JP2009037378A - Autonomous travelling device and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an autonomous traveling device designed to efficiently and completely travel in a working area without uselessly rotating a device body to surely avoid obstacles. <P>SOLUTION: The autonomous traveling device includes: right and left driving motors 3b, 3a for moving the device body 1; right, middle and left ultrasonic reception means 6c to 6a for detecting obstacles; a collision detection means 10; and right and left infrared transmitting and receiving means 7b, 7a for measuring the distance to an obstacle laterally of the device body 1. The right and left driving motors 3b, 3a are controlled to control obstacle avoidance and to control movement when the device moves along an obstacle. The right and left infrared transmitting and receiving means 7b, 7a detect the value of the closest distance to an obstacle during the obstacle avoidance control; the obstacle avoidance control comprises rotating the device body 1 by the minimum required angle of rotation based on the value of the closest distance. Thus, the device body 1 can be rotated by the required minimum angle of rotation based on the value of the closest distance. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an autonomous traveling device and a program for traveling while avoiding obstacles such as a cleaning robot, a monitoring robot, a transfer robot, and a lawn mower.

Conventionally, as an autonomous traveling device of this type, when an obstacle is detected while the device main body is running, the distance measurement data of the obstacle detection means is compared to determine whether the obstacle is on the left or right side of the device main body. A device in which the direction of the apparatus main body is changed by an arbitrary angle to avoid an obstacle is known (for example, see Patent Document 1).
JP 2002-136454 A

  However, in the above-described conventional configuration, if the direction change angle of the apparatus body at the time of obstacle detection is arbitrary, a new obstacle cannot be detected after the direction change and the vehicle cannot go straight. You may have to avoid obstacles. In addition, when an arbitrary angle is rotated, the rotation may be more than necessary than the position where the obstacle is avoided, resulting in a useless movement.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention solves the above-described conventional problems, and provides an autonomous traveling device and program that can avoid unnecessary obstacles, reliably avoid an obstacle, and can travel in a work area efficiently and without bias. The purpose is to provide.

  In order to solve the above-described conventional problems, an autonomous traveling device and a program according to the present invention include traveling / steering means for moving the apparatus main body, obstacle detection means for detecting an obstacle in the forward direction of the apparatus main body, and obstacles. A collision detecting means for detecting that the vehicle has collided, a distance measuring means for measuring a distance from an obstacle in the side direction of the apparatus main body, and a traveling / steering means based on inputs from the obstacle detecting means and the collision detecting means. And a movement control means for controlling the obstacle avoidance control and the movement control when moving along the obstacle, and the distance measuring means is at least at a position in front of the apparatus main body or at a position in front of the apparatus. Provided one each on the left and right, when the obstacle avoidance control by the movement control means is executed, the closest approach value to the obstacle is detected, and the movement control means rotates the device main body by the minimum necessary rotation angle based on this closest approach value. To let Those were.

  Accordingly, the closest approach value to the obstacle can be detected at the time of executing the obstacle avoidance control by the movement control means by the distance measuring means provided at least one right and left at the position in front of the apparatus main body. The movement control means can rotate the apparatus main body by a necessary minimum rotation angle based on the closest approach value. For this reason, it is possible to eliminate the useless rotation of the apparatus main body, reliably avoid an obstacle, and to travel in the work area efficiently and without bias.

  The autonomous traveling device and program of the present invention can avoid unnecessary obstacles by avoiding unnecessary rotation of the apparatus body, and can travel in the work area efficiently and without bias.

