box 16 is aligned with the opening 177 . As a result, the air intake nozzle 18 and the collection box 16 communicate with each other, and the dust sucked up together with the air from the air intake nozzle 18 can be collected in the collection box 16 through the air intake port 168 .

An opening 178 that communicates with the expansion nozzle 19 is formed in the lower portion of the left side plate 172B of the box housing portion 172 . Another intake port (not shown) provided on the side surface of the collection box 16 is aligned with the opening 178 while the collection box 16 is attached to the box housing portion 172 . As a result, the expansion nozzle 19 and the collection box 16 communicate with each other, and the dust sucked up together with the air from the expansion nozzle 19 can be collected in the collection box 16 through the suction port.

[Collection box 16]
The collection box 16 collects dust (aspirated matter) such as dust sucked from an intake port 181 (see FIG. 8) of the intake nozzle 18, which will be described later, and is formed in the shape of a box with a hollow inside. . As shown in FIG. 6, the collection box 16 is formed in a thin rectangular shape in the front-rear direction D2. As shown in FIG. 8, a sheet-like flap 163 for opening and closing an intake port 168 is provided inside the collection box 16 . The flap 163 is made of elastic synthetic resin such as PET resin.

The front end of the flap 163 is fixed to the bottom surface 16A of the collection box 16, and extends obliquely upward and rearward from this fixed end. The extended end of the flap 163 abuts the rear side surface 16B of the collection box 16 . The extending end of the flap 163 is a free end and can swing around the fixed end of the flap 163 .

Since such a flap 163 is provided, the flap 163 is biased toward the side surface 16B by its elasticity when air is not being inhaled. Therefore, the extending end of the flap 163 is in contact with the side surface 16B, and the intake port 168 is covered with the flap 163. As shown in FIG. Therefore, the garbage collected in the collection box 16 does not leak out from the intake port 168 . Further, even when the collecting box 16 is removed from the box accommodating portion 172, the intake port 168 is covered with the flap 163, so that dust does not leak out from the intake port 168.例文帳に追加

On the other hand, when the intake fan 151 is driven and intake is performed, the inside of the collection box 16 becomes negative pressure, and air flows into the inside from the intake port 168 . Due to the inflow of air at this time, the flap 163 is bent forward against the urging force toward the side surface 16B. As a result, the intake port 168 is no longer covered by the flap 163 , and the intake air is smoothly sucked into the interior through the intake port 168 . When the intake fan 151 stops being driven, the flap 163 returns to its original state to cover the intake port 168 again.

[Intake nozzle 18]
As shown in FIG. 8, the intake nozzle 18 is a part that sucks up dust and other contaminants from the floor surface 23 together with air when the intake fan 151 operates. The intake nozzle 18 has an intake port 181 at a position above the floor surface 23 with a predetermined gap ΔT. That is, the suction port 181 is arranged at a position above the floor surface 23 with a gap ΔT. The intake nozzle 18 is provided at the lower end of the support holder 17 . In this embodiment, the intake nozzle 18 is formed integrally with the box accommodating portion 172 of the support holder 17 .

The air intake nozzle 18 has a shape elongated in the width direction D<b>3 , and is constituted by an outer peripheral wall 182 in the shape of a square cylinder that protrudes downward from the outer periphery of the bottom surface 172</b>D of the box housing portion 172 . In other words, the intake nozzle 18 and the box housing portion 172 are vertically separated by the bottom surface 172D (see FIG. 7). In other words, above the intake nozzle 18, the collection box 16 and the box housing portion 172 that supports the collection box 16 are provided. The lower side of the outer peripheral wall 182 is open to form the suction port 181 described above.

An elastic sheet-like sealing member 185 extending to the floor surface 23 is provided at the rear edge of the suction port 181 of the suction nozzle 18 . The seal member 185 has a rectangular shape elongated in the width direction D3 and is joined to the entire area of the suction port 181 in the width direction D3. A seal member 185 closes the gap ΔT between the rear edge of the suction port 181 and the floor surface 23 .

