Floor surface cleaning machine, monitoring system, and determination method

Abstract

To suppress occurrence of contamination on a floor surface caused when dirty water after cleaning leaks behind a squeegee device due to an abnormal state of the squeegee device.SOLUTION: A floor surface cleaning machine 1 which executes traveling cleaning to clean a floor surface F by supplying cleaning water while moving a vehicle body 2 includes: a supply pump 14 being a cleaning water supply unit that supplies cleaning water to a cleaning pad 13 and the floor surface F; a cleaning pad 13 being a cleaning member that cleans the floor surface F using the cleaning water; a squeegee device 15 that recovers dirty water after cleaning; a rear camera 8b being a monitoring unit that monitors a state of the squeegee device 15; and an abnormality resolving control unit 75 of a control unit 10 that executes a resolving operation of the dirty water recovery abnormality by the squeegee device 15 when it is determined that the squeegee device 15 is in an abnormal state on the basis of the monitoring result from the monitoring unit by an abnormality determination unit 74 of the control unit 10.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a floor cleaning machine, a monitoring system, and a determination method. [Background technology]

[0002] In the past, self-propelled floor cleaners capable of efficiently cleaning a wide range of floor surfaces have been realized. Recently, so-called cleaning robots equipped with an autonomous traveling function and autonomous floor cleaners that are larger versions of cleaning robots equipped with a floor cleaning function have also been realized.

[0003] Self-propelled floor washer and autonomously traveling floor washer move while spraying cleaning water onto the floor surface, cleaning the floor surface with cleaning members such as brushes and pads, and collecting the wastewater generated after cleaning with the cleaning water using a squeegee device.

[0004] However, in an automatic traveling floor washer that sets a wide cleaning area in advance and automatically travels within the cleaning area to clean the floor, foreign objects such as dust and hair on the floor can interfere with the recovery function of the wastewater after cleaning. It is difficult to completely prevent such wastewater after cleaning from being left uncollected, and since it is not possible to find the wastewater after cleaning each time, it may be necessary to redo the cleaning over the entire cleaning area, which may reduce the cleaning efficiency. For this reason, self-propelled floor washer and autonomous traveling floor washer have been proposed to prevent the wastewater after cleaning from being left uncollected.

[0005] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a cleaning device that is attached to the front of a floor washer. In this cleaning device, in order to eliminate the need for a cleaning operation prior to a cleaning operation even when the cleaning device is turned left and right, a first shaft and a second shaft are rotatably supported by a frame, the first shaft is fixed to the tip of a first arm that extends forward of the floor washer, and the rear end of a second arm having a cleaning tool at its tip is fixed to the second shaft, so that the frame and the second arm rotate in the direction in which the floor washer changes its traveling direction, changing the direction of the cleaning tool.

[0006] Patent Document 2 discloses a floor washer having a squeegee for sucking up dirty water after cleaning. In this floor washer, a wiping mat made of water-absorbent and water-retentive microfiber is provided on the rear side of the squeegee in the traveling direction to further absorb dirty water after cleaning that could not be sucked up by the squeegee, in order to eliminate any remaining cleaning water or streaks of cleaning water by the squeegee of the floor washer with a simple configuration and to eliminate the need for manual wiping up of remaining cleaning water (dirty water) or streaks of cleaning water (dirty water). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0007] [Patent Document 1] JP 2007-007320 A [Patent Document 2] Utility Model Registration No. 3182733 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0008] However, in the conventional floor cleaners such as those in Patent Documents 1 and 2, it is necessary to add cleaning tools and mats, which makes the device larger and less maneuverable. In addition, when these conventional technologies are adopted in an autonomous floor cleaner, an automatic operation mechanism for the cleaning tools and mats is also required, which complicates the structure and increases the product price. Furthermore, in the conventional technologies, the cleaning tools and mats require special care, which reduces the convenience for users.

[0009] In addition, if foreign matter such as cotton dust or hair has accumulated on the floor surface, the foreign matter can get caught between the squeegee device and the floor surface, which can lead to some of the wastewater remaining after suction and collection when the wastewater generated after cleaning with cleaning water is sucked up (remaining collected), or streaks of wastewater leaking out behind the squeegee device due to poor contact between the squeegee device and the floor surface.In particular, with autonomous floor cleaning machines, since the operator cannot visually check each step and reverse the machine to clean again, there is a problem that wastewater is easily left behind or streaks are easily left behind.

[0010] The present invention has been made in consideration of the problems described above, and aims to provide a floor cleaning machine, monitoring system, and judgment method that can prevent the occurrence of floor stains caused by wastewater leaking out behind the squeegee device after cleaning due to an abnormal state of the squeegee device. [Means for solving the problem]

[0011] In order to solve the above problems, a first floor cleaning machine of the present invention is a floor cleaning machine that performs mobile cleaning by supplying cleaning water to clean a floor surface while moving a vehicle body, and is characterized in that it comprises a cleaning water supply unit that supplies the cleaning water, a cleaning member that cleans the floor surface using the cleaning water, a squeegee device that collects wastewater after cleaning, a monitoring unit that monitors the state of the squeegee device, and a control unit that performs an operation to resolve an abnormality in the wastewater collection by the squeegee device when it is determined that the squeegee device is in an abnormal state based on the monitoring result of the monitoring unit.