  A first aspect of the invention is a travel / steering means for moving the apparatus main body, an obstacle detection means for detecting an obstacle in the forward direction of the apparatus main body, a collision detection means for detecting a collision with the obstacle, and the apparatus main body. Distance measuring means for measuring the distance to the obstacle in the lateral direction of the vehicle, and the obstacle avoidance control and along the obstacle by controlling the traveling / steering means based on the inputs from the obstacle detecting means and the collision detecting means. Movement control means for executing movement control when moving the vehicle, and the distance measuring means is provided at least one on the right and left sides of the main body of the apparatus, and at least one on the left and right sides of the apparatus body. The closest approach value with an obstacle is detected during execution of the movement, and the movement control means is an autonomous traveling device that rotates the apparatus main body by a necessary minimum rotation angle based on the closest approach value. Accordingly, the closest approach value to the obstacle can be detected at the time of executing the obstacle avoidance control by the movement control means by the distance measuring means provided at least one right and left at the position in front of the apparatus main body. The movement control means can rotate the apparatus main body by a necessary minimum rotation angle based on the closest approach value. For this reason, it is possible to eliminate the useless rotation of the apparatus main body, reliably avoid an obstacle, and to travel in the work area efficiently and without bias.

  According to a second invention, in particular, in the first invention, the obstacle detection means can determine whether the position of the obstacle is in the left direction, the center direction, or the right direction with respect to the front of the apparatus main body. The direction in which the obstacle is present can be specified, and the obstacle can be avoided by efficiently rotating without unnecessary rotation.

  According to a third invention, in particular, in the first invention, the collision detection means can determine whether the position of the obstacle is in the left direction, the central direction, or the right direction with respect to the front of the apparatus body. Even if the obstacle detection unit cannot detect the obstacle, the direction in which the obstacle is present can be specified, and the obstacle can be avoided by efficiently rotating without unnecessary rotation.

  According to a fourth aspect of the invention, in particular, in any one of the first to third aspects of the invention, the movement control means rotates the apparatus main body by a necessary minimum rotation angle with reference to the closest approach value by the distance measuring means, and the closest approach. Since the rotation is terminated at a point away from the value by a predetermined value, the rotation is terminated at a position where the obstacle is avoided, so that the obstacle can be reliably avoided without excessively rotating.

  According to a fifth aspect of the invention, in particular, in any one of the first to fourth aspects of the invention, the obstacle avoidance control by the movement control means is configured such that, for example, the obstacle is on the front side by setting the minimum rotation angle in advance. In order to avoid obstacles on the front side in order to avoid obstacles on the front side, if the obstacles on the front side cannot be avoided without rotating the device body, by providing a minimum rotation angle, The obstacle on the front side can be surely avoided without the end of rotation by avoiding the obstacle on the side surface by the distance measuring means.

  According to a sixth aspect of the invention, in particular, in the fourth or fifth aspect of the invention, the rotation of the apparatus main body by the obstacle avoidance control is performed by the distance measuring means during the rotation of the apparatus main body by setting the maximum rotation angle in advance. Even when the distance from the obstacle cannot be correctly detected, it is possible to prevent the rotation from being wasted.

  In a seventh aspect of the invention, in particular, in any one of the first to sixth aspects of the invention, the rotation of the apparatus main body by the obstacle avoidance control executes movement control when the apparatus main body moves along the obstacle. In this case, by determining the rotation direction in the direction opposite to the obstacle side, it is possible to efficiently avoid the obstacle by avoiding the obstacle by reducing the rotation angle as much as possible.

  According to an eighth invention, in particular, in any one of the first to seventh inventions, the distance measuring means uses an infrared sensor, so that the infrared sensor has a strong directivity compared to an ultrasonic sensor or the like. Utilizing the high accuracy of the distance, when rotating and avoiding from the state of approaching the obstacle, the distance to the obstacle can be measured with high accuracy, so it is possible to obtain an accurate closest value and more reliably Things can be avoided.

  In particular, the ninth invention is a program for causing a computer to realize at least part of the functions of the autonomous mobile device according to any one of the first to eighth inventions. Since it is a program, it is possible to easily realize at least a part of the autonomous mobile device by cooperating hardware resources such as an electric / information device, a computer, and a server. Also, program distribution and installation can be simplified by recording on a recording medium or distributing a program using a communication line.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments.

(Embodiment 1)
1 to 5 illustrate a self-propelled cleaner as the autonomous traveling device in the first embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, an apparatus main body 1 of an autonomous traveling device includes a driving wheel 2 disposed on the left and right for driving traveling, a left driving motor 3 a that drives a left driving wheel 2, and a right that drives a right driving wheel 2. A drive motor 3b, a cleaning means 4 for sucking up dust and dirt on the floor surface by a nozzle, a brush and a suction motor are provided. The movement direction of the apparatus main body 1 can be changed by independently controlling the rotation of the left drive motor 3a and the right drive motor 3b, and the traveling / steering means 3 for moving the apparatus main body 1 as shown in FIG. Is configured.

