JP7215043B2 - Autonomous cleaning device - Google Patents

Description

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

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

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

JP 2018-112917 A

However, while conventional industrial autonomous traveling cleaning devices are capable of cleaning narrow passages, they tend to leave uncleaned areas because they travel a certain distance from the wall surface in consideration of safety. Also, if the area to be cleaned is wide, the running time and distance will be long, and there is a risk that the battery will run out.

An object of the present invention is to provide an autonomously traveling cleaning device capable of improving cleaning efficiency.

The present invention is an autonomously traveling cleaning device that cleans a surface to be cleaned while autonomously traveling on the surface to be cleaned. The autonomously traveling cleaning device includes a drive transmission unit that transmits a conveying force in the advancing direction of the autonomously traveling cleaning device to the surface to be cleaned while maintaining the traveling posture of the device main body, and a first cleaning device that sweeps the surface to be cleaned. A suction nozzle is provided with a rotating brush for sucking a first sucked substance collected by the first rotating brush; an expansion nozzle for sucking an object; and a collection box having an intake port for collecting the first sucked substance and the second sucked substance sucked by the suction nozzle and the expansion nozzle from the suction port, The expansion nozzle is provided so as to protrude laterally with respect to the traveling direction.

According to this configuration, for example, the extended nozzle protrudes to the side of the autonomously traveling cleaning device when traveling in a passage with a wide passage width or a passage near a wall, and when the passage width is narrow, the extended nozzle protrudes to the side of the autonomously traveling cleaning device. be accommodated. As a result, the length of the nozzle for sucking dust can be adjusted in accordance with the width of the passage, so cleaning efficiency can be improved.

In the autonomously traveling cleaning device of the present invention, the expansion nozzle has a first position held at a position not protruding laterally from the autonomously traveling cleaning device, and a position at which the expansion nozzle protrudes laterally from the autonomously traveling cleaning device. It is provided so that the posture can be changed between the second posture held by the second posture.

In the autonomously traveling cleaning device of the present invention, the extended nozzle changes from the first posture to the second posture when the autonomously traveling cleaning device travels a predetermined location on the traveling route.

As a result, for example, the extended nozzle protrudes to the side of the autonomously traveling cleaning device when the nozzle travels through a passage with a preset narrow passage width or a passage near a wall.

The autonomously traveling cleaning device of the present invention further includes a holding member that applies a biasing force to the expansion nozzle to hold the expansion nozzle in the second posture, wherein the holding member applies an external force to the expansion nozzle. the expansion nozzle is rotated in the direction in which the external force is applied from the second posture against the biasing force, and the expansion nozzle is rotated when the external force is no longer applied to the expansion nozzle. It returns to the said 2nd attitude|position by force.

According to this configuration, when the extended nozzle contacts an obstacle while the autonomously traveling cleaning device is traveling with the extended nozzle protruding sideways, the extended nozzle rotates backward. Thereby, damage to the expansion nozzle can be prevented.

In the autonomously traveling cleaning device of the present invention, the holding member is composed of an extension coil spring, one end of the extension coil spring is fixed to the extension nozzle, and the elastic extension coil spring is configured to extend the extension nozzle to the extension nozzle. A tensile force is applied to the expansion nozzle so as to maintain the second position.

Thereby, even when the expansion nozzle rotates, it is possible to return to the second posture and maintain the second posture.

In the autonomously traveling cleaning device of the present invention, the air intake includes a first air intake provided on the bottom surface of the collection box and a second air intake provided on a side surface of the collection box, and collects the first suction material sucked by the suction nozzle from the first suction port and stops collection by the expansion nozzle when the expansion nozzle is in the first posture; When the expansion nozzle is in the second posture, the first suction substance sucked by the suction nozzle is collected from the first suction port, and the second suction substance sucked by the expansion nozzle is collected from the first suction port. Collect from the second inlet.

According to this configuration, when the extended nozzle is in the first posture, the dust is sucked by the intake nozzle, and when the extended nozzle is in the second posture, the dust is sucked by the intake nozzle and the extended nozzle. aspirate the kind. Therefore, cleaning efficiency can be improved.

In the autonomously traveling cleaning device of the present invention, when the extended nozzle is in the first posture, the air flow path from the extended nozzle to the collection box is blocked, and the extended nozzle is in the second posture. Then, the air flow path from the expansion nozzle to the collection box is communicated.

