阅读说明：本技术 自主型电动吸尘器 (Autonomous electric vacuum cleaner ) 是由 渡边浩太 丸谷裕树 杉本淳一 洪庚杓 金山将也 泷川正史 槙岛光希 于 2019-05-31 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明提出一种自主型电动吸尘器,其基于环境地图设定行进路径,在沿着该行进路径进行扫除时,能够不残留配置于扫除场所的内侧的障碍物的边缘所积存的尘埃地完成扫除。自主型电动吸尘器(1)具备：能够自主移动的主体壳体(21)；地图信息存储部(77),存储扫除场所的环境地图；以及控制部(43),基于环境地图使主体壳体(21)移动来进行扫除场所的扫除。控制部(43)在扫除场所的扫除的最终阶段,对环境地图上存在于扫除场所的内侧的不可进入区域的边缘集中进行扫除。(The invention provides an autonomous electric vacuum cleaner, which sets a travel path based on an environment map, and can complete cleaning without leaving dust accumulated at the edge of an obstacle arranged at the inner side of a cleaning place when cleaning along the travel path. An autonomous electric vacuum cleaner (1) is provided with: a main body case (21) capable of moving autonomously; a map information storage unit (77) that stores an environment map of a place to be cleaned; and a control unit (43) that performs cleaning of the cleaning location by moving the main body housing (21) on the basis of the environmental map. The control unit (43) performs a centralized sweeping of the edges of the inaccessible area on the environmental map, which is located inside the sweeping location, at the final stage of the sweeping location.)

1. An autonomous electric vacuum cleaner is provided with:

a body capable of autonomous movement;

a storage unit that stores an environment map of a place to be cleaned; and

a control unit that performs sweeping of the sweeping location by moving the main body based on the environment map,

the control unit may perform a cleaning process on the environment map in a concentrated manner at an edge of an inaccessible area where the obstacle existing inside the cleaning place is recognized in the final stage of the cleaning process.

2. The autonomous electric vacuum cleaner of claim 1,

the inaccessible area is separated from the outer edge of the cleaning place by at least a separation distance over which the main body can pass.

3. The autonomous electric vacuum cleaner according to claim 1 or 2,

a small partition of the environment map that is smaller than the swept place is identified,

the control unit performs, for each of the small segments, a sweeping of an edge concentration of an inaccessible area in which an obstacle existing inside the small segment is recognized at a final stage of the sweeping of the small segment.

4. The autonomous electric vacuum cleaner of any one of claims 1 to 3,

has a secondary battery for storing power consumed by autonomous traveling,

the control unit limits the inaccessible area that is traveled when it is determined that a plurality of inaccessible areas are present on the environment map and the remaining amount of the secondary battery is insufficient to travel all of the inaccessible areas.

5. The autonomous electric vacuum cleaner of any one of claims 1 to 4,

after sweeping the edge of the inaccessible area, further sweeping the edge of the outer edge of the swept place.

6. The autonomous electric vacuum cleaner of claim 3,

the control unit performs, when the outer edge of the cleaning place is included in the small partition, cleaning around the edge of the outer edge of the cleaning place included in the small partition, and does not perform, otherwise, cleaning around the edge of the small partition.

7. The autonomous electric vacuum cleaner of any one of claims 1 to 6,

the main body has a suction port provided so as to be shifted in one of right and left directions with respect to a traveling direction, and when traveling along an edge of an outer edge of the cleaning place and an edge of the inaccessible area, one side portion of the main body is made to travel along the edge of the outer edge of the cleaning place and the edge of the inaccessible area.

Technical Field

Embodiments of the present invention relate to an autonomous electric vacuum cleaner.

Background

An autonomous traveling type electric vacuum cleaner (sweeping robot, autonomous type electric vacuum cleaner) is known as follows: an image of the surroundings is captured, an environment map is created from the image, a travel path is set on the basis of the environment map, and dust on the floor surface is captured and removed while autonomously traveling on the floor surface along the travel path.

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

However, simply by traveling around the environmental map in its entirety, the swept place cannot necessarily be swept cleanly. For example, a rotary brush provided at the suction port may eject dust to the cleaned area. The dust thus flicked off reaches the wall or the edge of an obstacle such as a chair leg disposed inside the cleaning place, and is accumulated therein.

Accordingly, the present invention proposes the following autonomous electric vacuum cleaner: the travel route can be set based on the environment map, and when the cleaning is performed along the travel route, the cleaning can be completed without leaving the dust accumulated at the edge of the obstacle disposed inside the cleaning place.

Means for solving the problems

An autonomous electric vacuum cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention for solving the above problems includes: a body capable of autonomous movement; a storage unit that stores an environment map of a place to be cleaned; and a control unit that moves the main body based on the environment map to sweep the swept place, wherein the control unit sweeps an edge of an inaccessible area in which an obstacle existing inside the swept place is recognized on the environment map at a final stage of sweeping of the swept place.