[0012] With the above-described configuration, the first floor washer of the present invention can prevent floor stains caused by dirty water after cleaning leaking out behind the squeegee device due to an abnormal state of the squeegee device.

[0013] In order to solve the above problems, in the second floor cleaning machine of the present invention, the control unit executes a reset operation of the squeegee device as the resolution operation, which includes a travel stop operation for temporarily stopping travel, a suction backward operation for traveling backward a predetermined first backward distance while continuing to suck up the wastewater after the cleaning by the squeegee device after the travel stop operation, and a squeegee raising operation for raising the squeegee device after the suction backward operation.

[0014] According to the second floor washer of the present invention, it is small and maneuverable, and is configured without increasing the product price, and the squeegee raising action causes the squeegee to lift off the foreign matter caught between the squeegee device and the floor surface and drop it onto the floor surface by the suction backward action and the squeegee device reset action. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the wastewater from being left behind after cleaning with cleaning water, and the occurrence of streaks of wastewater leaking out behind the squeegee device due to poor contact between the squeegee device and the floor surface.

[0015] In order to solve the above problems, in the third floor cleaning machine of the present invention, the monitoring unit is equipped with a rear camera that captures an image of the rear of the floor cleaning machine, and the control unit determines whether or not the squeegee device is in an abnormal state based on the monitoring image captured by the rear camera as the monitoring result of the monitoring unit.

[0016] According to the third floor washer of the present invention, by using the monitoring image captured by the rear camera, it is possible to immediately detect floor stains caused by wastewater leaking out behind the squeegee device after cleaning due to an abnormality in the squeegee device.

[0017] In order to solve the above problems, in a fourth floor cleaning machine of the present invention, the rear camera has wavelength characteristics that respond to near-infrared light, and the control unit determines that the squeegee device is in an abnormal state when it detects an image indicating the presence of moisture on the floor surface rearward of the squeegee device and in contact with the rear end of the squeegee device from the monitoring image captured by the rear camera.

[0018] According to the fourth floor washer of the present invention, by using the monitoring image of the infrared image taken by the rear camera, it is possible to easily detect dirt on the floor caused by wastewater leaking out behind the squeegee device after cleaning due to an abnormality in the squeegee device.

[0019] In order to solve the above problems, in the fifth floor cleaning machine of the present invention, the cleaning water supply unit supplies the cleaning water which is heated warm water, and the control unit determines that the squeegee device is in an abnormal state when it detects an image indicating the presence of warm water on the floor surface rearward of the squeegee device and in contact with the rear end of the squeegee device from the monitoring image captured by the rear camera.

[0020] According to the fifth floor washer of the present invention, by using the infrared monitoring image captured by the rear camera, it is possible to quickly and easily find dirt on the floor caused by dirty water leaking out behind the squeegee device after washing with warm water due to an abnormality in the squeegee device. Furthermore, the fifth floor washer does not need to be equipped with an auxiliary light device, and the monitoring section can be simplified, thereby reducing costs and power consumption.

[0021] In order to solve the above problems, in a sixth floor cleaning machine of the present invention, the squeegee device is provided with a plurality of mark portions spaced apart in the longitudinal direction of the squeegee device, and the monitoring unit detects the positions of the mark portions, recognizes the movement state and / or angular posture of the squeegee device based on the detected positions of the mark portions, and determines whether or not the squeegee device is in an abnormal state based on the recognition result.

[0022] According to the sixth floor cleaning machine of the present invention, by detecting the mark portion of the squeegee device from the monitoring image captured by the rear camera, the movement state and / or angular posture of the squeegee device can be easily monitored, and an abnormal state of the squeegee device can be easily recognized.

[0023] In order to solve the above problems, in a seventh floor cleaning machine of the present invention, the mark portion is composed of a light emitting portion that emits a predetermined light.

[0024] According to the seventh floor washer of the present invention, the relationship between the characteristics of the rear camera and the LED element arrangement pattern and light wavelength of the LEDs constituting the light-emitting portion of the mark portion makes it easy to detect the image of the LED mark portion from the monitoring image captured by the rear camera. Therefore, even in darkness or other conditions, the movement state and / or angular attitude of the squeegee device can be easily monitored based on the monitoring image, and an abnormal state of the squeegee device can be easily recognized.

[0025] In order to solve the above problems, in an eighth floor washer of the present invention, the monitoring unit includes a vibration detection unit.

[0026] According to the eighth floor cleaning machine of the present invention, by using a vibration detection unit, such as a microphone or a vibration sensor, as a monitoring unit, the condition of the squeegee device can be easily monitored based on the audio information and vibration information of the squeegee device, and an abnormal condition of the squeegee device can be easily recognized.

[0027] In order to solve the above problems, the ninth floor cleaning machine of the present invention is provided with a memory unit that stores the state of the squeegee device monitored by the monitoring unit and the running status of the body of the floor cleaning machine, and the control unit generates a learning model to be used for determining whether or not the squeegee device is in an abnormal state by machine learning using the state of the squeegee device and the running status of the body stored in the memory unit, and determines whether or not the squeegee device is in an abnormal state based on the learning model.