A pair of rotating brushes 26 (26A, 26B) are rotatably provided in the intake nozzle 18. As shown in FIG. The rotating brushes 26 are arranged side by side in the front-rear direction D2. A rotating shaft 261 (see FIGS. 11 and 12) of each rotating brush 26 is rotatably supported through side plates 184 (see FIG. 12) at both ends of the intake nozzle 18 in the width direction D3. In this embodiment, an example in which a pair of rotating brushes 26 are provided in the intake nozzle 18 will be described, but the number of rotating brushes 26 is not limited to a pair (two), and may be one or three or more. There may be.

As shown in FIG. 12 , the support holder 17 is provided with a motor 62 that supplies driving force to the rotating brush 26 . Here, FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram showing a cross section taken along the section line XII-XII in FIG. The motor 62 is provided in a housing portion 179 provided between the side plate 172C and the side plate 171C. The rotational driving force of the motor 62 is transmitted to the rotary shaft 261 through a transmission mechanism 64 composed of a plurality of gears. When the motor 62 is driven by the control unit 40 while the floor cleaning apparatus 10 is running, the rotating brush 26 is rotated and the dust on the floor 23 is collected satisfactorily.

A rotating roller 60 (an example of a rotating body of the present invention) is rotatably supported on the rotating shaft 261 of the rotating brush 26A positioned on the front side of the pair of rotating brushes 26 . The rotating rollers 60 are attached to both ends of the rotating shaft 261 . More specifically, as shown in FIG. 12 , the rotating rollers 60 are attached to both ends of a rotating shaft 261 projecting outward in the width direction D3 from the side plate 184 of the intake nozzle 18 .

The rotating roller 60 is provided on the support holder 17 so that its outer peripheral surface is positioned between the peripheral edge of the suction port 181 and the floor surface 23 . That is, as shown in FIG. 12, when the floor cleaning apparatus 10 is in the traveling posture shown in FIG. not.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a slide support mechanism that supports the support holder 17 so as to be movable in the vertical direction D1.

The support holder 17 is supported by the vertical frame 11C of the apparatus main body 11 by the slide support mechanism so as to be movable in the vertical direction D1. The slide support mechanism is a pair of slide rails 67 spaced apart in the width direction D3. As shown in FIG. 9, the base portion 171 of the support holder 17 is provided with a plate-like support piece 171D extending in the vertical direction D1, and the vertical frame 11C is also provided with a plate-like support piece 11C1 extending in the vertical direction D1. A well-known slide rail 67 is attached to these. Specifically, the outer member of the slide rail 67 is fixed to the support piece 11C1, and the inner member of the slide rail 67 is fixed to the support piece 171D.

The slide support mechanism for the support holder 17 is not limited to the slide rails 67 described above. As long as it supports the support holder 17 so as to be movable in the vertical direction D1, any structure of the support mechanism can be applied.

In the present embodiment, the slide rail 67 supports the intake nozzle 18 so as to be movable between a cleaning position (position shown in FIG. 8A) described later and a maintenance position (position shown in FIG. 10) described later. Supports the holder 17 . Here, the cleaning position is a position where the suction port 181 is separated from the floor surface 23 by the gap ΔT, and is a position where the floor surface 23 can be cleaned with a sufficient suction force when the floor cleaning apparatus 10 is running. be. The gap ΔT is, for example, about 10 mm to 20 mm. Also, in the maintenance position, if foreign matter that cannot be sucked into the air intake nozzle 18, clogged with dust, or dust adheres to the rotating brush 26, these foreign matter and dust are removed. This is a possible height position, for example, the position where the height from the floor surface 23 to the suction port 181 is about 100 mm.