Effects of the invention

According to the present invention, the present invention can provide an autonomous electric vacuum cleaner: the travel route can be set based on the environment map, and when the cleaning is performed along the travel route, the cleaning can be completed without leaving dust accumulated at the edge of the obstacle arranged inside the cleaning place.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing an operation control system of an autonomous electric vacuum cleaner including an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a right side view of the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner of the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a bottom view of the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner of the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a block diagram of an autonomous electric vacuum cleaner of an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 5 is a schematic view of a traveling manner of the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner of the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 6 is a schematic view of a traveling manner of the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner of the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 7 is a schematic view of a traveling manner of the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner of the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 8 is a plan view of an example of a cleaning place of the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Description of the reference numerals

An autonomous vacuum cleaner 1, an operation control system 2, a telecommunication network 3, a server 4, a remote operation terminal 5, a local terminal 6, an operation terminal 7, an external network 8, a local communication network 9, a relay communication device 11, an internet 13, a main body case 21, a secondary battery 22, a charging stand 23, a power line 24, a rotary brush 31, a brush motor 32, a dust container 33, an electric blower 35, a traveling unit 41, a camera unit 42, a control unit 43, a suction port 45, a driving wheel 46, a motor 47, a driven wheel 48, a communication unit 51, a notification unit 52, a display unit 53, a photographing element 60, an optical system 61, an image storage unit 65, an autonomous control unit 71, a camera control unit 72, a traveling control unit 75, a sweeping control unit 76, and a map information storage unit 77.

Detailed Description

An autonomous electric vacuum cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to fig. 1 to 8. In the drawings, the same or similar components are denoted by the same reference numerals.

Fig. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing an operation control system of an autonomous electric vacuum cleaner including an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in fig. 1, an autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 according to the present embodiment is communicably connected to an operation control system 2.

The operation control system 2 includes a server 4 communicatively connected to the telecommunication network 3. The operation control system 2 establishes a communication line for bidirectional communication of information between the remote operation terminal 5 and the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1. The operation control system 2 establishes a communication line for bidirectionally communicating information between the local terminal 6 and the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1. The remote operation terminal 5 and the local terminal 6 are collectively referred to as an operation terminal 7. The operation terminal 7 is an information terminal. The autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 improves the ease of use (convenience) of the user, such as the ease of operation, the degree of operation, and the ease of operation, by the operation control system 2.

The telecommunication network 3 includes an external network 8, a local communication network 9, and a relay communication device 11 that relays information between the local communication network 9 and the external network 8.

The local communication network 9 is a wireless or wired telecommunication network comprising a relay communication device 11. The autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 and the local terminal 6 are communicably connected to a local communication network 9. The local communication network 9 is a so-called intranet. The local communication network 9 provides an extremely convenient communication environment for users.

The external network 8 includes the internet 13. The relay communication device 11, the server 4, and the remote operation terminal 5 are connected to the internet 13 via a public telephone network, a mobile telephone network, or the like. The operation control system 2 provides an extremely simple communication environment for the user between the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 and the remote operation terminal 5 by causing the internet 13 to intervene.

The server 4 regulates information (japanese: mediation) between the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 and the remote operation terminal 5. The server 4 communicates with a plurality of autonomous electric vacuum cleaners 1 via the internet 13. The server 4 assigns an identifier to each autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1. The user of the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 establishes two-way communication between the remote control terminal 5 and the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 of his own home or between the remote control terminal 5 and the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 of the user's own home, by using the identifier provided by the server 4.

The remote operation terminal 5 is connected to the internet 13 via a public wireless line or a mobile telephone line. The remote operation terminal 5 performs bidirectional communication with the server 4. The remote operation terminal 5 receives input of operation instructions such as a start instruction and a stop instruction of the cleaning operation of the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1. These operation instructions such as the start instruction and the stop instruction of the cleaning operation are transmitted to the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 via the communication line. The remote operation terminal 5 acquires information notifying the state of the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 from the server 4 during operation, temporary stop, and outputs the state of the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 to the screen. The operation control system 2 can transmit information including a command from the remote operation terminal 5 to the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 at home, and can receive information including information indicating a state of the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 from the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 to the remote operation terminal 5. That is, the operation control system 2 can provide an environment in which the autonomous vacuum cleaner 1 can be operated from the remote operation terminal 5 at a remote place. The user can operate the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 to perform cleaning at home at a proper time, for example, when the user is not outside the home.

The autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 is a so-called sweeping robot. The autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 autonomously moves (travels) by consuming electric power of a secondary battery 22 provided in a main body casing 21 as a main body. The autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 moves around on a surface to be cleaned (floor surface) in a region to be cleaned in a living room, and moves over the entire surface of the region to be cleaned to collect dust. After the cleaning operation, the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 returns to the charging stand 23 and waits for the next cleaning operation.

Charging stand 23 is provided on a surface to be cleaned in the room. The charging stand 23 has a shape that allows the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 to be smoothly connected to and disconnected from the charging stand. The charging stand 23 includes a power supply line 24 for guiding electric power from the commercial ac power supply to the secondary battery 22 in a state where the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 is connected. The power supply line 24 is a circuit that supplies electric power to the secondary battery 22. The autonomous vacuum cleaner 1 returns to the charging stand 23 and charges the secondary battery 22 when waiting for the next sweeping operation, thereby saving the user's time for charging and coping with the sudden sweeping operation caused by the user's demand.

Next, the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

Fig. 2 is a right side view of the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner of the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a bottom view of the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner of the embodiment of the present invention.

In addition, a solid arrow F in fig. 2 and 3 shows a forward direction of the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1.

As shown in fig. 2 and 3, the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 of the present embodiment includes: a hollow main body case 21; a rotary brush 31 as a rotary cleaning body provided at the bottom of the main body casing 21; a brush motor 32 for rotationally driving the rotary brush 31; a dust container 33 provided at the rear of the main body case 21; an electric blower 35 housed in the main body case 21 and fluidly connected to the dust container 33; a moving unit 41 for moving the main body case 21 on the floor; a camera unit 42 provided in the main body casing 21 and capturing an image I of the periphery of the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1; a control unit 43 for controlling the moving unit 41 to autonomously move the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 on the surface to be cleaned; and a secondary battery 22 for storing electric power consumed by the electric blower 35, the moving unit 41, the camera unit 42, and the control unit 43.