As a result, when the extended nozzle is in the first posture, the intake air is blocked from the extended nozzle, thereby preventing a reduction in the suction force in the intake nozzle.

According to the present invention, it is possible to improve the efficiency of cleaning.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the front side of the floor cleaning apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the floor cleaning apparatus. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the rear side of the floor cleaning device, and shows a state in which the expansion nozzle is arranged in the accommodated posture. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the rear side of the floor cleaning device, showing a state in which the extended nozzle is arranged in the side cleaning posture. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the floor cleaning device. 6 is an enlarged view of a main part VI in FIG. 5. FIG. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the structure of a support holder included in the floor cleaning device. FIG. 8 is a side view of the rear portion of the floor cleaning device, (A) is a view showing a state in which the collection box of the floor cleaning device is attached, and (B) is a view showing the collection box on the floor. It is a figure which shows the state removed from the cleaning apparatus. FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing a cross section taken along line XII-XII in FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a flap opening/closing mechanism provided in the floor cleaning apparatus. FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a collection box included in the floor cleaning apparatus. 12A and 12B are diagrams showing changes in posture of an expansion nozzle provided in the floor cleaning device, where (A) is a rear view of the floor cleaning device, and (B) is a floor cleaning device. is a view of the from above. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of the rotation mechanism of the expansion nozzle as viewed from above. FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of the rotation mechanism of the expansion nozzle as seen from the rear.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The battery 14 is provided in the central part of the device body 11 . The battery 14 supplies driving power to the motor 13 and the intake fan 151 . In addition, the battery 14 includes a motor 62 (see FIG. 9) for rotationally driving a rotating brush 26 (described later), a motor 30 (see FIG. 13) for rotationally driving an extension nozzle 19 (described later), and an extension brush 19A (described later). Electric power for driving is supplied to each of the motors 19C (see FIG. 14) for rotational driving. In addition, the battery 14 supplies driving power to a motor 56 (see FIG. 9) for raising and lowering the holder moving mechanism 50, which will be described later.

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

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

3 and 4 are perspective views showing the appearance of the rear side of the floor cleaning apparatus 10. FIG. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the expansion nozzle 19 is provided on the left side of the support holder 17. As shown in FIG. A housing portion 176 , which will be described later, is provided on the left side of the support holder 17 , and the expansion nozzle 19 can be housed in the housing portion 176 . The expansion nozzle 19 is supported by the support holder 17 . Specifically, the expansion nozzle 19 has an accommodation posture (the posture shown in FIGS. 1 and 3) (an example of the first posture of the present invention) in which it is accommodated in the accommodation portion 176, and a position on the left side of the accommodation portion 176 (lateral direction). ) to clean the floor surface 23 on the left side of the apparatus main body 11 (the posture shown in FIGS. 4 and 7) (an example of the second posture of the present invention). It is supported by the support holder 17 as follows. In this embodiment, the expansion nozzle 19 is supported so as to be rotatable between the accommodation posture and the side cleaning posture with the vicinity of the lower end portion of the support holder 17 as the center of rotation. 3 shows a state in which the extended nozzle 19 is arranged in the accommodation posture, and FIG. 4 shows a state in which the extended nozzle 19 is arranged in the side cleaning posture. Details of the expansion nozzle 19 will be described later.

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

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

The holder moving mechanism 50 is provided inside the device main body 11, and is provided on the back side of the device main body 11 as shown in FIG. The holder moving mechanism 50 supports the support holder 17 so as to be movable in the vertical direction D1, and transmits a driving force in the vertical direction D1 to the support holder 17 to move the support holder 17 in the vertical direction D1. In this embodiment, when a maintenance instruction is input from the operation unit 20, the control unit 40 controls the motor 56 to raise the support holder 17, which has been placed at the cleaning position as the initial position, to the maintenance position. be placed in Then, the support holder 17 is held at the maintenance position. After that, when a maintenance end signal is input, the control unit 40 controls the motor 56 to lower the support holder 17 to the cleaning position. Further, when the remaining battery level falls below the threshold, the floor cleaning apparatus 10 returns to the return position, and the control unit 40 controls the motor 56 to raise the support holder 17 to the charging position. When the support holder 17 is placed at the charging position, the floor cleaning device 10 is connected to a charger (not shown) to start charging the battery 14 .