As shown in FIG. 9, the support holder 17 is provided with a coil spring 70 (an example of the elastic member of the present invention). The coil spring 70 has a shape elongated in the height direction, one end of which is fixed to the lower end of the support piece 171D, and the other end of which is fixed to the lower end of the vertical frame 11C. A pulley 72 is attached to the upper end portion of the vertical frame 11</b>C, and a coil spring 70 is hooked on the pulley 72 . The coil springs 70 supported in this manner are provided at both ends of the support holder 17 in the width direction D3. In the present embodiment, the coil spring 70 is exemplified as an example of the elastic member, but instead of the coil spring 70, for example, an elastic rubber cord made of rubber or the like can be applied.

The coil spring 70 urges the support holder 17 upward with a spring force smaller than the downward (gravitational direction) force due to the total weight of the intake nozzle 18 , the collection box 16 , and the support holder 17 . In this embodiment, with the support holder 17 urged upward by the coil spring 70, the downward load applied by the intake nozzle 18, collection box 16, and support holder 17 is 1 kgf (≈9.8 N). A spring force of the coil spring 70 is determined.

[Holder moving mechanism 50]
FIG. 11 is a front view of the support holder 17 alone, and shows the holder moving mechanism 50 . The holder moving mechanism 50 includes a large-diameter pulley 51, a small-diameter pulley 52, an annular belt 53, a pinion gear 54, a rack gear 55, and a lifting motor 56 (see FIG. 12).

The large-diameter pulley 51 and the small-diameter pulley 52 are rotatably supported by the base plate 171A. A belt 53 is wound around the large-diameter pulley 51 and the small-diameter pulley 52 . A pinion gear 54 is integrally formed at the center of the side surface of the large-diameter pulley 51 . The pinion gear 54 is meshed with a rack gear 55 extending in the vertical direction D1 provided on the vertical frame 11C. The pinion gear 54 is arranged at the center of the base plate 171A in the width direction D3. An output shaft of a motor 56 is connected to the small-diameter pulley 52 .

As shown in FIG. 12, the motor 56 is provided in the housing portion 179 . The rotational driving force of the motor 56 passes through the small-diameter pulley 52, belt 53, large-diameter pulley 51, pinion gear 54, and rack gear 55 connected to its output shaft and is converted into a force in the vertical direction D1. By receiving this force, the support holder 17 can move upward against gravity.

Motor 56 is a stepping motor. The motor 56 is driven and controlled by the control unit 40 . In this embodiment, when a maintenance instruction is input from the operation unit 20, the control unit 40 controls the motor 56 to raise the support holder 17, which has been placed at the cleaning position as the initial position, together with the cover 161. , to the maintenance position. Then, the support holder 17 is held at the maintenance position. After that, when a maintenance end signal is input, the control unit 40 controls the motor 56 to lower the support holder 17 to the cleaning position.

As described above, in the present embodiment, since the rotating rollers 60 are provided in the support holder 17, the floor surface cleaning apparatus 10 can be used even when the floor surface 23 to be cleaned has unevenness, steps, or undulations. During autonomous travel, the rotary roller 60 contacts the undulations and the like before the intake nozzle 18 contacts the undulations and the like. When the rotating rollers 60 come into contact with undulations or the like, an upward external force is applied to the rotating rollers 60 . By receiving this external force, the support holder 17 moves upward with respect to the apparatus main body 11 . In other words, the intake nozzle 18 is moved upward from the initial cleaning position and retracted upward from the cleaning position. As a result, the intake nozzle 18 is prevented from coming into contact with undulations, etc., and it is possible to prevent abnormal turning and overturning caused by contact between the intake nozzle 18 and the undulations.

In addition, since the rotating brush 26 is provided in the intake nozzle 18 and the rotating roller 60 is rotatably supported by the rotating shaft 261 of the rotating brush 26, the rotary roller 60 can be rotated without providing a separate structure for supporting the rotating roller 60. A roller 60 can be provided on the support holder 17 together with the intake nozzle 18 .

In addition, since the rotating rollers 60 are provided at both ends of the rotating shaft 261, it is possible to prevent the side plate on one side in the width direction from suddenly turning due to contact with undulations.