[0028] According to the ninth floor cleaning machine of the present invention, whether or not the squeegee device is in an abnormal state is determined based on a learning model generated by machine learning using the stored state of the squeegee device and the running conditions of the machine body, so that an abnormal state of the squeegee device can be reliably recognized.

[0029] In order to solve the above problems, the monitoring system of the present invention comprises the above-mentioned floor cleaning machine and a monitoring device that communicates wirelessly with the floor cleaning machine, and the monitoring device receives and stores image information of the squeegee device captured by the monitoring unit and vibration information detected from the squeegee device by the monitoring unit, generates a learning model used to generate a degree of normality of the squeegee device by machine learning using the stored image information and vibration information, and determines and outputs the degree of normality of the squeegee device based on the learning model.

[0030] In addition, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a method for determining the state of a squeegee device that collects wastewater after cleaning in a floor cleaning machine that performs mobile cleaning by supplying cleaning water to clean a floor surface while moving a vehicle body, the method comprising: a monitoring process for monitoring the state of the squeegee device; and a determination process for determining the degree of normal state of the squeegee device based on image information of the squeegee device in the monitoring process and vibration information detected from the squeegee device in the monitoring process. Effect of the Invention

[0031] According to the present invention, the floor washer and the method for resetting the squeegee device can prevent the occurrence of floor stains caused by dirty water after cleaning leaking out behind the squeegee device due to an abnormal state of the squeegee device. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0032] [Figure 1] 1 is a front perspective view of a floor cleaning machine according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] 2 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the floor cleaning machine according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Diagram 3] 1 is a plan view showing a floor cleaning machine according to an embodiment of the present invention from above. [Figure 4] 1 is a perspective view showing a squeegee device of a floor cleaning machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, viewed from the rear. [Diagram 5]1 is a schematic diagram showing, from the side, the operation of a squeegee device of a floor cleaning machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] 1 is a front view showing an example of a monitoring image captured by a rear camera of a floor washer according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] 4 is a flowchart showing an example of operation of the floor cleaning machine according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] 5 is a flowchart showing an example of a reset operation of the squeegee device in the floor cleaning machine according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] FIG. 13 is a structural diagram showing an example of a neural network applied to machine learning in a floor cleaning machine according to a fourth modified example of the present invention. [Figure 10] 13 is a table showing examples of input parameters applied to machine learning in the floor cleaning machine according to the fourth modified example of the present invention. [Figure 11] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of monitoring image and vibration analysis in a floor washer according to a fourth modified example of the present invention. [Figure 12] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the floor washer according to the fourth modified example of the present invention. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing an example of operation of the floor washer according to the fifth modified example of the present invention, as viewed from above. [Figure 14] FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a monitoring system for a floor washer according to a sixth modified example of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0033] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the floor washer 1 according to the present invention will be described with reference to the attached drawings. Note that the directions indicated by the arrows in each drawing are set based on the operator who operates the floor washer 1, and "Fr" in the drawings indicates "front", "Rr" indicates "rear", "L" indicates "left", "R" indicates "right", "U" indicates "up" and "D" indicates "down".

[0034] <Overall configuration of floor cleaning machine> The configuration of the floor washer 1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 1 and 2. Figure 1 is a perspective view of the floor washer 1. Figure 2 is a block diagram of the floor washer 1. Figure 3 is a plan view of the floor washer 1. The floor washer 1 performs traveling cleaning by supplying cleaning water to wash a floor F (see Figure 5) while traveling a vehicle body 2, and may be configured as a ride-on type self-propelled type, or may be configured as an autonomous traveling type so-called robot floor washer.

[0035] The autonomous floor washer 1 is a vehicle capable of manual driving based on manual operation and autonomous driving (automatic driving) based on automatic control, and operates in either a manual driving mode or an automatic driving mode. In the automatic driving mode, the floor washer 1 performs automatic driving cleaning, autonomously driving and automatically cleaning based on a cleaning plan consisting of preset data and programs.

[0036] As shown in Fig. 1, the floor washer 1 includes a vehicle body 2 for accommodating each component, a traveling section 3 for traveling the vehicle body 2, and a cleaning section 4 for cleaning the floor surface F below the vehicle body 2, and the cleaning section 4 includes a cleaning pad 13 and a squeegee device 15. The floor washer 1 rotates the cleaning pad 13 supplied with cleaning water while traveling the vehicle body 2 to clean the floor surface F, and collects the dirty water after cleaning with the squeegee device 15. The floor washer 1 cleans the floor surface F in a cleaning area 80 (see Fig. 13(1)), which may be, for example, all or part of a commercial facility such as a shopping mall, an office, a hotel, a hospital, a school, a factory, etc.

[0037] The floor washer 1 includes a travel operation unit 5 and an operation display unit 6 for operating and displaying various functions of the floor washer 1, and the travel operation unit 5 and the operation display unit 6 constitute an operation unit of the floor washer 1. The floor washer 1 also includes a measurement unit 7 that measures the distance and angle (for example, the angle with respect to the forward direction of the vehicle body 2) between the vehicle body 2 and obstacles (objects) such as walls and ornaments around the vehicle body 2, and an imaging unit 8 that images the surroundings of the vehicle body 2. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 2, the floor washer 1 also includes a power supply unit 9 for controlling the charging of the battery (not shown) and supplying power to each unit, and a control unit 10 that controls the units and various functions of the floor washer 1 (travel by the travel unit 3, cleaning work by the cleaning unit 4, measurement by the measurement unit 7, etc.).

