KR20100104621A - Robot cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A robot cleaner is provided to stably jump an obstacle without recognizing a low-height obstacle as a wall since the rear part of a cleaner does not make contact with the floor due to the rear slope. CONSTITUTION: A robot cleaner comprises a body(10) and a plurality of driving wheels(20). A suction port sucking the foreign materials is formed on the bottom of the body. In order that the body travels, the driving wheels support the body. Slopes(16F,16R) are at least formed on the front part of the bottom edge of the body and the slopes are gradually inclined upward toward the outside.

Description

Robot cleaner

The present invention relates to a robot cleaner for cleaning while driving the cleaning area by itself.

The robot cleaner is a device that cleans the floor of this cleaning area and removes foreign substances such as dust while driving the area to be cleaned according to the input program without the user's manual operation. Unlike regular vacuum cleaners, it saves you the trouble of cleaning and makes good use of your time.

However, the previous robot cleaner had the following problems, which will be described with reference to FIGS. 1A and 1B.

Since the suction power of the robot cleaner is incomparably weaker than that of the vacuum cleaner, the robot cleaner has a lower cleaning effect as the distance between the suction hole and the floor is larger. Therefore, the robot cleaner is generally designed such that the suction port formed at the bottom of the cleaner body 1 is close to the floor, and thus encounters a relatively low obstacle (for example, an obstacle having a height of 5 cm or less, such as a threshold). Considering the size and force of the driving wheel 2, even if it can be sufficiently passed, most of the collision with this obstacle, there was a problem that the cleaning area is limited by recognizing and avoiding this obstacle as a high obstacle such as a wall. For example, it was not possible to expand the cleaning area while freely crossing the room and the room (see FIG. 1A).

In addition, even if the obstacle exceeds a relatively low height, there is a problem in that the rear part touches the floor in this process, or the driving wheel 2 is caught and caught by the obstacle (see FIG. 1B).

It is an object of the present invention to provide a robot cleaner that can expect improved driving and cleaning performance.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the cleaner body has a suction port for suctioning foreign substances on the bottom; It includes a plurality of driving wheels to support the cleaner body to run, the cleaner body is provided with a robot cleaner having an inclined surface that is inclined upward toward the outside at least in front of the bottom edge.

The robot cleaner according to the embodiment of the present invention may further include at least one auxiliary wheel mounted on the lower side of the front inclined surface formed in the cleaner body and performing rolling motion during driving. In addition, the robot cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention and at least one side brush is mounted on the bottom surface of the cleaner body and sweeps the foreign matter while rotating around the axis in the vertical direction; The side brush side may further include a guide for guiding the foreign matter swept by the side brush to the suction port side.

The cleaner body of the robot cleaner according to the embodiment of the present invention may be provided with an auxiliary suction port for suctioning foreign substances on at least one of the left and right sides of the bottom. At this time, the auxiliary suction port may be located on the inclined surface of the front portion of the cleaner body. In addition, the auxiliary suction port is a front end of the suction pipe inserted into the mounting hole formed in the inclined surface of the front portion of the cleaner body to be withdrawn, the suction pipe can be inserted and withdrawn by the suction pipe driving device.

The cleaner body of the robot cleaner according to the embodiment of the present invention may have a disk shape, and the suction port may be disposed at the center of the cleaner body.

On the other hand, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the cleaner body and the suction inlet is formed on the bottom suction; A plurality of driving wheels supporting the cleaner body to be movable; The robot cleaner may be provided to protrude forward to the cleaner body and include at least one auxiliary wheel that performs rolling motion when driving.

In addition, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the cleaner body and the suction inlet is formed on the bottom suction; It includes a plurality of driving wheels to support the cleaner body to run, the cleaner body may be provided with a robot cleaner having an inclined surface is inclined upward toward at least the rear portion of the bottom edge toward the outside.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a perspective view showing a robot cleaner according to a first embodiment of the present invention, Figures 3 and 4 are a side view and a bottom view of this Figure 2, Figure 5 is a robot cleaner according to a first embodiment of the present invention The operation state of.