  In addition, in order to detect an obstacle in front of the apparatus main body 1, ultrasonic waves are transmitted at regular intervals from two ultrasonic transmission units, the left ultrasonic transmission unit 5a and the right ultrasonic transmission unit 5b, and reflected by the obstacle. The ultrasonic waves are received by the three ultrasonic sensor receiving means of the left ultrasonic receiving means 6a, the middle ultrasonic receiving means 6b, and the right ultrasonic receiving means 6c to measure the distance to the obstacle. The left ultrasonic receiving means 6a, the middle ultrasonic receiving means 6b, and the right ultrasonic receiving means 6c constitute an obstacle detecting means 6 that detects an obstacle in the forward direction of the apparatus main body 1 as shown in FIG. . As shown in FIG. 1, the left ultrasonic receiving means 6a is mainly in the front left direction of the apparatus main body 1, the middle ultrasonic receiving means 6b is in the front center direction, and the right ultrasonic receiving means 6c is in the front right side. It has become a direction.

  In addition, the apparatus main body 1 includes a left infrared transmission / reception means that uses an infrared sensor to measure a short distance in order to smoothly run parallel to the wall (obstruction) without meandering. 7a and left infrared transmission / reception means 7b are provided on the left side and right side of the apparatus main body 1, respectively. The left infrared transmission / reception means 7a and the left infrared transmission / reception means 7b constitute distance measurement means 7 for measuring the distance from the side wall of the apparatus main body 1 as shown in FIG. The left infrared transmission / reception means 7a and the left infrared transmission / reception means 7b are attached at positions closer to Θ = 18 degrees forward than the center line A in the front-rear direction of the apparatus body 1, but are not limited thereto. is not. In other words, it is sufficient that at least one right side and one left side is provided at the front side of the apparatus main body 1 or at the front part from the side. Thereby, an effect is exhibited in parallel running with the wall of device main part 1 and obstacle avoidance.

  Further, there are a plurality of auxiliary wheels 8 (only one is shown in the figure) to support the apparatus main body 1 during traveling, and a traveling sensor 9 is provided to detect the traveling state depending on whether or not the auxiliary wheel 8 is rotating. .

  In addition, the front portion of the apparatus main body 1 is provided with a collision detection means 10 that detects when an obstacle collides with the obstacle. As shown in FIG. 2, the collision detection means 10 has a left collision detection means 10a, a middle collision detection means 10b, and a right collision detection means so that it can detect the three collision directions of the left side of the main body, the front side of the main body and the right side of the main body. 10c. The collision detection means 10 may be a mechanical method in which a switch is pressed to detect a collision with a bumper structure, or a detection method using light receiving and emitting light such as infrared rays.

  In addition, an angular velocity measuring unit 11 is provided to grasp the angle at which the apparatus main body 1 is facing. The angular velocity measuring means 11 is used when the apparatus body 1 is rotated by a specified angle using a gyro sensor or the like.

  In FIG. 2, the movement control means 21 controls the output to the left drive motor 3 a and the right drive motor 3 b that are the travel / steering means 3 in accordance with the inputs of the obstacle detection means 6 and the collision detection means 10.

  Further, when the obstacle detection means 6 or the collision detection means 10 detects an obstacle, the movement control means 21 is composed of a left infrared transmission / reception means 7a and a left infrared transmission / reception means 7b, which will be described in detail later. Obstacle avoidance control 22 is performed using the distance measuring means 7, and outputs to the left drive motor 3a and the right drive motor 3b are controlled to avoid obstacles. The reason why the infrared transmission / reception means is used as the distance measurement means 7 is that the directivity is higher than that of the ultrasonic detection means and the proximity distance can be detected with high accuracy.