The control unit 40 is provided on the upper part of the device main body 11 . The control unit 40 drives the floor cleaning apparatus 10, drives the intake fan 151 of the intake unit 15, drives the rotating brush 26 and the extension brush 19A, drives the extension nozzle 19, raises and lowers the support holder 17 by the holder moving mechanism 50, It controls the screen display of the display panel 21 and the like. The control unit 40 includes, for example, control devices such as a CPU, ROM, and RAM, and storage media or storage devices such as HDD and flash memory. The CPU is a processor that executes various kinds of arithmetic processing. The ROM is a non-volatile memory in which control programs such as BIOS and OS for causing the CPU to execute various processes are stored in advance. The RAM is a volatile or non-volatile memory that stores various information, and is used as a temporary memory (work area) for various processes executed by the CPU. The control unit 40 runs the floor cleaning apparatus 10, drives the intake fan 151, and rotates the rotating brush 26 and the extension brush 19A by executing various control programs pre-stored in the ROM or storage device by the CPU. It controls the drive, the drive of the expansion nozzle 19, the elevation of the support holder 17, and the like.

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

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

The base portion 171 is formed by bending a sheet metal, and is composed of a base plate 171A attached to the vertical frame 11C and side plates 171B and 171C projecting rearward from both ends of the base plate 171A in the width direction D3. It is configured. Three intake ports 174 (see FIG. 2) for connecting ends of the flexible hoses 24 are attached to the upper end of the base plate 171A. The intake port 174 is formed in a cylindrical shape protruding forward from the base plate 171A.

Three communication holes 175 are formed in the upper end portion of the rear surface of the base plate 171A. The communication hole 175 is formed at a position corresponding to the intake port 174 . The discharge port 167 (see FIG. 9) provided on the side surface of the collection box 16 is connected to the communication hole 175 while the collection box 16 is attached to the box housing portion 172 . This connects the flexible hose 24 and the collection box 16 so that suction from the collection box 16 is possible.

An air filter 169 (see FIG. 9) is provided inside the collection box 16 to collect and remove dust and other contaminants from the air discharged from the discharge port 167 to clean the air. As the air filter 169, for example, a chemical filter, HEPA filter, ULPA filter, or the like can be used.

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

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

As shown in FIG. 7, a rectangular opening 177 elongated in the width direction D3 is formed in the bottom surface 172D of the box housing portion 172. As shown in FIG. The opening 177 communicates with the intake nozzle 18, which will be described later. An air intake port 168 (see FIGS. 8B and 11) provided in the bottom surface 16A of the collection box 16 with the collection box 16 attached to the box housing portion 172 (an example of the first air intake port of the present invention). is aligned with opening 177 . As a result, the air intake nozzle 18 and the collection box 16 communicate with each other, and the dust (an example of the first suction material of the present invention) sucked together with the air from the air intake nozzle 18 can be collected in the collection box 16 through the air intake port 168 . When the collection box 16 is removed from the box housing portion 172, the rotating brush 26 can be viewed vertically from above and is exposed to the outside.

An opening 178 (see FIG. 7) communicating with the expansion nozzle 19 is formed in the lower portion of the left side plate 172B of the box housing portion 172. As shown in FIG. With the collection box 16 attached to the box housing portion 172, the side intake port 161 (see FIG. 11) (an example of the second intake port of the present invention) provided in the lateral side surface 16C of the collection box 16 is opened. It is aligned with opening 178 . As a result, the expansion nozzle 19 and the collection box 16 communicate with each other, and the dust sucked up together with the air from the expansion nozzle 19 (an example of the second sucked matter of the present invention) can be collected in the collection box 16 through the side intake port 161 . .

[Collection box 16]
The collection box 16 collects dust (aspirated matter) such as dust sucked from an intake port 181 (see FIG. 8) of the intake nozzle 18, which will be described later, and is formed in the shape of a box with a hollow inside. . As shown in FIGS. 6 and 11, the collection box 16 is formed in a thin rectangular shape in the front-rear direction D2. As shown in FIG. 8, a sheet-like flap 163 for opening and closing an intake port 168 is provided inside the collection box 16 . The flap 163 is made of elastic synthetic resin such as PET resin.

