Self-propelled cleaner

Abstract

It is an object to provide a self-propelled cleaner which facilitates restricting the raising of the cost of the self-propelled cleaner and can positively clean uncleaned areas. The self-propelled cleaner is constructed in such a manner to calculate the minimum of values (L) obtained by using the following equation (1), from present coordinates (Xc, Yc) of a place where a body has been situated, and coordinates (Xn, Yn) of uncleaned areas stored by a mapping operation, specify an uncleaned area relating to the value (L) that is the minimum, causes the body to be traveled to the uncleaned area, and cleans the uncleaned area. L =( Xc−Xn )2+( Yc−Yn )2  Equation (1).

1 . A self-propelled cleaner comprising: 
 a body provided with a cleaner mechanism;    a driving mechanism for realizing steering and driving of said body;    a mapping means for mapping cleaned areas as cleaning-completed area and mapping areas, not to be cleaned, as uncleaned area, while controlling said cleaner mechanism and said driving mechanism and causing said body to be traveled;    an ultrasonic sensor for sensing an obstacle in front of said body;    sidewall sensors for sensing obstacles on right and left sides of said body;    said mapping means being designed in such a manner to assume an interior of a room, that is to be cleaned, as a plane-coordinate system of an X-axis and a Y-axis, take areas to be cleaned by said body at the time of stopping of said body, as unit areas, store coordinates of said cleaning-completed areas and coordinates of said uncleaned areas, and store coordinates of places where said obstacles are present when said obstacles are present in front of said body and on the right and left sides of said body;    an uncleaned area-searching means for calculating the minimum of values (L) obtained by using the following equation (1), from present coordinates (Xc, Yc) of a place where said body is located, and coordinates (Xn, Yn) of said uncleaned areas stored by said mapping means, and searching an uncleaned area that is generally close to a present location of said body;    an uncleaned area-cleaning means for causing said body to be traveled to said uncleaned area that is generally close to the present location of said body and has been searched by said uncleaned area-searching means, and causing said cleaner mechanism to clean said uncleaned area; and    a deleting means for deleting from said mapping means data on said uncleaned area that has been cleaned by said uncleaned area-cleaning means.        L =( Xc−Xn )2+( Yc−Yn )2  Equation (1).    
   
   
       2 . A self-propelled cleaner comprising: 
 a body provided with a cleaner mechanism;    a driving mechanism for realizing steering and driving of said body;    a mapping means for mapping cleaned areas as cleaning-completed area and mapping areas, not to be cleaned, as uncleaned area, while controlling said cleaner mechanism and said driving mechanism and causing said body to be traveled;    said mapping means being designed in such a manner to assume an interior of a room as a plane-coordinate system of an X-axis and a Y-axis, take ranges to be cleaned by said body at the time of stopping of said body, as unit areas, and store coordinates of said cleaning-completed areas and coordinates of said uncleaned areas; and    an uncleaned area-searching means for calculating the minimum of values (L) obtained by using the following equation (1), from present coordinates (Xc, Yc) of a place where said body is located, and coordinates (Xn, Yn) of said uncleaned areas stored by said mapping means, and searching an uncleaned area that is generally close to a present location of said body.        L =( Xc−Xn )2+( Yc−Yn )2  Equation (1).    
   
   
       3 . A self-propelled cleaner according to  claim 2 , further including an uncleaned area-cleaning means for causing said body to be traveled to said uncleaned area that is generally close to the present location of said body and has been searched by said uncleaned area-searching means, and causing said cleaner mechanism to clean said uncleaned area.  
   
   
       4 . A self-propelled cleaner according to  claim 3 , further including a deleting means for deleting from said mapping means data on said uncleaned area that has been cleaned by said uncleaned area-cleaning means.  
   
   
       5 . A self-propelled cleaner according to  claim 2 , wherein said self-propelled cleaner further includes an obstacle sensing means for sensing obstacles in front of said body and on right and left sides of said body; and wherein said mapping means is designed in such a manner to store coordinates of places where said obstacles are present when said obstacles are present in front of said body and on the right and left sides of said body, to thereby map said places as obstacle areas.  
   
   
       6 . A self-propelled cleaner according to  claim 5 , wherein said obstacle sensing means includes an ultrasonic sensor for sensing said obstacles in front of said body.  
   
   
       7 . A self-propelled cleaner according to  claim 5 , wherein said obstacle sensing means includes sidewall sensors for sensing said obstacles on the right and left sides of said body, said sidewall sensors having infrared ray-emitting sections and infrared ray-receiving sections.  
   
   
       8 . A self-propelled cleaner according to  claim 2 , wherein said driving mechanism includes left and right drive wheel motors, a gear unit, drive wheels adapted to be driven through said gear unit by said drive wheel motors, and rotary encoders mounted integrally with said drive wheel motors for sensing actual rotational-directions of said drive wheels and actual rotation angles of said drive wheels.  
   