  Further, when the apparatus main body 1 travels along the wall, the movement control means 21 performs the movement control 23 in accordance with the input of the distance measuring means 7 in the direction along the left, the left drive motor 3a and the right drive motor 3a. The output to the drive motor 3b is controlled.

  The movement control means 21 controls the output to the left drive motor 3a and the right drive motor 3b by using the measurement value of the angular velocity measurement means 11 when rotating the apparatus body 1 by a specified angle. Or exit.

  Next, an operation for detecting and avoiding an obstacle will be described with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 3A, when an obstacle W1 such as a round bar is detected and stopped near the front right side of the apparatus main body 1, the apparatus main body 1 rotates to the left, and the position shown in FIG. Rotate until. The right infrared transmission / reception means 7b of the distance measurement means 7 during rotation detects the closest approach value with the obstacle W1, as shown in FIG. The movement control means 21 rotates the apparatus main body 1 by a necessary minimum rotation angle based on this closest approach value. In other words, the rotation is terminated when the distance from the closest approach is α mm. A dotted line is a locus when rotation is not completed.

  This operation is realized by the flowchart of FIG.

  In FIG. 5, while the apparatus main body 1 is moving forward (S11), if the distance from the obstacle W1 is detected within 5 cm by any of the left ultrasonic receiving means 6a, the middle ultrasonic receiving means 6b, and the right ultrasonic receiving means 6c. (S12), the apparatus main body 1 stops (S13). In addition, if 5 cm is a distance that can be stopped without colliding with the obstacle W <b> 1 after the obstacle W <b> 1 is detected based on the traveling speed of the apparatus body 1, a smaller distance is desirable because it can be cleaned to every corner.

  When the apparatus main body 1 stops, the current angle is initialized because the current angle is used as a reference (S14). The distance between the obstacle W1 detected by the left ultrasonic receiver 6a and the distance between the obstacle W1 detected by the right ultrasonic receiver 6c are compared (S15), and rotation in the far direction is started (S16, S17).

  Start rotation, measure the distance to the obstacle W1 at regular intervals with the infrared transmission / reception means (the right infrared transmission / reception means 7b in the case of counterclockwise rotation) on the opposite side of the rotation direction, leave a history, and from the closest value When the distance is αmm away, the rotation is finished (S18, S19). Note that the value of αmm is assumed to be a position at which the side (side surface) of the apparatus main body 1 is closest to the obstacle W1. This is determined by the mounting position and rotation speed of the infrared transmission / reception means, the sampling time for distance measurement, and the like, and is 3 mm in this embodiment. Steps S13 to S19 are operations of the obstacle avoidance control 22.

  After the end of the rotation, the vehicle travels along the wall if it is a mode for traveling forward or traveling along the wall (S20). Which operation is performed may be a method in which the user can select a travel mode at the start of cleaning, or a method in which the apparatus main body 1 automatically determines.

  In this way, when the end of the rotation is determined to be 3 mm away from the closest approach value of the distance measuring means 7, it is only necessary to rotate by the minimum rotation angle necessary to avoid the obstacle W1, and further. Even when the movement control 23 is performed when traveling along the wall, the right infrared transmission / reception means 7b can immediately catch an obstacle W1 such as a round bar, so that the obstacle near the obstacle W1 along the obstacle W1. Garbage can be cleaned cleanly.

  In S13, the obstacle detection unit 6 stops the operation. However, even when the collision detection unit 10 detects a collision and moves back a certain distance and then stops, the operation is similarly performed by performing the operations of S14 to S20. The object W1 can be avoided.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, at the time of executing the obstacle avoidance control by the movement control means 21 by the distance measuring means 7 provided at least one each on the right and left sides in front of the apparatus body 1 at the front part. The closest approach value with the obstacle W can be detected, and the movement control means 21 can rotate the apparatus main body 1 by a necessary minimum rotation angle based on this closest approach value. For this reason, useless rotation of the apparatus main body 1 can be eliminated, the obstacle W can be reliably avoided, and the work area can be traveled efficiently and without bias.

(Embodiment 2)
6-9 has shown the autonomous traveling apparatus in Embodiment 2 of this invention. The same elements as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.