The main body case 21 is made of, for example, synthetic resin, and has a flat cylindrical shape (disc shape). The substantially circular main body casing 21 in a plan view can suppress a turning radius at the time of turning to be smaller than other shapes. The bottom surface of the main body casing 21 has an intake port 45 for sucking the dust on the surface to be cleaned together with air.

The suction port 45 sucks in dust together with air by the negative pressure generated by the electric blower 35. The suction port 45 extends in the width direction of the main body casing 21. In other words, the opening width of the suction port 45 in the left-right direction is larger than the opening width of the suction port 45 in the front-rear direction. Since the bottom surface of the main body casing 21 faces (faces) the surface to be cleaned during autonomous travel, the suction port 45 provided in the bottom surface of the main body casing 21 can easily suck dust on the surface to be cleaned or dust scraped off from the surface to be cleaned by the rotary brush 31.

The suction port 45 may be shifted to one side in the width direction of the main body casing 21, in other words, to one of the left and right sides with respect to the traveling direction of the autonomous vacuum cleaner 1. The suction port 45 of the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 of the present embodiment is offset to the left side (left side with respect to the forward direction F, and right side in fig. 3) of the main body casing 21, for example.

The rotary brush 31 is disposed in the suction port 45. The rotation center line of the rotating brush 31 is directed in the width direction of the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1. The rotating brush 31 contacts the surface to be cleaned when the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 is placed on the surface to be cleaned in a movable state. Therefore, the autonomous vacuum cleaner 1 can scrape off dust on the surface to be cleaned and efficiently suck the dust into the suction port 45 by rotationally driving the rotary brush 31 while the cleaner is moving forward.

The brush motor 32 rotates the rotary brush 31 in the normal direction (to assist the direction of the thrust of the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 when moving forward) or in the reverse direction (to assist the direction of the thrust of the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 when moving backward).

Dust container 33 accumulates dust sucked from suction port 45 by the suction negative pressure generated by electric blower 35. The dust container 33 is a filter for filtering and trapping dust, or a separator for accumulating dust by inertial separation such as centrifugal separation (cyclone separation) or straight-ahead separation (separation method for separating dust from air by using the difference in inertial force between straight-ahead air and dust).

Electric blower 35 consumes electric power of secondary battery 22 and drives the same. The electric blower 35 sucks air from the dust container 33 to generate suction negative pressure. The negative pressure generated in the dust container 33 acts on the suction port 45. The main body case 21 has an exhaust port (not shown) through which exhaust air (clean air) from the electric blower 35 flows out to the outside of the main body case 21.

The moving unit 41 includes at least a pair of drive wheels 46, a motor 47 as a plurality of drive units for driving the drive wheels 46 separately, and a driven wheel 48 for supporting the main body casing 21 on the ground together with the drive wheels 46.

The drive wheels 46 move the main body casing 21 on the surface to be cleaned. The drive wheel 46 has a wheel shaft (not shown) extending in the width direction (left-right width direction). The wheel shafts of the pair of drive wheels 46 are arranged substantially on the same line. Therefore, the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 can easily move straight and turn. A suction port 45 is disposed between the pair of drive wheels 46. The drive wheel 46 is pressed against the surface to be cleaned by a suspension device (so-called suspension, not shown). The autonomous vacuum cleaner 1 may include an endless track (not shown) instead of the driving wheel 46.

The motor 47 drives each drive wheel 46 independently. That is, the left and right drive wheels 46 are rotated in the same direction to move straight (advance or retreat), and the left and right drive wheels 46 are rotated in different directions to rotate (rotate right or rotate left). The autonomous vacuum cleaner 1 autonomously moves on a surface to be cleaned by combining a straight movement and a rotation (change of a traveling direction). The autonomous vacuum cleaner 1 can adjust the forward or backward speed by increasing or decreasing the output of the left and right driving wheels 46, or can adjust the turning radius by changing the output of the left and right driving wheels 46.

The driven wheel 48 is disposed at a substantially central portion in the width direction of the lower portion of the main body case 21 and is a front portion. The driven wheel 48 is a circular rotating body, such as a caster. The driven wheels 48 easily change their orientations in accordance with the forward, backward, and backward movements of the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1, thereby stabilizing the forward movement (movement) of the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 (main body housing 21). The center of gravity of the autonomous vacuum cleaner 1 supported by the wheel shaft of the driving wheel 46 and the wheel shaft of the driven wheel 48 is preferably disposed inside the triangle formed by the pair of driving wheel 46 and driven wheel 48. In this case, the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 (main body housing 21) can stably move (travel) with a reduced risk of falling over. In addition, the driven pulley 48 may not be present.

Fig. 4 is a block diagram of an autonomous electric vacuum cleaner of an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in fig. 4 in addition to fig. 2 and 3, the autonomous vacuum cleaner 1 of the present embodiment includes a communication unit 51, a notification unit 52, and a display unit 53 in addition to the brush motor 32, the traveling motor 47, the electric blower 35, the camera unit 42, the control unit 43, and the secondary battery 22.

The communication unit 51 transmits an infrared signal to a wireless communication unit (not shown) and the charging stand 23 which are connected to the local communication network 9 so as to be capable of bidirectional communication by wireless, and includes, for example, a transmission unit including an infrared light emitting element, and a reception unit (not shown) which receives an infrared signal from the charging stand 23 and a remote controller (not shown) and includes, for example, a phototransistor.

A wireless communication line is established between the wireless communication unit and the relay communication device 11. The wireless communication unit transmits information to the operation terminal 7 via the relay communication device 11, and receives information from the operation terminal 7 via the relay communication device 11.