[0038] The vehicle body 2 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped appearance. A pair of left and right wheels 11 and a pair of left and right casters 12 are provided on the bottom of the vehicle body 2 as a running part 3.

[0039] The pair of left and right wheels 11 are supported by axles 11a extending in the left-right direction at approximately the center of the front-rear direction of the vehicle body 2 (see Figs. 3(1) and (2)), and each has a left and right drive motor 11b (see Fig. 3(2)). The left and right drive motors 11b (axles 11a) are provided with left and right encoders 11c that detect the number of rotations. The drive motors 11b simultaneously rotate the wheels 11 via the axles 11a to move the vehicle body 2 forward or backward, while the left and right wheels 11 are stopped or rotated at a reduced speed, and the right and left wheels 11 are simultaneously rotated, to turn the vehicle body 2 left or right. The pair of left and right casters 12 are disposed behind the wheels 11 and are rotatably supported on the bottom surface of the vehicle body 2.

[0040] The cleaning unit 4 is provided under the vehicle body 2 and configured to clean the floor surface F below the vehicle body 2. The cleaning unit 4 cleans the floor surface F in accordance with initially set cleaning data, cleaning data set via the operation and display unit 6, or cleaning data set by automatic control.

[0041] The cleaning unit 4 is configured, for example, with a wet cleaning mechanism that cleans the floor surface F using cleaning water as a detergent, and includes a cleaning pad 13 that is a cleaning member that comes into contact with the floor surface F to clean the floor surface F, a supply pump 14 that is a cleaning water supply unit for supplying and spraying cleaning water to the cleaning pad 13 and the floor surface F, and a squeegee device 15 that collects the cleaning water used to clean the floor surface F, i.e., wastewater. The cleaning unit 4 is equipped inside the vehicle body 2 with a cleaning tank 16 that stores fresh water or cleaning water, and a recovery tank 17 that stores the cleaning water used to clean the floor surface F, i.e., wastewater. The cleaning unit 4 includes a cleaning tank sensor 16a that detects the level of the cleaning water in the cleaning tank 16 and a recovery tank sensor 17a that detects the level of the wastewater in the recovery tank 17.

[0042] The cleaning unit 4 is also provided with a suction blower 18 inside the vehicle body 2 that creates negative pressure in the collection tank 17 (or in a suction hose 23 described below), and the suction blower 18 functions as a suction unit that sucks the wastewater collected by the squeegee device 15 into the collection tank 17. The cleaning unit 4 is equipped with a cleaning motor 19 that rotates the cleaning pad 13 on the floor surface F, a pad cylinder 20 that moves the cleaning pad 13 up and down relative to the floor surface F, and a squeegee cylinder 21 that moves the squeegee device 15 up and down relative to the floor surface F.

[0043] The cleaning pad 13, which is an example of a cleaning member, is rotatably supported on the underside of the front part of the vehicle body 2 (forward of the wheels 11). The cleaning pad 13 is formed in a disk shape, and is provided on the vehicle body 2 in a position where the bottom part of the disk is in contact with the floor surface F. The cleaning pad 13 may be configured to be movable in the vertical direction between a position where it is in contact with the floor surface F and a position where it is separated from the floor surface F by a pad cylinder 20 or the like.

[0044] The rotating shaft 13a of the cleaning pad 13 is connected to a cleaning motor 19 provided inside the vehicle body 2 via a rotation transmission mechanism. The cleaning pad 13 rotates in one direction about the rotating shaft 13a by being driven by the cleaning motor 19, and wipes off dirt on the floor surface F below the cleaning pad 13. The upper surface and most of the side surfaces of the cleaning pad 13 are covered by a pad cover 22 (which also serves as a bumper) that is fixed to the front underside of the vehicle body 2. Note that a rotating brush may be used as the cleaning member instead of the cleaning pad 13.

[0045] The squeegee device 15 is disposed on the lower rear side of the vehicle body 2. The squeegee device 15 is a device that is towed to the rear of the vehicle body 2 and collects cleaning water (sewage) after cleaning. The squeegee device 15 receives and collects the sewage discharged rearward from the cleaning pad 13, and the collected sewage is sucked by a suction hose 23 connected to a suction blower 18 using the suction force of the suction blower 18, and the sucked sewage is collected in a collection tank 17 connected to the suction hose 23. The squeegee device 15 will be described in detail later.

[0046] The cleaning data in the cleaning unit 4 as described above includes start / stop of rotation of the cleaning pad 13, start / stop of cleaning water supply by the supply pump 14, start / stop of suction by the suction blower 18, the strength of the ground pressure of the cleaning pad 13 against the floor surface F and the rotation speed, the amount of cleaning water supplied by the supply pump 14, and the suction strength by the suction blower 18.