  This embodiment is characterized by obstacle avoidance control in a situation where there are two obstacles.

  As shown in FIG. 6 (a), in the situation where the apparatus body 1 is stopped by detecting obstacles W1 and W2 such as two round bars on the front side and the right side, it rotates in the left direction, and FIG. It is necessary to rotate to a position where the obstacles W1 and W2 on the front side as shown in FIG.

  Therefore, when it is recognized that there is an obstacle ahead, the minimum rotation angle (60 degrees in the present embodiment) is forcibly set in advance and the apparatus main body 1 is rotated, and then the distance measurement during rotation is performed. Using the change in distance of the right infrared transmission / reception means 7b of the means 7, as shown in FIG. 7, after the rotation at the minimum rotation angle, the rotation is terminated when the distance from the closest distance is α mm (3 mm) away. A dotted line is a locus when rotation is not completed. The rotating angle is determined by an input value from the angular velocity measuring means 11.

  This operation is realized by the flowchart of FIG.

  In FIG. 8, while the apparatus main body 1 is moving forward (S51), if any of the left ultrasonic receiving means 6a, the middle ultrasonic receiving means 6b, and the right ultrasonic receiving means 6c detects that the distance from the obstacle is within 5 cm ( In S52, the apparatus main body 1 stops (S53). In addition, 5 cm is desirable because a smaller distance can be cleaned to every corner as long as it can be stopped without collision with the obstacle after the obstacle is detected by the traveling speed of the apparatus main body 1.

  When the apparatus main body 1 stops, the current angle is initialized because the current angle is used as a reference (S54). Next, in order to avoid obstacles, the direction of rotation is determined. If movement control is in progress along the wall, it rotates in the direction opposite to the direction in which it is along (S59). The distance detected by the sound wave receiving means 6a is compared with the distance detected by the right ultrasonic wave receiving means 6c (S56), and rotation in the far direction is started (S57, S58).

  When the apparatus main body 1 is stopped, the distances between the left ultrasonic wave receiving means 6a, the middle ultrasonic wave receiving means 6b and the right ultrasonic wave receiving means 6c are confirmed, and the minimum rotation angle is determined according to the detection state by the ultrasonic wave receiving means in each direction. The maximum rotation angle is set (S60). For example, in the example of FIG. 6, since there are obstacles W1 and W2 ahead, the minimum rotation angle is set to 60 degrees and the maximum rotation angle is set to 120 degrees. If the obstacle is directly in front, the apparatus main body 1 needs to rotate at least 90 degrees in order to move forward after the rotation and not collide with the obstacle. Since it is difficult to determine whether the obstacle is in front of or slightly out of front, the minimum rotation angle is determined to be 60 degrees, which is less than 90 degrees, in consideration of the angle within the range that can be detected by the medium ultrasonic wave receiving means 6b. did. That is, after rotating unconditionally by 60 degrees, the closest approach value to the obstacle W2 is detected by using the distance change detected by the infrared transmission / reception means of the distance measuring means 7, and the obstacle is accurately avoided. .

  Thus, in order to avoid an obstacle according to the direction in which the obstacle is detected by the obstacle detection means 6 or the collision detection means 10, a minimum rotation angle and a maximum rotation angle as shown in the table of FIG. 9 are provided. The minimum rotation angle and the maximum rotation angle are provided for an obstacle that needs the most rotation to avoid it.

  In the table of FIG. 9, when the ◯ mark is detected in the three directions detected by the obstacle detection means 6 or the collision detection means 10 as the input information, the x mark indicates the case where it is not detected. Whether or not it has been detected is determined in accordance with the detection distance, for example, when the obstacle detection means 6 detects an obstacle with a circle mark of less than 5 cm and with a mark of 5 cm or more. In FIG. 9, the minimum rotation angle and the maximum rotation angle are classified by a total of 8 patterns, but the minimum rotation angle and the maximum rotation angle are provided in more detail according to the detection distance of each direction of the obstacle detection means 6. Also good.

  Further, by providing the maximum rotation angle, even if the closest approach value cannot be detected by the infrared transmission / reception means of the distance measuring means 7, it can be prevented that the rotation is unnecessarily rotated.