The wireless communication unit transmits information notifying the start of operation to the operation terminal 7 via the relay communication device 11. The wireless communication unit receives information including an instruction to stop the operation from the operation terminal 7 via the relay communication device 11. That is, the autonomous vacuum cleaner 1 can be remotely operated from the operation terminal 7 by the communication unit 51, and user convenience can be improved.

The notification unit 52 notifies the user and a third person located around the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 of appropriate information such as start of operation by sound such as voice or warning sound. The notification unit 52 is, for example, a speaker.

The display unit 53 displays optically such as lighting or blinking, or displays characters and graphics, and notifies the user and a third person located around the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 of appropriate information such as start of operation. The display unit 53 is, for example, a display provided on the top surface of the main body casing 21.

The user of the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 can easily know the state of the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 by the sound output from the notification unit 52 and the visual information displayed on the display unit 53. In addition, the user of the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 can easily know the state of the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 by the operation control system 2 including the communication unit 51 and the operation terminal 7. The autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 may include only one of the notification unit 52 and the display unit 53.

The camera unit 42 is provided on the front surface of the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 and photographs the front of the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1. The camera unit 42 is, for example, a digital camera. That is, the camera unit 42 includes an image pickup device 60 (image sensor) that converts a picked-up image into an electric signal, and an optical system 61 that forms (generates) an image on the image pickup device 60. The image sensor 60 is, for example, a CCD image sensor (Charge-Coupled Device image sensor) or a CMOS image sensor (complementary-oxide-semiconductor image sensor). Therefore, the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 can immediately process an image with digital data. That is, the image captured by the camera unit 42 can be compressed into a predetermined data format, converted into a binary image, and converted into a grayscale by an image processing circuit (not shown), for example. The camera unit 42 captures digital images at predetermined time intervals, for example, every several tens of milliseconds or every several seconds. The camera unit 42 captures an image in a visible light region, for example. An image in the visible light region has a better image quality than an image in the infrared region, for example, and information that can be visually confirmed can be easily provided to a user without performing complicated image processing.

The optical system 61 includes, for example, a lens (not shown) and a lens cover (not shown). The lens cover covers the lens for protection. The lens cover may be a lens filter for adjusting light reaching the lens.

The camera unit 42 may be a monocular camera (indicated by a broken line in fig. 3) or a stereo camera (indicated by a two-dot chain line in fig. 3). In the case of the stereo camera, two images (stereo images) substantially simultaneously captured by the camera unit 42 overlap each other within a capture range including a position in front of the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 after extending a center line in a width direction thereof. In this case, the camera section 42 can obtain information of the depth of field (the separation distance viewed from the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1) in the shooting range.

In addition, an illumination device (not shown) such as an led (light Emitting diode) or a bulb may be provided in parallel in the camera unit 42. The illumination device illuminates a part or all of the imaging range of the camera unit 42. The illumination device can cause the camera unit 42 to acquire an appropriate image even in a dark place such as a shadow of an obstacle such as furniture or in a dark environment such as at night.

The control Unit 43 includes, for example, a Central Processing Unit (CPU, not shown), an auxiliary storage device (ROM, not shown) for storing various calculation programs and parameters to be executed (processed) by the Central Processing Unit, and a main storage device (RAM, not shown) for dynamically securing a work area of the programs. An image storage unit 65 for storing the image captured by the camera unit 42 is secured in the main storage device. The auxiliary storage device is preferably rewritable, such as a nonvolatile memory.

The control unit 43 is electrically connected to the brush motor 32, the traveling motor 47, the electric blower 35, the camera unit 42, the communication unit 51, the notification unit 52, the display unit 53, and the secondary battery 22. The control unit 43 controls the brush motor 32, the traveling motor 47, the electric blower 35, the camera unit 42, the communication unit 51, the notification unit 52, the display unit 53, and the secondary battery 22 in accordance with instructions received from the operation terminal 7, the charging stand 23, and the remote controller via the communication unit 51.

The control unit 43 includes an autonomous control unit 71 that controls autonomous movement of the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1, and a camera control unit 72 that controls operation of the camera unit 42.

The autonomous control unit 71 includes a travel control unit 75 that controls the operation of the motor 47 of the moving unit 41, and a cleaning control unit 76 that controls the operations of the brush motor 32 and the electric blower 35.

The travel control unit 75 controls the magnitude and direction of the current flowing through the motor 47 of the moving unit 41 to rotate the motor 47 in the normal direction or the reverse direction. The travel control unit 75 controls the driving of the drive wheels 46 by rotating the motor 47 in the normal direction or in the reverse direction.

The travel control unit 75 includes a Map information storage unit 77 that stores Environment Map information (not shown) of the swept place. The travel control unit 75 sets a travel path based on the environment map information, and autonomously moves the autonomous vacuum cleaner 1 on the surface to be cleaned along the travel path. In other words, the control unit 43 moves the main body casing 21 based on the environment map information to perform cleaning of the cleaning place.

The map information storage unit 77 is a set of data constructed in a storage area secured in the auxiliary storage device, and has an appropriate data structure. The map information storage unit 77 is read from the auxiliary storage device into the main storage device and used, and overwritten to the auxiliary storage device through appropriate updating.

The environment map information is a so-called map. The environment map information may be prepared in advance when the autonomous vacuum cleaner 1 is used, or may be created while estimating the self position by simultaneouspositioning and Mapping (SLAM). When environment map information is created by SLAM, the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 preferably includes various sensors (not shown) such as a camera and an encoder necessary for creating a map, in addition to the camera unit 42 that captures an image of the front side (traveling direction) of the cleaner itself. The environment map information may be created and updated in the course of movement accompanying the sweeping operation, or may be created and updated in the course of movement accompanying the conveying operation.