[0047] The traveling operation unit 5 is provided on the rear side of the vehicle body 2, and includes a handle 24 and a throttle (not shown) for operating manual traveling. The handle 24 is a part that is held and operated by an operator who performs the cleaning work of the floor surface F with the self-propelled floor washer 1 or performs teaching traveling with the autonomously traveling floor washer 1. The traveling operation unit 5 includes a handle sensor 24a that detects the steering amount of the handle 24 and an accelerator sensor 24b that detects the operation amount of the throttle. The traveling operation unit 5 converts the steering amount of the handle 24 and the operation amount of the throttle by the operator into an electric signal, and outputs the electric signal to the traveling unit 3 to drive the drive motor 11b, thereby enabling manual traveling and teaching traveling.

[0048] The operation display unit 6 is provided on the rear side of the vehicle body 2, and includes, for example, a main switch, a forced stop button, a sound collector (microphone), a sound emitter (speaker), and a display, all of which are not shown. Each part of the operation display unit 6 is connected to the control unit 10. The operation display unit 6 may be configured integrally with the vehicle body 2, or may be configured as a tablet terminal that is detachable from the vehicle body 2.

[0049] The main switch is configured to be switchable between "off", "manual" and "automatic". By switching the main switch to "manual", the control unit 10 (mode switching unit 70) switches the operation mode of the floor washer 1 to the manual driving mode, while by switching the main switch to "automatic", the control unit 10 (mode switching unit 70) switches the operation mode of the floor washer 1 to the automatic driving mode.

[0050] The forced stop button operates to forcibly stop the floor washer 1, and outputs a forced stop signal to the control unit 10 in response to the operation. The speaker generates an alarm sound or the like in response to the control of the control unit 10. The display is composed of a touch panel or the like, and displays various screens in response to control signals from the control unit 10, and transmits operation signals to the control unit 10 based on touch operations on each screen.

[0051] The measurement unit 7 includes an obstacle sensor 7a that measures the distance and angle between the obstacle (object) and the wall surface around the vehicle body 2. The obstacle sensor 7a is provided, for example, on the front side of the vehicle body 2 and is composed of a laser range finder (LRF) or the like, and detects obstacles that exist within a predetermined measurable height (for example, 30 cm) from the floor surface F and within a predetermined measurable range (for example, a radius of 20 m) from the obstacle sensor 7a. Note that a plurality of (two) LRFs that constitute the obstacle sensor 7a are provided in the left and right directions. The measurement unit 7 is connected to the control unit 10 and transmits the measurement results to the control unit 10.

[0052] The measuring unit 7 also includes a bumper sensor 7b attached to the pad cover 22, which also serves as a bumper, for detecting contact with a wall or an obstacle, a plurality of ultrasonic sensors 7c for detecting obstacles approaching the vehicle body 2, and a step sensor 7d for detecting steps on the floor surface F on which the traveling unit 3 travels. The ultrasonic sensor 7c can detect unknown obstacles approaching the vehicle body 2. The step sensor 7d is composed of an infrared sensor facing forward and downward from the front of the vehicle body 2, and is provided to detect stairs and grooves on the floor surface F in the forward and downward direction and prevent the vehicle body 2 from falling into stairs or large grooves. The step sensor 7d can also detect convex objects on the floor surface F in the forward and downward direction, and can detect, for example, wiring moldings that cover the power lines on an office floor, floor rails of sliding doors, and convex parts of braille blocks.

[0053] The imaging unit 8 includes a front camera 8a capable of imaging the front view (front of the vehicle body) of the vehicle body 2 including the floor surface F, and a rear camera 8b capable of imaging the rear view (rear of the vehicle body) of the vehicle body 2. The front camera 8a can detect unknown obstacles approaching the vehicle body 2. The rear camera 8b is a monitoring unit that mainly monitors the state of the squeegee device 15, and captures monitoring images of a monitoring area including the squeegee device 15 at the rear of the vehicle body 2 and the floor surface F that is rearward of the squeegee device 15 and in contact with the rear end of the squeegee device 15. The rear camera 8b captures monitoring images that are continuous in time, and may capture monitoring images of a moving image, for example, or may capture monitoring images of a plurality of continuous still images.

[0054] Two rear cameras 8b may be provided at a distance from each other on the left and right sides at the rear of the vehicle body 2, so that surveillance images of the rear view can be obtained from two directions with different viewpoints. In this way, surveillance images of a surveillance area including a squeegee device 15 (described later) and a floor surface F at the rear of the vehicle body can be obtained in a state where a blind spot caused by the suction hose 23 in a surveillance image from one direction can be seen from the other direction.

[0055] For example, the rear camera 8b is an infrared camera having wavelength characteristics that respond to near-infrared rays, and is a camera capable of capturing infrared images in the infrared region. The rear camera 8b captures a normal monitoring image under a natural light environment, while being equipped with an auxiliary light device (not shown) that irradiates a subject with auxiliary light of a predetermined wavelength, and captures an infrared monitoring image irradiated with the auxiliary light. The auxiliary light device irradiates the subject with auxiliary light having a long wavelength of 1200 nm to 1450 nm, that is, invisible short-wave infrared light.