  If the minimum rotation angle is rotated after the apparatus main body 1 starts rotating (S61), the infrared transmission / reception means opposite to the rotation direction (the right infrared transmission / reception means 7b in the case of counterclockwise rotation) and the obstacle W2 at regular intervals. The distance is measured and a history is recorded, and the rotation is terminated when the distance is closest to α mm (3 mm) from the closest distance (S62, S64). Note that the value of αmm is the same as in the first embodiment, assuming that the side (side surface) of the apparatus main body 1 is closest to the obstacle W2, and that the infrared transmitting / receiving means This is determined by the mounting position, rotational speed, sampling time for distance measurement, and the like, and is 3 mm in this embodiment.

  Also, in the unlikely event that it is not possible to detect the time when the distance measuring means 7 is more than α mm away from the closest distance, the rotation angle is set to the maximum rotation angle set in (S60) in order to prevent excessive rotation. When it reaches, the rotation is finished (S63, S64). As described above, S54 to S64 are the operations of the obstacle avoidance control 22.

  After the end of the rotation, the vehicle travels along the wall if it is a mode for traveling forward or traveling along the wall (S65). Which operation is performed may be such that the user can select the travel mode at the start of cleaning, or the apparatus main body 1 may automatically determine it.

  Thus, even when obstacles W1 and W2 are detected in a plurality of directions as in the situation where there are obstacles on the front side and the right side of the apparatus body 1, the minimum rotation angle is provided with respect to the detection direction. Then, after the minimum rotation angle is rotated, it is assumed that the end of the rotation is 3 mm away from the closest approach value of the distance measuring means 7. As a result, all obstacles can be reliably avoided, and the obstacle W2 such as a round bar can be immediately captured by the right infrared transmission / reception means 7b even in the case of movement control when traveling along the wall. Therefore, dust around the obstacle W2 can be cleaned cleanly. Further, by providing the maximum rotation angle, it is possible to prevent excessive rotation.

  In S53, the collision detection unit 10 detects the collision, but the collision detection unit 10 detects the collision, and after the vehicle has moved backward by a certain distance and then stopped, the collision detection unit 10 detects the left collision detection unit 10a and the middle collision detection. The minimum rotation angle and the maximum rotation angle are set by using the table of FIG. 9 depending on which direction of the means 10b and the right collision detection means 10c is detected, and the obstacles are similarly obtained by performing the operations of S54 to S64. Even if there are multiple, all obstacles can be avoided.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, when avoiding an obstacle, a distance change with the obstacle by the distance measuring means 7 is detected, and the obstacle is avoided on the basis of the change. By rotating the apparatus main body 1 by the rotation angle, obstacles can be reliably avoided, and the work area can be traveled efficiently and without bias.

  Furthermore, by providing the obstacle detection means 6 and the collision detection means 10 that can specify the position of the obstacle in the three directions of the front left side, the front center, and the front right side, even if there are a plurality of obstacles in each direction By using the change in the distance from the obstacle by the distance measuring means 7 after rotating the minimum rotation angle, all obstacles can be reliably avoided.

  Further, by providing the maximum rotation angle, it is possible to prevent excessive rotation even if the distance measuring means 7 cannot detect the closest approach value due to a change in the distance from the obstacle.

  In each of the first and second embodiments, the inter-movement control 23 uses infrared transmission / reception means. However, any means capable of ranging, such as an ultrasonic sensor, that can be controlled to keep a distance from an obstacle constant. Any means may be used. The obstacle avoidance control 22 uses ultrasonic waves, but other means may be used as long as the obstacle can be detected and an equivalent wide-angle visual field can be covered.

  In addition, the obstacle detection means 6 and the collision detection means 10 can detect the three directions of the left side, the center, and the right side of the main body, but the number of sensors is further increased to further limit the places where there are obstacles such as five directions and seven directions. You can make it possible.

  In addition, as the distance measuring means 7, left and right, infrared transmission / reception means are attached just in front of the apparatus main body 1. However, if there is no problem of cost increase even if it is additionally attached to the side, the value of α can be further reduced. The accuracy of the closest approach value to the obstacle used for determining the end of rotation is improved.