Obstacles such as chair legs, table legs, and tables arranged inside the cleaning place are recognized as areas where the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 is prevented from traveling and cannot enter (hereinafter, referred to as "inaccessible areas") on the environment map information.

The environment map information is shared by the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 and the operation terminal 7. Therefore, the communication section 51 transmits the environment map information to the operation terminal 7 via the relay communication device 11. By sharing the environment map information, the user can accurately grasp the current position (position information) of the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 through the operation terminal 7. The user can specify an arbitrary position on the environment map information to the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 through the operation terminal 7 and move the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1. Moreover, the user can easily grasp the situation of the target (in other words, the destination to which the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 is to be moved) from the image captured by the camera unit 42.

The sweeping control unit 76 separately controls the brush motor 32 and the electric blower 35.

The camera control unit 72 controls the operation of the shutter of the camera unit 42. By operating the shutter at predetermined time intervals, the camera unit 42 captures images at predetermined time intervals. The camera control unit 72 stores the image I captured by the camera unit 42 in the image storage unit 65. The image information stored in the image storage unit 65 may include all the information of the image I captured by the camera unit 42. For example, the image information stored in the image storage unit 65 may be an image obtained by converting the image I captured by the camera unit 42 into a gradation (hereinafter, the image I is referred to as an image I as the original image I captured by the camera unit 42). In the case of a grayscale image, the pixel values of the image I coincide with the luminance values. In the case of storing the image I converted into the gradation, the control section 43 can make up the capacity (resource) of the memory area allocated to the image storage section 65 in a smaller amount than in the case of storing the original image. In addition, when the image I converted into the gradation is used for the subsequent processing, the control unit 43 can reduce the load on the central processing unit as compared with the case of processing the original image.

The image processing including the gradation of the image I executed by the camera control unit 72 may be executed by the camera unit 42. By performing the image processing by the camera section 42, the load of the central processing apparatus is reduced.

The camera control unit 72 controls turning on and off of the illumination device.

The secondary battery 22 is a power source for the brush motor 32, the traveling motor 47, the electric blower 35, the camera unit 42, the control unit 43, the communication unit 51, the notification unit 52, and the display unit 53. In other words, the electric power stored in the secondary battery 22 is consumed for autonomous traveling. In fig. 4, power lines for supplying power from the secondary battery 22 to the respective units are not shown. The secondary battery 22 stores electric power supplied to the brush motor 32, the traveling motor 47, the electric blower 35, the control unit 43, the camera unit 42, and the communication unit 51. Therefore, the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 can freely travel without requiring a power cord and without being limited by the length of the power cord and the laying route.

The secondary battery 22 is electrically connected to, for example, a charging terminal (not shown) provided on the bottom surface or the rear surface of the main body case 21. When the autonomous vacuum cleaner 1 is returned to the charging stand 23, the charging terminal is electrically connected to the charging stand 23. Therefore, the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 can electrically connect the secondary battery 22 to the charging stand 23 without the need for the user to manually perform the cleaning operation, and can charge the secondary battery 22 while waiting for the next cleaning operation.

However, the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 sets a travel path along which it autonomously moves on the surface to be cleaned based on the environment map information. In this case, the autonomous vacuum cleaner 1 can set an efficient travel path for finishing cleaning to the cleaning location by the shortest path.

However, the cleaning place is not always cleaned by simply running the cleaning place over the entire surface of the surface to be cleaned. For example, the rotary brush 31 may eject dust to the cleaned area. The driving wheel 46 and the driven wheel 48 may eject granular dust such as sand particles to the cleaned area. The dust thus thrown away reaches the wall or the edge of an obstacle such as a chair leg disposed inside the cleaning place, and is accumulated therein. That is, the dust that has been flicked off accumulates on the edge of the outer edge of the environment map or the edge of the inaccessible area.

Therefore, the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 according to the present embodiment further performs cleaning by concentrating the edges of the inaccessible area in which the obstacle existing inside the cleaning place is recognized on the environment map after the cleaning of the cleaning place is completed.

Here, first, a typical travel mode (travel mode) of the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 will be described.

Fig. 5 to 7 are schematic views of a traveling manner of the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner of the embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in fig. 5, the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 according to the present embodiment cleans the wall W of the living room R along the edge of the outer edge of the cleaned place a (in other words, the edge of the outer edge of the environmental map), for example, at least one round of the wall W of the living room R in the living room R. As shown in fig. 5, the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 moves clockwise (clockwise) while viewing the wall W of the room R to the left in the traveling direction. That is, when the main body casing 21 travels along the edge of the outer edge of the cleaning place a, the left end of the main body casing 21 is moved along the edge of the outer edge. Since the suction port 45 is offset to the left of the main body casing 21, the main body casing 21 can efficiently suck dust on the wall W when traveling along the edge of the outer edge of the cleaning place a.

The autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 may move counterclockwise (left-handed) while viewing the wall W of the room R to the right in the traveling direction. That is, when the main body casing 21 travels along the edge of the outer edge of the cleaning place a, the right end of the main body casing 21 is moved along the edge of the outer edge. In this case, the suction port 45 is preferably provided to be offset to the right side of the main body housing 21.

The travel path R1 for sweeping the edge of the outer edge of the cleaning site a at least once along the edge of the outer edge of the cleaning site a is referred to as an "outer edge sweeping travel mode (outer edge sweeping travel mode)".