As shown, the robot cleaner according to the first embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as the first embodiment) includes a cleaner body 10, two driving wheels 20 and a driving device thereof (not shown), and an auxiliary device. Control means (not shown), such as a wheel 30, an obstacle sensor 40, and a microprocessor, wherein the driving wheel 20 and the auxiliary wheel 30 are formed on the bottom surface of the cleaner body 10. Disposed in a triangular structure to support the cleaner body 10 so as to be spaced upwardly from the bottom F of the cleaning area, and the obstacle detecting sensor 40 is an obstacle of the cleaning area (for example, an indoor wall, a cabinet, a table). The legs of the chair, etc.), and the control means controls the operation of the driving device for the driving wheel 20 according to a signal input from the obstacle detecting sensor 40 so that the cleaner body 10 travels by avoiding obstacles. .

In addition, the first embodiment further includes a bumper 50 which surrounds and protects the front part of the circumference of the cleaner body 10 and a suction device (not shown) which sucks and removes foreign substances from the bottom F. In addition to this, the main brush 60 and its drive (not shown), the side brush 70 and its drive (not shown), and the guide 80 are outside this. More).

The cleaner body 10 is formed in a disk shape. Of course, depending on the implementation conditions, the front part may be circular and the rear part may be rectangular. The disk-shaped cleaner body 10 has a main suction port 12 and an auxiliary suction port 14 for suctioning foreign substances on the bottom thereof, and the main suction hole 12 is located at the center and has a slot shape long in the horizontal direction. Is formed. The main inlet 12 is located at the center because the length of the main inlet 12 can be longer than that of the case where the main inlet 12 is formed at another position, and thus the suction region can be further extended to the left and right.

The cleaner body 10 is further provided with inclined surfaces 16F and 16R at the front and rear portions of the bottom edges thereof. The front and rear inclined surfaces 16F and 16R are both formed to have a shape inclined upward gradually toward the outside. The front and rear inclined surfaces 16F and 16R may be curved to be convex or concave. As for the inclined surface 16F of the front side, the auxiliary suction opening 14 is arrange | positioned at at least one of the left and right sides. Here, the auxiliary suction port 14 was arranged on the left side (right side in the bottom view). On the other hand, the bottom face of the cleaner body 10 can also make the whole edge into an inclined surface.

The drive wheels 20 are mounted on the left and right sides of the main suction holes 12, respectively. The number of driving wheels 20 may be increased. The drive wheels 20 are driven independently by their drive devices. The drive device for the drive wheel 20 includes a drive motor. The driving device for the drive wheel 20 may further include a transmission means for transmitting the power of the drive motor to the drive wheel 20, wherein the transmission means may include a gear.

The auxiliary wheel 30 is mounted on the lower side of the front inclined surface 16F so as to be located on the front-rear center line of the cleaner body 10. Two or more such auxiliary wheels 30 may be provided for stable support of the cleaner body 10.

Obstacle sensor 40 is a touch sensor for detecting whether the contact with the obstacle, a motion sensor for detecting the movement of the obstacle (including humans or animals), measuring the distance to the obstacle located in the front and / or side It may include a distance sensor, a floor detection sensor for detecting the cliff (low floor caused by not being horizontal) of the floor (F), these sensors may be used, such as a switch, an infrared sensor, an ultrasonic sensor.

The bumper 50 for alleviating the impact applied to the cleaner body 10 by the collision with the obstacle includes a bumper body. The bumper body may be equipped with a contact sensor, a motion sensor or a distance sensor as the obstacle sensor 40. The bumper 50 may further include at least one elastic member, which may be mounted to the rear of the bumper body and interposed between the cleaner body 10 and the bumper body.

The suction device accommodated in the cleaner body 10 includes a plurality of suction force generating means connected to the main suction hole 12 and the auxiliary suction hole 14, respectively, through the main suction hole 12 or the auxiliary suction hole 14 by the suction force generating means. It includes a dust collector for collecting foreign substances to be sucked. Each suction force generating means may include a vacuum motor.