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

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

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

As another embodiment, flap 163 may be driven and controlled by control unit 40 . For example, as shown in FIG. 10, a solenoid 164 is provided below the flap 163 . The solenoid 164 is rotatably supported by the support holder 17 so as to protrude upward from the opening 177 of the box housing portion 172 . When the collection box 16 is attached to the box housing portion 172 , the upper end of the solenoid 164 is brought into contact with the lower surface of the flap 163 . The control unit 40 drives the intake fan 151 and applies a predetermined driving force (current) to the solenoid 164 . As a result, the solenoid 164 rotates to push up the flap 163 and open the intake port 168 . When control unit 40 stops driving intake fan 151 and solenoid 164 , solenoid 164 returns to its original position and flap 163 covers intake port 168 again.

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

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

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

A pair of rotating brushes 26 (26A, 26B) (first rotating brushes of the present invention) are rotatably provided in the intake nozzle 18 . The rotating brushes 26 are arranged side by side in the front-rear direction D2. A rotating shaft 261 (see FIG. 9) of each rotating brush 26 is rotatably supported through side plates 184 (see FIG. 9) at both ends of the intake nozzle 18 in the width direction D3. In this embodiment, an example in which a pair of rotating brushes 26 are provided in the intake nozzle 18 will be described, but the number of rotating brushes 26 is not limited to a pair (two), and may be one or three or more. There may be.

As shown in FIG. 9 , the support holder 17 is provided with a motor 62 that supplies driving force to the rotating brush 26 . Here, FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing a cross section taken along line XII-XII in FIG. The motor 62 is provided in a housing portion 179 provided between the side plate 172C and the side plate 171C. The rotational driving force of the motor 62 is transmitted to the rotary shaft 261 through a transmission mechanism 64 composed of a plurality of gears. When the motor 62 is driven by the control unit 40 while the floor cleaning apparatus 10 is running, the rotating brush 26 is rotated and the dust on the floor 23 is collected satisfactorily.

A rotating roller 60 is rotatably supported on the rotating shaft 261 of the rotating brush 26A positioned on the front side of the pair of rotating brushes 26 . The rotating rollers 60 are attached to both ends of the rotating shaft 261 . More specifically, as shown in FIG. 9, the rotating rollers 60 are attached to both end portions of a rotating shaft 261 projecting outward in the width direction D3 from the side plate 184 of the intake nozzle 18 .

The rotating roller 60 is provided on the support holder 17 so that its outer peripheral surface is positioned between the peripheral edge of the suction port 181 and the floor surface 23 . That is, as shown in FIG. 9, when the floor cleaning apparatus 10 is in the traveling posture shown in FIG. not.

Here, the collection box 16 is detachably attached to the support holder 17 as described above. Specifically, the collection box 16 is mounted on the bottom surface 172D (see FIG. 7) of the box housing portion 172. As shown in FIG. Therefore, the intake port 168 (see FIG. 11) provided on the bottom surface 16A of the collection box 16 is directly connected to the opening 177 formed on the bottom surface 172D of the box housing portion 172. As shown in FIG. The air intake nozzle 18 is provided vertically below the opening 177, and the air intake nozzle 18 is provided with a rotating brush 26. As shown in FIG. Therefore, the collection box 16 is arranged vertically above the rotating brush 26 through the opening 177 . As a result, the dust swept up by the rotating brush 26 is sucked vertically upward together with the air from the intake nozzle 18 and directly collected in the collection box 16 through the opening 177 and the intake port 168 . In this manner, the intake port 168 of the collection box 16 is provided at a position facing the rotating brush 26 .

Thus, in this embodiment, the intake port 168 of the collection box 16 is provided vertically above (immediately above) the rotating brush 26 so as to face the rotating brush 26 . According to this configuration, when the collecting box 16 is removed from the box accommodating portion 172, the rotary brush 26 is exposed to the outside through the opening 177 as shown in FIG. Therefore, the user can easily see the rotating brush 26 from above and grasp the current state of the rotating brush 26 . Therefore, for example, when dust adheres to the rotating brush 26 or a problem occurs, the user can remove the collection box 16 from the box housing portion 172 to easily maintain the rotating brush 26 . Since the user can easily access the rotating brush 26 in this way, the maintainability of the rotating brush 26 can be improved.