However, the charging stand 23 of the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 is generally provided on the wall W near a socket C (so-called receptacle) of the wiring plug-in connector. The autonomous vacuum cleaner 1 waits for a cleaning operation while charging the secondary battery 22 in a state of being electrically connected to the charging stand 23. Therefore, the autonomous vacuum cleaner 1 can easily perform the final cleaning of the wall side while traveling along the wall side W when the cleaning is started after being detached from (started from) the charging stand 23 or immediately before being returned to (returned to) the charging stand 23 to move to the standby state.

As shown in fig. 6, the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 of the present embodiment cleans the entire surface of the surface to be cleaned by reciprocating in a zigzag manner (hereinafter, referred to as "zigzag travel") between two outer edges that are defined as a cleaning place a and face each other, for example, two walls Wa, Wb that face each other in a living room R. The distance separating the outward path from the one wall Wa to the other wall Wb and the return path from the other wall Wb to the one wall Wa is preferably smaller than the width of the suction port 45. In this way, the autonomous vacuum cleaner 1 can sweep the surface to be swept cleaner by generating an overlapping portion between the trajectory of the suction port 45 in the outward path and the trajectory of the suction port 45 in the return path.

The autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 changes its traveling direction even when it comes into contact with or comes close to an obstacle O (in other words, an inaccessible area) such as furniture disposed inside the cleaning place a. The inaccessible area is separated from the outer edge of the cleaning place a by at least the separation distance that the main body housing 21 can pass. The obstacle O that is close to the outer edge of the cleaning place a to the extent that the main body casing 21 cannot pass through is regarded as the outer edge of the cleaning place a (in other words, the outer edge of the environmental map) for convenience. In this way, the autonomous vacuum cleaner 1 can reduce the burden of unnecessary calculations (for example, processing for identifying areas that cannot pass through and excluding from the travel path) on the travel path.

The autonomous vacuum cleaner 1 may be configured to perform cleaning of the entire surface of the surface to be cleaned, instead of the zigzag travel, or in addition to the zigzag travel, in a travel manner that complies with a known rule, such as random travel or reflex travel. The autonomous vacuum cleaner 1 may perform a plurality of times of cleaning the entire surface of the surface to be cleaned by combining a traveling method conforming to a known rule such as zigzag traveling, random traveling, or reflex traveling, or by repeating a single traveling method.

These travel paths R2 that are swept over the entire surface of the sweeping area a in compliance with known rules are referred to as "wide-area sweeping travel method (wide-area sweeping travel mode)".

As shown in fig. 7, the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 of the present embodiment collectively cleans the edges of obstacles O (i.e., inaccessible areas on the environment map information) such as furniture disposed inside the cleaning location a. Hereinafter, the concentrated sweeping of the edges of the obstacle O is referred to as "concentrated sweeping of the edges of the obstacle".

Here, "obstacle edge concentrated cleaning" includes a method of sweeping the edges of a plurality of obstacles O (O1, O2) located inside the cleaning site a one by one while sweeping the edges of the obstacles O. The term "focused obstacle edge sweeping" includes a method of sweeping the edge of one obstacle O around the edge of the other obstacle O while moving the edge of the other obstacle O forward. In the "focused obstacle edge sweeping", it is preferable to surround the edge of each obstacle O at least once, but it may be less than once. In the "obstacle edge concentrated sweeping", it is preferable to move with the shortest path between the plurality of obstacles O (O1, O2), but this may not be the case. In the "obstacle edge concentrated sweeping", when there are three or more obstacles O, it is preferable to move the obstacles O adjacent to each other with the shortest path, but this may not be the case. That is, in the "obstacle edge concentrated sweeping", when there are three or more obstacles O, the obstacle may move to an obstacle O which is not adjacent to the obstacle O. In the "concentrated obstacle edge sweeping", the electric blower 35 may be operated or stopped when moving from one obstacle O to another obstacle O. The "obstacle edge concentrated sweeping" includes a method of sweeping an edge of one obstacle O located inside the sweeping location a.

As shown in fig. 7, the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 moves counterclockwise (left-handed) while viewing the edge of the obstacle O to the left in the traveling direction. That is, when the main body casing 21 travels along the edge of the obstacle O, the left end of the main body casing 21 is moved along the edge. Since the suction port 45 is offset to the left of the main body casing 21, the main body casing 21 can efficiently suck dust on the wall W when traveling along the edge of the outer edge of the cleaning place a.

The autonomous vacuum cleaner 1 may move clockwise (clockwise) while viewing the edge of the obstacle O to the right in the traveling direction. That is, when the main body casing 21 travels along the edge of the obstacle O, the right end of the main body casing 21 is moved along the edge. In this case, the suction port 45 is preferably provided to be offset to the right side of the main body housing 21.

The autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 may approach the edge of the obstacle O so as to enter from the front surface of the main body casing 21, and may reciprocate around the obstacle O at the same time. In this case, if the suction port 45 is provided at the front end of the autonomous vacuum cleaner 1, the suction force from the suction port 45 can easily reach the edge of the obstacle O, which is preferable. The autonomous vacuum cleaner 1 preferably includes a rotating brush (not shown) which is provided on the front side of the suction port 45 and has a rotating shaft extending in the vertical direction so as to sweep dust into the suction port 45 from the front side of the main body housing 21.

The travel path R3 when the edges of the obstacle O are collectively swept is referred to as an "obstacle edge sweeping travel mode (obstacle edge sweeping travel mode)".

The travel paths R1, R2, and R3 of the outer edge sweeping travel method, the wide area sweeping travel method, and the obstacle edge sweeping travel method may be set to have a portion overlapping each other on the environment map, or may be set not to overlap on the environment map.