   
       9 . A self-propelled cleaner according to  claim 2 , wherein said cleaner mechanism comprises side brushes mounted on a bottom of said body, a main brush mounted at a central portion of the bottom of said body, a dust box, and a suction fan for sucking up dirt and/or dust swept by said main brush and facilitating storing of the dirt and/or dust in said dust box.  
   
   
       10 . A self-propelled cleaner according to  claim 2 , wherein said body is adapted to be traveled in a zigzag manner in which when said body arrives at a location short of said obstacle in front of said body while being straightly advanced, said body is turned through 90 degrees and traveled by a predetermined distance, and thereafter turned in the same direction through 90 degrees, and straightly advanced until said body arrives at the location short of said obstacle in front of said body.  
   
   
       11 . A self-propelled cleaner according to  claim 2 , wherein said self-propelled cleaner is designed such that when said body is traveled to a terminal point by carrying out said mapping process, said body is moved to one of several mapped uncleaned-areas that is generally close to a present place of said body, said cleaner mechanism carries out a cleaning process for cleaning said uncleaned area and repeating cleaning until the uncleaned areas of the room interior are all cleaned.  
   
   
       12 . A self-propelled cleaner according to  claim 2 , wherein each of said ranges to be cleaned by said body at the time of stopping of said body is substantially equal to a size of said body BD and taken as a unit area, a vertical direction in the room interior is taken as an X-axis, a lateral direction in the room interior is taken as a Y-axis, coordinates for respective unit areas are in turned written into a memorizing zone as cleaning-completed areas, uncleaned areas and obstacle areas.  
   
   
       13 . A self-propelled cleaner according to  claim 2 , wherein said mapping means is designed in such a manner (a) to carry out a mapping process for mapping said cleaning-completed areas at a step S 100 , said mapping process including writing of coordinates of a place at which said body has been present, as a cleaning-completed area, (b) to judge at a step S 110  whether or not any obstacle has been present on the left side of said body, (c) to map an area on the left side of said body as an obstacle area at a step S 120  when it is judged at the step S 110  that the obstacle has been present on the left side of said body, (d) to map the area on the left side of said body as an uncleaned area at a step S 130  when it is judged at the step S 110  that no obstacle has been present on the left side of said body, (e) to judge at a step S 140  whether or not any obstacle has been present on the right side of said body, (f) to map an area on the right side of said body as an obstacle area at a step S 150  when it is judged at the step S 140  that the obstacle has been present on the right side of said body, (g) to map the area on the right side of said body as an uncleaned area at a step S 160  when it is judged at the step S 140  that no obstacle has been present on the right side of said body, (h) to judge at a step S 170  whether or not any obstacle has been present in front of said body, (i) to map an area in front of said body as an obstacle area at a step S 180  when it is judged at the step S 170  that the obstacle in front of said body has been sensed, (j) at a step S 190 , to cause said body to be turned through 90 degrees in a direction in which no obstacles have been present and uncleaned areas have been present, (k) to cause said body to be advanced by a unit area at a step S 200  when it is judged at the step  170  that no obstacle has been present in front of said body, (1) to judge at a step S 210  whether or not said body was previously turned through 90 degrees, (m) to cause said body to be again turned through 90 degrees at a step S 220  when it is judged at the step S 210  that said body was previously turned through 90 degrees, (n) to judge at a step S 230  whether or not said body has arrived at a terminal when it is judged at the step  210  that said body was not previously turned through 90 degrees, and (o) to terminate said mapping processes when it is judged at the step S 230  that said body has arrived at the terminal.  
   
   
       14 . A self-propelled cleaner according to  claim 13 , wherein said mapping operation includes judging that said body has arrived at the terminal when any obstacles have been sensed in front of said body and on the left and right sides of said body, and when said body has arrived at unit areas in which said body was already traveled.  
   
   
       15 . A self-propelled cleaner according to  claim 2 , wherein said self-propelled cleaner is designed so as to carry out an unleaned area-cleaning operation comprising of: (a) at a step S 300 , calculating the values (L) for respective coordinates (Xn, Yn) of said uncleaned areas from the coordinates (Xn, Yn) and present coordinates (Xc, Yc) of a place where said body has been situated, by using the following equation (1): L=(Xc−Xn)2+(Yc−Yn)2 . . . Equation (1), (b) calculating the minimum of the values (L) at a step S 310 , (c) at a step S 320 , specifying an uncleaned area relating to a value (L) calculated as the minimum, as an uncleaned area generally close to said body, (d) at a step S 330 , causing said body to be traveled to said uncleaned area generally close to said body, while mapping obstacle areas, (e) cleaning said uncleaned area at a step S 340 , (f) deleting data on said uncleaned area at a step S 350 , (g) at a step S 360 , writing coordinates of said uncleaned area having been deleted, as a cleaning-completed area, and mapping said cleaning-completed area, (h) judging at a step S 370  whether or not uncleaned areas were all cleaned, (i) causing a process to be returned to the step S 300  when it is judged at the step S 370  that the uncleaned areas were not all cleaned, and (j) causing the uncleaned area-cleaning process to be terminated when it is judged at the step S 370  that the uncleaned areas were all cleaned.