Also in this embodiment, the intake port 168 of the collection box 16 communicates directly with the intake nozzle 18 . According to this configuration, dust sucked up together with air from the intake nozzle 18 is directly collected in the collection box 16 without passing through piping or the like. For this reason, the path of dust moving from the intake nozzle 18 to the collection box 16 is not clogged. In addition, since the moving distance of dust can be shortened, the suction efficiency can be improved.

As another embodiment, the intake port 168 may be provided on the front or rear side surface of the collecting box 16 and at a position facing the rotating brush 26 on the side (horizontal) of the rotating brush 26. good. According to this configuration, when the collection box 16 is removed from the box housing portion 172 , the user can visually check the rotating brush 26 from the side and perform maintenance on the rotating brush 26 .

[Expansion nozzle 19]
The extension nozzle 19 changes its posture from the accommodation posture to the side cleaning posture when the floor cleaning apparatus 10 travels in a predetermined place (passage) on the travel route. For example, the expansion nozzle 19 changes its posture from the accommodation posture to the side cleaning posture when traveling in a passage with a wide width or a passage near a wall. The control unit 40 acquires the current position of the floor cleaning apparatus 10, and when the current position matches the preset location, the motor 30 (see FIGS. 7, 13, and 14) drives the extension nozzle 19 as described above. A first control signal (driving signal) is output to change the storage posture to the side cleaning posture. The motor 30 rotationally drives the expansion nozzle 19 with a driving force corresponding to the first control signal to change it to the side cleaning posture. Further, when the current position of the floor cleaning apparatus 10 moves away from the preset position, the control unit 40 sends a second control signal to the motor 30 to change the extension nozzle 19 from the side cleaning posture to the accommodation posture. (driving signal). The motor 30 rotationally drives the expansion nozzle 19 with a driving force corresponding to the second control signal to change the accommodation posture.

Note that the control unit 40 may control the attitude of the extension nozzle 19 based on the detection result of a sensor (not shown) provided in the floor cleaning device 10 . For example, the control unit 40 outputs the first control signal when the sensor detects a wide passage width exceeding a predetermined passage width or detects a wall. Further, when the sensor detects a narrow passage width equal to or less than a predetermined passage width or detects an obstacle, the control unit 40 outputs the second control signal.

FIG. 12A is a schematic diagram showing how the extended nozzle 19 changes its posture from the accommodation posture to the side cleaning posture. The expansion nozzle 19 rotates in the direction of the floor surface 23 around the rotation axis C1 based on the first control signal, and changes to the side cleaning posture. According to the floor cleaning apparatus 10 having the extended nozzle 19, it is possible to clean a narrow passage when the extended nozzle 19 is in the accommodation posture, and when the extended nozzle 19 is in the side cleaning posture. In this case, a wide area can be cleaned by the rotating brush 26 (first rotating brush of the present invention) and the extended brush 19A (second rotating brush of the present invention).

Further, the extended nozzle 19 is supported so as to be rotatable backward with respect to the direction of travel from the side cleaning posture. For example, as shown in FIG. 12B, when the extended nozzle 19 contacts an obstacle or the like while the floor cleaning apparatus 10 is running with the extended nozzle 19 in the side cleaning posture, the extended nozzle 19 It rotates backward around the rotation axis C2. Thereby, damage to the expansion nozzle 19 can be prevented. When the floor cleaning apparatus 10 passes through the obstacle, the expansion nozzle 19 rotates forward about the rotation axis C2 and returns to its original position.

13 and 14 are schematic diagrams showing a specific configuration of the expansion nozzle 19. FIG. The expansion nozzle 19 is rotatably connected to expansion nozzle holders 31 and 32 . As shown in FIG. 13, one end of the extended nozzle holder 31 is fixed to the opening 178 (see FIG. 7) of the box housing portion 172, and one end of the extended nozzle holder 32 is inserted into the other end. there is The extended nozzle holder 32 is connected to the extended nozzle holder 31 so as to be rotatable around the rotation axis C1 (see FIGS. 13 and 14). Further, as shown in FIG. 14 , the other end of the extended nozzle holder 32 is inserted into the extended nozzle 19 . The expansion nozzle 19 is connected to the expansion nozzle holder 32 so as to be rotatable around the rotation axis C2 (see FIG. 13). A belt 30</b>A that transmits the rotational driving force of the motor 30 is connected to the extended nozzle holder 32 .