[0056] For example, as shown in FIG. 6(1), the rear camera 8b captures a monitoring image of a monitoring area including the squeegee device 15 and the floor surface F behind the machine body as a normal image under a natural light environment. Also, as shown in FIG. 6(2), the rear camera 8b captures a monitoring image of a monitoring area including the squeegee device 15 and the floor surface F behind the machine body as an infrared image under auxiliary light of shortwave infrared. Here, since the auxiliary light of shortwave infrared is absorbed by moisture, the presence or absence of moisture is emphasized on the infrared image. Specifically, when moisture such as sewage is present on the floor surface F, an image showing the presence of moisture (moisture image) is displayed in black in the infrared image using the auxiliary light of shortwave infrared. FIG. 6(2) is an image obtained by performing image processing of negative-positive inversion on the infrared image, and the presence of moisture is displayed as a white shining image (shown by coarse hatching), unlike the parts shown in black or gray overall (shown by fine hatching).

[0057] The power supply unit 9 includes a battery (power supply) mounted inside the vehicle body 2 and is configured to be chargeable by connecting to an external power supply, and supplies power to each part of the floor washer 1.

[0058] The control unit 10 is composed of a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and the like. As shown in FIG. 2, the control unit 10 is connected to the storage unit 26 via a bus 27, and the bus 27 is further connected to an interface 28. The control unit 10 is also connected to the traveling unit 3, the cleaning unit 4, the traveling operation unit 5, the operation display unit 6, the measurement unit 7, the imaging unit 8, and the power supply unit 9 via the bus 27 and the interface 28, and is further connected to a communication unit 29. The communication unit 29 wirelessly communicates with external devices by a wireless communication method using a wireless LAN such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark) or a short-distance wireless such as Bluetooth (registered trademark).

[0059] The storage unit 26 is composed of a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), a hard disk, a flash memory, etc., and stores programs and data for controlling each part and various functions of the floor washer 1. The control unit 10 reads the programs and data stored in the storage unit 26 and executes the programs to control each part and various functions. In particular, in this embodiment, the storage unit 26 stores image information such as a monitoring image (normal image or infrared image) captured by the rear camera 8b of a monitoring area including the squeegee device 15 and the floor surface F that is behind the squeegee device 15 and in contact with the rear end of the squeegee device 15, as monitoring information resulting from monitoring the state of the squeegee device 15. The functions of the control unit 10 will be described in detail later.

[0060] <Floor cleaning machine function> The floor washer 1 described above is a self-propelled or autonomous type, and an operator operates the handle 24 to move the vehicle body 2 while cleaning the floor surface F. The cleaning work of the floor surface F is performed by driving the supply pump 14 to supply cleaning water and the like in the cleaning tank 16 to the cleaning pad 13 while rotating the cleaning pad 13 on the floor surface F. The wastewater after cleaning is collected in the squeegee device 15 towed to the rear of the vehicle body 2, and is sucked and collected from the squeegee device 15 into the collection tank 17 by driving the suction blower 18.

[0061] <Squeegee device configuration> The squeegee device 15 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 3 to Fig. 5. Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing the squeegee device 15. Fig. 5 is a side view showing the squeegee device 15.

[0062] The squeegee device 15 includes a squeegee 30, a sliding connection unit 40, and a lifting unit 50. The squeegee 30 is disposed at the rear of the vehicle body 2 and scrapes off dirty water. The sliding connection unit 40 is provided between the vehicle body 2 and the squeegee 30. The lifting unit 50 separates the squeegee 30 from the floor surface F.

[0063] 3 and 4, the squeegee 30 is a member that is dragged across the floor surface F as the vehicle body 2 moves. The squeegee 30 is long in the left-right direction and formed in a bow shape that is convex rearward. The squeegee 30 includes a squeegee body 31, a front blade 32, a rear blade 33, and a pair of left and right guide rollers 34.

[0064] The squeegee body 31 is made of, for example, a metal material or a hard synthetic resin material, and is curved so as to be convex backward. In other words, the squeegee body 31 is curved forward from the center in the left-right direction toward both left and right ends when viewed from above (see FIG. 3). The squeegee body 31 is a plate-like member that is gradually tapered from the center in the left-right direction toward both left and right ends when viewed from above.

[0065] The front blade 32 is attached to the front side of the squeegee body 31, and the rear blade 33 is attached to the rear side of the squeegee body 31. Each blade 32, 33 is curved forward from the center in the left-right direction toward both left and right ends when viewed from above (see FIG. 3). The upper end of each blade 32, 33 is fixed to the squeegee body 31. Each blade 32, 33 extends downward from the squeegee body 31. Each blade 32, 33 is formed in a rectangular plate shape from an elastically deformable material such as silicone rubber. The rear blade 33 is thicker than the front blade 32 and is formed higher in the up-down direction than the front blade 32. A squeegee chamber S is formed in an area surrounded by the squeegee body 31 and the pair of front and rear blades 32, 33 (see FIG. 5). Although not shown, a plurality of recesses are formed at intervals in the left-right direction at the lower end of the front blade 32 to connect the outside to the squeegee chamber S.