In addition, the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 of the present embodiment performs cleaning in conformity with the obstacle edge cleaning travel method at the final stage of cleaning at the cleaning location a. That is, the control unit 43 collectively performs the cleaning of the edges of the inaccessible area in which the obstacle O existing inside the cleaning location a is recognized on the environment map at the final stage of the cleaning location a.

Here, the "final stage of sweeping" refers to a case where a series of sweeping operations after sweeping that moves in the wide-area sweeping travel manner is ended at least once. Before the "final stage of sweeping", either or both of sweeping by the outer edge sweeping travel method and sweeping by the obstacle edge sweeping travel method may be included. Since the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 can specify the outer edge of the cleaning location a by performing the cleaning moving in the outer edge cleaning travel method before the wide area cleaning travel method, the travel path in the wide area cleaning travel method can be easily set.

Further, the control unit 43 may perform the cleaning by moving in the outer edge sweeping travel mode after performing the cleaning by moving in the obstacle edge sweeping travel mode. That is, the control unit 43 may further sweep the edge of the outer edge of the sweep location a after sweeping the edge of the inaccessible area. In addition, the control unit 43 may perform both the cleaning by the outer edge cleaning travel method and the cleaning by the obstacle edge cleaning travel method in different orders at the final stage of the cleaning.

When determining that a plurality of inaccessible areas exist on the environment map and the remaining amount of the secondary battery 22 is insufficient to travel through all the inaccessible areas, the control unit 43 limits the inaccessible areas that are traveled according to the priority. The priority in the case of limiting is, for example, the increase amount of the travel route such as the size (width) of the inaccessible area, the length of the separation distance between the inaccessible area and the charging dock 23, the length of the separation distance between the route returning from the current position to the charging dock 23 and the inaccessible area with the shortest route, or the increase rate of the travel route with reference to the travel route returning directly from the current position to the charging dock 23. The priority may be arbitrarily selected by the user on the map of the operation terminal 7.

The control unit 43 compares the total distance in the case of traveling all the inaccessible areas with the travelable distance estimated from the remaining amount of the secondary battery 22, and determines whether or not the remaining amount of the secondary battery 22 is insufficient to travel all the inaccessible areas. Then, when determining that the remaining amount of the secondary battery 22 is not sufficient to travel through all the inaccessible areas, the control unit 43 compares the total distance when the traveled inaccessible area is decreased by the priority with the travelable distance estimated from the remaining amount of the secondary battery 22, and extracts the traveled inaccessible area based on the priority.

When determining that the remaining amount of the secondary battery 22 is not sufficient to surround the inaccessible region by one turn (one turn), the control unit 43 may start returning to the charging stand 23 in the middle of the surrounding.

Fig. 8 is a plan view of an example of a cleaning place a of the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner according to the embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in fig. 8, the autonomous vacuum cleaner 1 according to the present embodiment can divide the cleaning location a into smaller sub-divisions a and perform cleaning for each of the sub-divisions a. For example, the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 divides the cleaning location a into 9 sub-areas a1, a2, a3, a4, a5, a6, a7, a8, and a9, and performs cleaning on the sub-area a1 to the sub-area a9 in this order or in a different order. At this time, the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 finishes the final cleaning of a certain cell a and then starts the cleaning of the next cell a. The sub-division a to be scanned is preferably adjacent to the sub-division a whose scanning has just finished. Thus, the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 can efficiently clean the cleaning place a.

These small partitions a are identified by the environment map information and stored in the map information storage unit 77. The small partition a may be automatically distinguished on an environment map prepared in advance according to a predetermined rule, or may be distinguished on the environment map displayed on the operation terminal 7 based on an operation performed by the user. The small partition a may be automatically divided according to a predetermined rule on an environment map created while estimating its own position by SLAM.

The rule for setting the small partition a is, for example, to divide the cleaning place a into a square of 3 meters at maximum. The rule for setting the small partition a is, for example, to divide a plurality of rooms and a corridor connecting the rooms into small partitions.

Then, the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 performs cleaning in conformity with the obstacle edge cleaning travel pattern in the final stage of cleaning of the small section a for each small section a. That is, as shown in the travel paths R3-1, R3-2, R3-3, R3-4, R3-5, R3-6, R3-7, R3-8, and R3-9, the control unit 43 performs the sweeping of the edge concentration of the inaccessible area in which the obstacle existing inside the cell a is recognized, at the final stage of the sweeping of the cell a, for each cell a. In other words, the control unit 43 collectively sweeps the obstacle edge for each small section a.

Further, when the outer edge of the cleaning place a is included in the small partition a, the control unit 43 performs the cleaning around the edge of the outer edge of the cleaning place a included in the small partition a, and does not perform the cleaning around the edge of the small partition a in other cases. Specifically, small section a1 to small section a4, and small section a6 to small section a9 in fig. 8 contain the outer edge of the sweeping place a. Therefore, as indicated by the travel paths R1-1, R1-2, R1-3, R1-4, R1-6, R1-7, R1-8, and R1-9, the controller 43 performs sweeping in which the outer edge sweeping travel mode is moved for each of the cells a1 to a4 and the cells a6 to a 9.

The range of movement of the outer edge sweeping travel pattern may be only the outer edge of the swept place a, in other words, the outer edge in the environment map, or may include all the edges of the boundary of the small partition a1, in other words, the edge passing through the boundary of the small partition a1 inside the environment map. When the sweep is performed in a manner of moving in a peripheral edge sweep traveling manner, it is preferable to perform the final stage of the sweep of the small section a. The small partition a5 in fig. 8 does not include the outer edge of the sweeping location a. Therefore, when the small partition a5 is to be cleaned, the control unit 43 may or may not perform cleaning that moves in the outer edge cleaning travel manner.