The control unit 40 includes various processing units such as a position acquisition unit 411, a travel control unit 412, an extended nozzle control unit 413, and the like. The control unit 40 functions as the various processing units by executing various processes according to various control programs with the CPU. Also, part or all of the processing units included in the control unit 40 may be configured by electronic circuits.

The position acquisition unit 411 acquires the current position of the floor cleaning device 10 . The traveling control unit 412 controls the traveling of the floor cleaning apparatus 10, the driving of the intake fan 151, the lifting and lowering of the support holder 17, and the like, as described above. For example, the travel control unit 412 controls travel of the floor cleaning apparatus 10 according to a preset travel route based on the current position acquired by the position acquisition unit 411 .

The extended nozzle control section 413 outputs the first control signal and the second control signal based on the current position acquired by the position acquisition section 411 . When the first control signal or the second control signal is input from the extended nozzle control unit 413 to the motor 30, the motor 30 is driven to rotate the extended nozzle holder 32 around the rotation axis C1 via the belt 30A. drive. Thereby, the expansion nozzle 19 switches between the accommodation posture and the side cleaning posture.

The extended nozzle holder 32 is provided with an opening 32A (see FIG. 13), and when the extended nozzle 19 shifts from the accommodated posture to the side cleaning posture, the opening 32A communicates with the internal space of the extended nozzle holder 31. do. As a result, the internal spaces of the extended nozzle holders 31 and 32 communicate with each other, and the extended nozzle 19 and the collection box 16 communicate with each other. That is, when the extended nozzle 19 is in the side cleaning posture, an air flow path is formed from the extended nozzle 19 to the collection box 16 . As a result, dust sucked up together with air from the expansion nozzle 19 can be collected in the collection box 16 through the side intake port 161 (see FIG. 11).

When the extended nozzle holder 32 rotates and the extended nozzle 19 assumes the accommodation position, the position of the opening 32A shifts from the position of the internal space of the extended nozzle holder 31, and the space from the extended nozzle 19 to the collection box 16 is displaced. The airflow path is blocked. As a result, the collection box 16 collects dust sucked by the intake nozzle 18 from the intake port 168 when the expansion nozzle 19 is in the accommodation posture, while the expansion nozzle 19 is in the side cleaning posture. In the state of , the dust sucked by the intake nozzle 18 is collected from the suction port 168 and the dust sucked by the expansion nozzle 19 is collected from the side suction port 161 .

In this manner, the floor cleaning apparatus 10 collects the dust sucked by the intake nozzle 18 and the dust sucked by the extension nozzle 19 into the collection box 16 through different routes. When the extension nozzle 19 is in the side cleaning posture, the floor cleaning apparatus 10 stops driving the intake nozzle 18 and drives only the extension nozzle 19 so that the extension nozzle 19 sucks the air. You may collect only garbage.

Further, as shown in FIG. 14, the expansion nozzle 19 is provided with a coil spring 19B (an example of the holding member of the present invention). One end of the coil spring 19B is fixed to the expansion nozzle holder 32, and the other end is fixed to the main body (outer frame) of the expansion nozzle 19. As shown in FIG. The coil spring 19</b>B holds the expansion nozzle 19 so as to be arranged in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the floor cleaning apparatus 10 , that is, on an extension line of the rotating brush 26 . For example, the coil spring 19B is composed of a tension coil spring, and is provided so that a tensile force acts when the expansion nozzle 19 is in the position (holding position) shown in FIG. According to this configuration, when an external force is applied to the expansion nozzle 19 by an obstacle or the like while the floor cleaning apparatus 10 is running, the expansion nozzle 19 moves backward about the rotation axis C2 against the tensile force of the coil spring 19B. rotate to When the expansion nozzle 19 is separated from the obstacle, the expansion nozzle 19 rotates about the rotation axis C2 due to the tensile force of the coil spring 19B and returns to the holding position. In the present embodiment, the coil spring 19B is exemplified as an example of the elastic member, but instead of the coil spring 19B, for example, an elastic rubber cord made of rubber or the like can be applied.

Further, as shown in FIG. 14 , the extension nozzle 19 is provided with a motor 19C, and a control signal (driving signal) is input to the motor 19C from the travel control section 412 of the control unit 40 . The motor 19C rotates the extension brush 19A with a driving force corresponding to the control signal.