[0066] The lower end of a suction hose 23 leading to the squeegee chamber S is connected to approximately the center of the squeegee body 31 in the left-right direction. The suction hose 23 is, for example, a so-called duct hose made of a flexible, lightweight material. The suction hose 23 extends upward from the squeegee body 31 along the rear surface of the vehicle body 2 and enters the interior from the upper rear surface of the vehicle body 2. The upper end of the suction hose 23 is connected to the recovery tank 17 inside the vehicle body 2 (see FIG. 1). The suction hose 23 communicates between the squeegee chamber S and the recovery tank 17 (suction blower 18).

[0067] As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the pair of left and right guide rollers 34 are rotatably supported by a pair of roller brackets 35 extending rearward from both the left and right sides of the squeegee body 31. The front end of each roller bracket 35 is fixed to the upper surface of the squeegee body 31 with bolts and nuts. The rear end of each roller bracket 35 supports the guide roller 34 via a roller shaft 34a extending in the left-right direction. Each guide roller 34 comes into contact with the floor surface F and rotates around the roller shaft 34a.

[0068] A pair of horizontal rollers 36 are attached to both the left and right ends of the rear blade 33. Each horizontal roller 36 is provided rotatably about a roller shaft 36a extending in the vertical direction.

[0069] As shown in Fig. 3 to Fig. 5, the sliding connection part 40 includes a connection arm 41, a swivel support part 42, and a pair of left and right support wall parts 43. The sliding connection part 40 is made of, for example, a metal material with high rigidity. The connection arm 41 is a member for connecting the squeegee 30 to the vehicle body 2. The swivel support part 42 is rotatably connected to the bottom of the vehicle body 2. The pair of left and right support walls 43, which are an example of a sliding support part, are connected to the swivel support part 42.

[0070] The connecting arm 41 is formed long in the front-rear direction and has a cross section that is approximately inverted U-shaped when viewed from the front (rear). The rear end of the connecting arm 41 is formed in a plate shape that branches into two, left and right parts, and is attached via a bolt to the upper surface of the squeegee body 31 avoiding the suction hose 23. The central axis passing through the left-right center of the connecting arm 41 approximately coincides with the left-right center of the squeegee 30 (squeegee body 31). In other words, the connecting arm 41 and the squeegee 30 are connected straight (approximately inverted T-shaped when viewed from above).

[0071] The swivel support portion 42 is formed in a substantially plate-like shape, and a swivel support shaft 42a protrudes upward from the upper surface of the swivel support portion 42. The swivel support shaft 42a is rotatably fitted into a bearing portion (not shown) formed on the rear bottom surface of the vehicle body 2.

[0072] The pair of left and right support walls 43 extend downward from both left and right ends of the swivel support part 42. The swivel support part 42 and the pair of support walls 43 are formed in a substantially inverted U-shape when viewed from the front (rear). Each support wall 43 may be formed separately from the swivel support part 42 and connected thereto, or may be formed integrally with the swivel support part 42.

[0073] In each of the support walls 43, an inclined groove 44 is formed in a communicating manner. Each inclined groove 44 is an elongated hole opened in the support wall 43, and is inclined upward from the rear to the front. The pair of left and right support walls 43 are arranged to sandwich the front part of the connecting arm 41 from both the left and right sides. A sliding shaft 45 penetrating the connecting arm 41 in the left-right direction is provided on the front side surface of the connecting arm 41. The sliding shaft 45 as an example of a sliding part is formed in a columnar or cylindrical shape. Both left and right ends of the sliding shaft 45 extend from the side surface of the connecting arm 41 toward the outside in the left-right direction and are slidably fitted into the inclined grooves 44 of the pair of left and right support walls 43. In other words, the pair of left and right support walls 43 are connected to the front part of the connecting arm 41 via the sliding shaft 45. The connecting arm 41 is provided to be movable within the movement range of the sliding shaft 45 guided by each inclined groove 44.

[0074] The squeegee 30 is provided so as to be rotatable (swingable) in the left-right direction around a pivot shaft 42a (rotation fulcrum) of the pivot support 42 via a connecting arm 41. In detail, the squeegee 30 is provided so as to be rotatable between a neutral position (see FIG. 3(2)) in which the connecting arm 41 is oriented along the traveling direction of the vehicle body 2 and a rotated position (see FIG. 3(1)) in which the connecting arm 41 is oriented so as to be inclined leftward or rightward with respect to the traveling direction of the vehicle body 2.

[0075] As shown in FIG. 4, the lifting section 50 includes a wire 52 extending downward from a squeegee lever 51 provided on the upper part of the rear surface of the vehicle body 2. The wire 52, which is an example of a suspension member, is formed, for example, from a flexible metal material. The lower end of the wire 52 is connected to the rear end of the connecting arm 41 via a hook 53. The upper end of the wire 52 is attached to the squeegee lever 51. The squeegee lever 51 is provided movably along a groove (not shown) formed in the rear surface of the vehicle body 2, and a squeegee cylinder 21 that drives the squeegee lever 51 in the up and down direction is built into the groove.