Further, when the two rotating brushes 26 are arranged side by side in the direction of movement of the floor cleaning device 10 (the front-rear direction D2), the rotating roller 60 is rotatable about the rotating shaft 261 of the rotating brush 26A on the front side. Since it is supported, when the floor cleaning apparatus 10 is traveling in the direction of movement, the rotary roller 60 reliably contacts the undulations before the intake nozzle 18 contacts the undulations of the floor surface 23 . As a result, abnormal turning and overturning can be prevented, and damage to the intake nozzle 18 can be prevented.

In addition, since the floor cleaning apparatus 10 is provided with the coil spring 70, the upward external force received when the rotary roller 60 comes into contact with an undulation or the like is greater than the gravitational force due to the total weight of the support holder 17 and the like. Even if it is small, with the help of the spring force of the coil spring 70, the support holder 17 can be smoothly moved upward with a light external force.

In addition, since the floor cleaning apparatus 10 is provided with a holder moving mechanism 50, when foreign matter that cannot be sucked into the air intake nozzle 18 is mixed in, or when the air intake nozzle 18 or the rotating brush 26 is clogged with dust, etc. , the support holder 17 can be raised from the cleaning position to the maintenance position. This makes it possible to easily maintain the intake nozzle 18 .

10: Floor cleaning device 11: Device main body 11A: Exterior cover 11B: Chassis 11C: Vertical frame 11C1: Support piece 12: Traveling unit 13: Motor 14: Battery 16: Collection box 17: Support holder 18: Intake nozzle 19: Extension Nozzle 24: flexible hose 26, 26A: rotating brush 40: control unit 50: holder moving mechanism 51: large diameter pulley 52: small diameter pulley 53: belt 54: pinion gear 55: rack gear 56: motor 60: rotating roller 62: motor 67: Slide rail 70: Coil spring 72: Pulley 121: Wheel 122: Caster

Claims (4)

An autonomously traveling cleaning device that cleans a surface to be cleaned while autonomously traveling on the surface to be cleaned,
a device body that is long in the height direction with respect to the width direction ;
a drive transmission unit provided at a lower portion of the device main body for transmitting a conveying force in the traveling direction of the autonomously traveling cleaning device to the surface to be cleaned while maintaining the traveling posture of the autonomously traveling cleaning device;
a motor that outputs driving force to the drive transmission unit;
a battery provided at the center of the device body above the drive transmission unit in the device body and supplying power for driving the motor;
an intake nozzle disposed at a cleaning position spaced apart from the surface to be cleaned by a predetermined distance and having an intake port elongated in the width direction of the apparatus main body ;
a rotating brush provided rotatably on the intake nozzle and having a rotating shaft extending in the width direction;
a collection box that collects the aspirate sucked from the suction port of the suction nozzle ;
a support holder provided with the air intake nozzle at the lower end, supporting the collection box above the air intake nozzle, and supported on the rear surface of the device main body so as to be vertically movable;
Wheel-shaped wheels are rotatably supported by the rotating shaft of the support holder and are provided at both ends of the rotating shaft so that the outer peripheral surface is positioned between the peripheral edge of the suction port and the surface to be cleaned. a rotating body;
The support holder is configured to move upward in response to an upward external force being applied to the rotating body, thereby retracting the intake nozzle upward from the cleaning position ,
The rotating shaft is rotatably supported through side plates at both widthwise ends of the intake nozzle,
The rotating body is rotatably supported by both ends of the rotating shaft projecting outwardly in the width direction from the side plate . At least two rotating brushes are provided side by side in the traveling direction,
2. The autonomously traveling cleaning device according to claim 1 , wherein said rotating body is rotatably supported by said rotating shaft of said rotating brush on said traveling direction side. 3. Autonomy according to claim 1 or 2 , further comprising an elastic member for urging the support holder upward with a spring force smaller than the downward force due to the combined weight of the intake nozzle, the collection box and the support holder. Traveling cleaning device. 4. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , further comprising a driving unit that applies an upward driving force to the support holder to lift the air intake nozzle from the cleaning position to a maintenance position where maintenance of the air intake nozzle is possible. Autonomous cleaning device.

Images