  Further, although the angular velocity measuring means 11 uses a gyro sensor or the like, the rotation angle can be determined using a PWM value, a current value, or the like for controlling the motor of the drive wheel without newly using a sensor. It doesn't matter.

  Each of the first and second embodiments can be configured in the same manner as a program for causing a computer to function as all or part of means of the autonomous mobile device. Each means described in the embodiment cooperates with hardware resources such as a CPU (or microcomputer), a RAM, a ROM, a storage / recording device, an electrical / information device including an I / O, a computer, a server, and the like. You may implement with the form of a program. In the form of a program, new functions can be easily distributed / updated and installed by recording on a recording medium such as magnetic media or optical media, or by using a communication line such as the Internet.

  As described above, the autonomous traveling device and program according to the present invention can avoid unnecessary obstacles and reliably avoid obstacles, and can travel in the work area efficiently and without bias. The present invention can be applied not only to a vacuum cleaner but also to autonomous traveling devices in general. That is, the present invention can be applied to an apparatus that travels around an obstacle such as a cleaning robot, a monitoring robot, a transfer robot, and a lawn mower.

The schematic diagram which looked at the autonomous traveling apparatus in Embodiment 1 of this invention from the top Block diagram of the periphery of movement control of the autonomous traveling device Illustration of obstacle avoidance operation of the autonomous traveling device Graph showing distance change of distance measuring means during rotation of the autonomous traveling device Flow chart of obstacle avoidance operation of the autonomous traveling device Explanatory drawing of the obstacle avoidance operation | movement of the autonomous running apparatus in Embodiment 2 of this invention Graph showing distance change of distance measuring means during rotation of the autonomous traveling device Flow chart of obstacle avoidance operation of the autonomous traveling device The figure which shows the table of the rotation angle condition example at the time of the obstacle avoidance of the autonomous vehicle

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Apparatus main body 3 Traveling / steering means 6 Obstacle detection means 7 Distance measuring means 10 Collision detection means 21 Movement control means 22 Obstacle avoidance control 23 Interim movement control

Claims (9)

Traveling / steering means for moving the apparatus body, obstacle detection means for detecting obstacles in the forward direction of the apparatus body, collision detection means for detecting collision with the obstacles, and obstacles in the lateral direction of the apparatus body Distance measuring means for measuring the distance between the obstacle detecting means and the obstacle detecting means and the collision detecting means based on the input from the obstacle detecting means and the collision detecting means to control the obstacle avoidance control and the movement control when moving along the obstacle The distance measuring means is provided at least one on the right and left sides of the main body of the apparatus or at the front of the apparatus main body. When the obstacle avoidance control is executed by the movement control means, the distance measuring means An autonomous traveling device that detects the closest approach value and causes the movement control means to rotate the device main body by a minimum necessary rotation angle based on the closest approach value. The autonomous traveling device according to claim 1, wherein the obstacle detection means can determine whether the position of the obstacle is in the left direction, the center direction, or the right direction with respect to the front of the apparatus main body. The autonomous traveling device according to claim 1, wherein the collision detection means can determine whether the position of the obstacle is in the left direction, the center direction, or the right direction with respect to the front of the apparatus main body. The movement control means rotates the apparatus main body by a necessary minimum rotation angle on the basis of the closest approach value by the distance measuring means, and finishes the rotation when it is away from the closest approach value by a predetermined value. The autonomous traveling device according to any one of claims. The autonomous traveling device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the obstacle avoidance control by the movement control means sets a minimum rotation angle in advance. The autonomous traveling device according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the rotation of the device main body by the obstacle avoidance control has a preset maximum rotation angle. The rotation of the apparatus main body by the obstacle avoidance control is determined so that the rotation direction is determined in the direction opposite to the obstacle side when the movement control is executed when the apparatus main body moves along the obstacle. Item 7. The autonomous traveling device according to any one of items 1 to 6. The autonomous traveling device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the distance measuring means uses an infrared sensor. The program for making a computer perform at least one part of the autonomous running apparatus of any one of Claims 1-8.

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