The main brush 60 is a roll-type brush and is accommodated in the main suction port 12 so as to be rotatable about an axis parallel to the main suction port 12 and at a constant speed by a driving device including a driving motor. While rotating, the foreign material on the floor F is swept up toward the main inlet 12.

The side brush 70 is mounted on at least one of the left and right sides of the bottom surface of the cleaner body 10 to be positioned between the main suction port 12 and the auxiliary suction port 14. The side brush 70 is rotated about an axis in the vertical direction by a drive device including a drive motor.

The guide 80 prevents scattering by guiding the foreign matter swept away by the side brush 70 to the main suction port 12 side. The guide 80 is mounted on the bottom of the cleaner body 10 and is formed in a shape surrounding a part of the circumference of the side brush 70. Although the guide 80 is illustrated as being arc-shaped, the guide 80 may be straight.

The first embodiment, configured as described above, overcomes this obstacle as follows when encountering an obstacle having a relatively low height (for example, an obstacle having a height of 5 cm or less, such as a threshold).

First, the front inclined surface 16F contacts the obstacle. (See FIG. 5A) At this time, the cleaner body 10 is naturally unimpeded by the guide action of the front inclined surface 16F. I can hear it. Next, the auxiliary wheel 30 is in contact with the obstacle to start over the obstacle, in this process the cleaner body 10 does not reach the bottom (F) by the rear inclined surface (16R). Therefore, the first embodiment can stably pass over a obstacle having a relatively low height without recognizing it as a relatively high obstacle such as a wall.

In the first embodiment configured as described above, the drive device for the drive wheel 20, the suction device, the drive device for the main brush 60 and the drive device for the side brush 70 are as follows according to the control of the control means: Works together.

The suction force generating means connected to the main suction port 12 and the driving device for the main brush 60 are continuously operated during cleaning to remove foreign substances on the floor F.

Auxiliary suction port 14 is provided for the purpose of more effectively removing foreign matter present in the corner of the cleaning area. Therefore, the suction force generating means connected to the auxiliary suction port 14 may be operated only when the cleaner body 10 is located at the corner when cleaning. In addition, the operation of the drive device for the driving wheel 20 may be stopped for a predetermined time so that the cleaner body 10 may temporarily stay at the corner. At this time, the auxiliary suction port 14 is formed on the front inclined surface 16F, so that the suction force extends over the floor F and the wall above the corner (see FIG. 5C). Only the bottom of the floor (F) can remove foreign material at the same time.

Since the side brush 70 is provided to remove foreign substances on the side, the driving device for the side brush 70 is limited to while the cleaner body 10 is driving close to an obstacle (for example, a wall) when cleaning. Can work.

6 is a right side view of the robot cleaner according to the second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 6, the robot cleaner according to the second embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter, referred to as a second embodiment) is Compared with the first embodiment, the other configurations and functions are all the same, but only the mounting structure of the auxiliary wheel 30A is different. That is, the auxiliary wheel 30A of the second embodiment is mounted on the bottom of the cleaner body 10 so as to protrude slightly toward the front of the cleaner body 10. As the mounting means for the auxiliary wheel 30A, a wheel bracket ( wheel brackets) may be applied.

According to such an auxiliary wheel 30A, when the second wheel encounters an obstacle having a relatively low height, the auxiliary wheel 30A preferentially contacts the obstacle, so that the obstacle can be easily crossed.

On the other hand, in the second embodiment, since the height may be over a relatively low obstacle without the front inclined surface 16F, the front inclined surface 16F may not be applied.

7 is a sectional view showing the main part of the robot cleaner according to the third embodiment of the present invention. As shown, the robot cleaner (hereinafter, referred to as the third embodiment) according to the third embodiment of the present invention has the same configuration and operation as that of the first embodiment, and only the structure of the auxiliary suction port is the same. This is different.