According to the above-described configuration, when the extended nozzle 19 collides with an obstacle, it can rotate in a direction that reduces the impact force, so damage to the extended nozzle 19 and the obstacle can be prevented. Since the expansion nozzle 19 can also rotate in the direction of travel, even if an obstacle collides with the rear side of the expansion nozzle 19, it is possible to prevent damage by performing a similar rotation operation.

The expansion nozzle 19 may be provided on the right side of the support holder 17 or may be provided on both the left and right sides of the support holder 17 . When the extended nozzles 19 are provided on the left and right, the control unit 40 (extended nozzle control section 413) may control the two extended nozzles 19 individually. Further, the expansion nozzle 19 may be provided so as to be manually switchable between the accommodation posture and the side cleaning posture.

10: Floor cleaning device 11: Device body 12: Traveling unit 13: Motor 14: Battery 15: Intake unit 16: Collection box 16A: Bottom surface 16B: Side surface 16C: Side surface 18: Intake nozzle 19: Extended nozzle 19A: Extended brush 19B : Coil spring 19C : Motor 26 : Rotating brush 30 : Motor 31 : Extended nozzle holder 32 : Extended nozzle holder 40 : Control unit 161 : Side inlet 163 : Flap 164 : Solenoid 167 : Discharge port 168 : Air inlet 172 : Box housing 411: Position acquisition unit 412: Travel control unit 413: Extended nozzle control unit

Claims (5)

An autonomously traveling cleaning device that cleans a surface to be cleaned while autonomously traveling on the surface to be cleaned,
a drive transmission unit that transmits the conveying force in the traveling direction of the autonomously traveling cleaning device to the surface to be cleaned while maintaining the traveling posture of the device main body;
a suction nozzle including a first rotating brush for sweeping the surface to be cleaned and for sucking a first suction material collected by the first rotating brush;
an expansion nozzle including a second rotating brush for sweeping the surface to be cleaned and for sucking a second suction material collected by the second rotating brush;
a collection box having an air intake for collecting the first and second aspirates sucked by the air intake nozzle and the expansion nozzle from the air intake;
with
The expansion nozzle is provided so as to protrude laterally with respect to the traveling direction, is connected to the collection box via an expansion nozzle holder, and is rotatably connected to the expansion nozzle holder, and , a first posture in which it is held in an upright posture with its lower end as a rotation axis at a position that does not protrude laterally from the autonomously traveling cleaning device; is provided so as to be able to change its posture between a second posture held at a protruded position,
When the expansion nozzle is in the first posture, the expansion nozzle moves inside the expansion nozzle holder by shifting the position of the opening provided in the expansion nozzle holder from the position of the internal space communicating with the collection box. By blocking the space, the air flow path from the expansion nozzle to the collection box is blocked, and when the expansion nozzle is in the second posture, the internal space communicating with the collection box and the expansion nozzle holder are separated. communication with the internal space communicates an air flow path from the expansion nozzle to the collection box;
Autonomous cleaning device. The extended nozzle changes from the first posture to the second posture when the autonomously traveling cleaning device travels a predetermined location on the travel route.
The autonomous traveling cleaning device according to claim 1. further comprising a holding member that applies a biasing force to the expansion nozzle to hold the expansion nozzle in the second posture;
When an external force is applied to the expansion nozzle, the holding member rotates the expansion nozzle from the second posture in a direction in which the external force is applied against the biasing force, and the expansion nozzle is subjected to the external force. returning the expansion nozzle to the second posture by the biasing force when the force is no longer applied;
The autonomous traveling cleaning device according to claim 1 or 2. The holding member is composed of an extension coil spring,
One end of the extension coil spring is fixed to the expansion nozzle,
The extension coil spring applies a tensile force to the expansion nozzle so as to maintain the expansion nozzle in the second posture.
The autonomous traveling cleaning device according to claim 3. the air inlet includes a first air inlet provided on the bottom surface of the collection box and a second air inlet provided on the side surface of the collection box;
The collection box is
collecting the first aspirate sucked by the suction nozzle from the first suction port and stopping collection by the expansion nozzle when the expansion nozzle is in the first posture;
When the expansion nozzle is in the second posture, the first suction substance sucked by the suction nozzle is collected from the first suction port, and the second suction substance sucked by the expansion nozzle is collected. from the second inlet,
The autonomously traveling cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

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