As described above, the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 according to the present embodiment cleans the cleaning place a at the final stage of the cleaning, with the edge of the inaccessible area where the obstacle O existing inside the cleaning place a on the environmental map is recognized as concentrated. In other words, the autonomous vacuum cleaner 1 performs cleaning in conformity with the obstacle edge cleaning travel pattern at the final stage of cleaning. Therefore, the autonomous vacuum cleaner 1 does not leave dust which is thrown off during the cleaning process and which has accumulated on the edge of an obstacle O such as a chair leg disposed inside the cleaning place a.

The autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 of the present embodiment recognizes an obstacle O, which is at least a separation distance that the main body housing 21 can pass apart from the outer edge of the cleaning place a, as an inaccessible area on the environment map. Therefore, the autonomous vacuum cleaner 1 can recognize the obstacle O near the outer edge of the cleaning location a to such an extent that the main body housing 21 cannot pass through as a part of the outer edge of the environment map, and reduce the burden of unnecessary calculation of the travel route.

However, as the floor area of the cleaning place a increases, the total number of obstacles O existing inside increases, and the burden of calculation of the optimal travel route in the wide-area cleaning travel method and the obstacle edge cleaning travel method increases. Further, the larger the floor area of the cleaning place a is, the more the total number of obstacles O existing inside the cleaning place a increases, and the longer the total distance of the travel path in the obstacle edge cleaning travel system. Therefore, the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 according to the present embodiment divides the cleaning place a into a plurality of small sections a, and cleans the edge of the inaccessible area where the obstacle O existing inside the small section a is recognized in the final stage of the cleaning of the small section a collectively for each of the small sections a. Therefore, the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 can reduce the load of calculation of the travel path and can set an efficient travel path.

In addition, the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 of the present embodiment restricts the inaccessible area for the travel when it is determined that there are a plurality of inaccessible areas on the environment map and the remaining amount of the secondary battery 22 is insufficient to travel all the inaccessible areas. Therefore, the autonomous vacuum cleaner 1 can finally sweep the edge of the obstacle O as much as possible while avoiding stopping at the sweeping location a in the process of sweeping in conformity with the obstacle edge sweeping travel pattern at the final stage of sweeping.

In addition, the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 according to the present embodiment further cleans the edge of the outer edge of the cleaning location a after cleaning the edge of the inaccessible area. Therefore, the autonomous vacuum cleaner 1 can remove dust accumulated on the edge of the obstacle O inside the cleaning place a as well as dust accumulated on the wall of the cleaning place a.

In the autonomous vacuum cleaner 1 of the present embodiment, when the outer edge of the cleaning place a is included in the small partition a, the cleaning is performed around the outer edge of the cleaning place a included in the small partition a, and when not, the cleaning is not performed around the outer edge of the small partition a. Therefore, the autonomous vacuum cleaner 1 can more reliably remove dust accumulated on the wall of the cleaning location a in addition to dust accumulated on the edge of the obstacle O present inside the cleaning location a.

The autonomous vacuum cleaner 1 of the present embodiment has the suction port 45 provided so as to be shifted to one of the left and right with respect to the traveling direction, and when traveling along the edge of the outer edge of the cleaning place a and the edge of the inaccessible area, the side portion of the main body casing 21 is made to travel along the edge of the outer edge of the cleaning place a and the edge of the inaccessible area. Therefore, the autonomous vacuum cleaner 1 can more reliably collect dust accumulated on the edge of the outer edge of the cleaning location a and the edge of the inaccessible area.

Therefore, according to the autonomous vacuum cleaner 1 of the present embodiment, the travel route is set based on the environment map, and when cleaning is performed along the travel route, cleaning can be completed without leaving any dust accumulated on the edge of the obstacle O disposed inside the cleaning location a.

As described above, the autonomous vacuum cleaner 1 according to the present embodiment is different from the step of cleaning the edge of the floor and the outer edge obstacles such as the wall dividing the outer edge of the cleaning place, the furniture arranged along the wall, and the like, and the step of cleaning the entire cleaning place and then cleaning the edge of the floor and the inner side obstacles such as the table, the chair, and the like located away from the outer edge obstacles as the final cleaning. In this way, even if dust is flicked off by the rotating brush 31 and remains on the edge of an inner obstacle such as a table or a chair or the like and the floor during cleaning of the autonomous vacuum cleaner 1, the dust can be removed at the final stage of cleaning.

However, the step of cleaning the edge of the inner obstacle and the floor surface is not performed only as the final cleaning, but is performed before the cleaning of the entire cleaning site (i.e., the pretreatment step) to obtain a certain effect. Generally, the edges of some obstacles, such as walls, tend to accumulate more dust than other wide and flat locations. Therefore, by performing the pretreatment process of cleaning the edge of the floor and the inner obstacle before cleaning the entire cleaning place, the amount of dust flying due to the cleaning travel of the autonomous vacuum cleaner 1 can be reduced, and the amount of dust remaining on the floor after cleaning can be reduced. In this way, when the pretreatment step of cleaning the edge of the floor surface from the inner obstacle is performed, if the edge of the floor surface from the outer obstacle is also cleaned before the cleaning place is entirely cleaned, more dust can be removed in advance, which is very effective. This effect can be obtained when either the edge of the inner obstacle is first swept or the edge of the outer obstacle is swept.

Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These new embodiments can be implemented in other various ways, and various omissions, substitutions, and changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalent scope thereof.