In the third embodiment, a mounting hole is formed in at least one of the left and right sides of the front inclined surface 16F, and the suction pipe 90 is inserted to be pulled out by the slide guide means. That is, the suction pipe 90 inserted into the mounting hole can be drawn out to protrude from the front inclined surface 16F. This third embodiment uses the tip of the suction pipe 90 as an auxiliary suction port. And the opposite end of the suction pipe 90 is connected to the suction force generating means for the auxiliary suction port.

The third embodiment further includes a driving device for the suction pipe 90 which operates according to the control signal of the control means. The driving device for inserting and withdrawing the suction pipe 90 includes an electromagnet 92 and a magnet 94 disposed to face each other. One of the electromagnet 92 and the magnet 94 is mounted to the suction pipe 90 and the other is mounted to the surrounding fixed parts. The attraction force and the repulsive force act between the electromagnet 92 and the magnet 94 according to the change in the polarity of the electromagnet 92. During the repulsive action, the suction pipe 90 is drawn out from the mounting hole (see FIG. 7B). On the contrary, the suction pipe 90 is inserted when the attraction force is applied. (See FIG. 7 (A).) In this case, the suction pipe 90 inserted into the mounting hole is preferably formed to be flush with the front inclined surface 16F. do. The driving device for the suction pipe 90 may include a linear motor instead of the electromagnet 92 and the magnet 94.

In such a third embodiment, the driving device for the suction pipe (90) can be operated such that the suction pipe (90) is drawn out only when the cleaner body (10) is located at the corner, and the corners of the auxiliary suction port are closer to the corner. Further improved cleaning efficiency can be expected.

Meanwhile, the third embodiment may be configured based on the second embodiment rather than the first embodiment.

While the present invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the invention.

1 is a diagram illustrating a problem of a general robot cleaner.

2 is a perspective view showing a robot cleaner according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a right side view of FIG. 2.

4 is a bottom view of FIG. 2.

5 is a side view showing an operating state diagram of the robot cleaner according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a right side view of the robot cleaner according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

7 is a sectional view showing the main part of the robot cleaner according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

<Explanation of symbols on main parts of the drawings>

10: cleaner body 12: main intake

14: auxiliary suction port 16F: front inclined surface

16R: Behind slope 20: Drive wheel

30: auxiliary wheel 40: obstacle detection sensor

50: bumper 60: main brush

70: side brush 80: guide

Claims (9)

A cleaner body having a suction port for suctioning foreign matters at a bottom thereof; It includes a plurality of driving wheels for supporting the cleaner body to run, The cleaner body has a robot cleaner having an inclined surface which is inclined upward toward at least at a front portion of a bottom edge thereof. The method according to claim 1, The robot cleaner further comprises at least one auxiliary wheel mounted on the lower side of the front inclined surface formed in the cleaner body and performing rolling motion while driving. The method according to claim 1, At least one side brush mounted on a bottom surface of the cleaner body and sweeping out foreign substances while rotating about an axis in the vertical direction; And a guide for guiding the foreign matter swept away by the side brush from the side brush side to the suction port side. The method according to claim 1, The cleaner body is a robot cleaner provided with an auxiliary suction port for suctioning foreign matter on at least one of the left and right of the bottom. The method according to claim 4, The auxiliary suction opening, the robot cleaner provided to be located on the inclined surface of the front portion of the cleaner body. The method according to claim 5, The auxiliary suction opening is a tip of the suction pipe inserted into the mounting hole formed in the inclined surface of the front portion of the cleaner body to be withdrawn; The suction pipe is inserted into and withdrawn by the suction pipe driving device. The method according to claim 1, The cleaner body is disc-shaped, The suction port is a robot cleaner disposed in the center of the cleaner body. A cleaner body having a suction port for suctioning foreign matters at a bottom thereof; A plurality of driving wheels supporting the cleaner body to be movable; And a robot cleaner which is mounted to protrude forward to the cleaner body and includes at least one auxiliary wheel that performs rolling motion when driving. A cleaner body having a suction port for suctioning foreign matters at a bottom thereof; It includes a plurality of driving wheels for supporting the cleaner body to run, The cleaner body has a robot cleaner having an inclined surface that is inclined upward toward at least at a rear portion of a bottom edge thereof.

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