[0076] The lifting unit 50 lifts and lowers the connecting arm 41 via the wire 52. Specifically, when the squeegee lever 51 is moved to the lower end of the groove by the operation (e.g., contraction) of the squeegee cylinder 21 in one direction, the connecting arm 41 and the like are lowered to the lowest position, and the squeegee 30 (each blade 32, 33) is displaced to a lowered position where it contacts the floor surface F (see Figs. 5(1) and (2)). At this time, the contact portion of each blade 32, 33 with the floor surface F is formed over the entirety of each blade 32, 33. Although not precisely illustrated in Figs. 5(1) and (2), the wire 52 is slack in this state. Alternatively, a reel (not illustrated) capable of winding up a part of the wire 52 may be provided to prevent the wire 52 from slackening. On the other hand, when the squeegee lever 51 is moved to the upper end of the groove by the other movement (e.g., extension) of the squeegee cylinder 21, the connecting arm 41 etc. rise to the highest position, and the blades 32, 33 are displaced to a raised position away from the floor surface F (see FIGS. 5(4) and (5)). In this state, the wire 52 is stretched approximately vertically.

[0077] <Action of the squeegee device when the vehicle moves forward> Next, the operation of the squeegee device 15 when the vehicle body 2 is moved forward to perform cleaning work on the floor surface F will be described. When the vehicle body 2 moves forward, the squeegee device 15 is also pulled by the vehicle body 2 to move forward. The front blade 32 and the rear blade 33 are dragged on the floor surface F while being urged downward by the weight of the squeegee body 31 and the connecting arm 41. Therefore, as shown in Figs. 5(1) and (2), the lower ends of the blades 32, 33 slide on the floor surface F while being bent backward (curved backward). Note that the rear blade 33 is wider in the vertical direction than the front blade 32, so the amount of bending of the rear blade 33 is larger than the amount of bending of the front blade 32. In addition, the rear blade 33 has a higher ability to scrape off dirty water than the front blade 32.

[0078] The squeegee body 31 does not descend more than necessary because it is supported by the guide rollers 34 in contact with the floor surface F via the roller brackets 35. In other words, each guide roller 34 prevents the squeegee body 31 from sagging, and maintains the contact pressure of each blade 32, 33 against the floor surface F approximately uniform.

[0079] When the vehicle body 2 is moved forward, a rearward frictional force acts on the contact portions of the blades 32, 33 with the floor surface F. Due to this rearward frictional force, the connecting arm 41 is pulled relatively rearward, and the sliding shaft 45 moves rearward and downward while being guided by the inclined groove 44, as shown in Figs. 5(1) and (2). The connecting arm 41 is pulled down by the frictional force acting on the contact portions of the blades 32, 33 (squeegee 30) with the floor surface F, and assumes a first position (see Fig. 5(1)) in which the blades 32, 33 are in contact with the floor surface F. Specifically, the connecting arm 41 is changed to the first position by moving the sliding shaft 45 to the rear lower end portion 44a of the inclined groove 44.

[0080] 5(1) and (2), when the connecting arm 41 is in the first position (when the squeegee 30 is in contact with the floor surface F), the suction force generated by driving the suction blower 18 acts on the squeegee chamber S via the suction hose 23. Wastewater after cleaning the floor surface F passes through multiple recesses opening at the lower end of the front blade 32 and enters the squeegee chamber S, which is under negative pressure. The wastewater in the squeegee chamber S is then collected in the collection tank 17 via the suction hose 23.

[0081] When the advancing vehicle body 2 turns left or right, the squeegee device 15 turns about the turning support shaft 42a of the turning support part 42. That is, the squeegee device 15 turns from the neutral position toward the turning position following the turning of the vehicle body 2. Also, each horizontal roller 36 provided on the squeegee device 15 rotates when it comes into contact with an object (obstacle) placed on the floor surface F or a wall surface of a room, thereby suppressing damage to the squeegee 30 or the object.

[0082] <Action of the squeegee device when the vehicle moves backward> Next, referring to Fig. 5(3), the operation of the squeegee device 15 when the traveling direction of the vehicle body 2 is changed from forward to reverse will be described. Fig. 5(3) is a side view explaining the operation of the squeegee device 15 when the vehicle body 2 is reversed. In the explanation of the operation when the vehicle body 2 is reversed, the squeegee 30 is placed in a neutral position, and the suction blower 18 is in a driven state regardless of the traveling direction of the vehicle body 2.

[0083] In the process of changing the traveling direction of the vehicle body 2 from forward to reverse, the pair of front and rear blades 32, 33 change from a state in which they are bent backward to a state in which they are bent in a complex, approximately S-shape. In this state, each blade 32, 33 is pressed against the floor surface F by the repulsive force (elastic force) due to the bending and its own weight. The contact pressure of the rear blade 33 is greater than the contact pressure of the front blade 32. In this way, since the contact pressure of each blade 32, 33 against the floor surface F becomes very large, the frictional force generated at the contact portion between the floor surface F and each blade 32, 33 also increases. Then, a very large force is required to move the vehicle body 2 backward, so a large load is placed on the drive motor 11b that drives the wheels 11. If the vehicle body 2 continues to move backward, each blade 32, 33 will be bent forward.

[0084] Therefore, the squeegee device 15 is configured to automatically change the posture of the connecting arm 41 by utilizing the frictional force acting between the squeegee 30 and the floor surface F when the direction of travel of the vehicle body 2 is changed, thereby stabilizing the backward movement of the vehicle body 2.

[0085] When the traveling direction of the vehicle body 2 is changed from forward to reverse, a forward frictional force acts on the contact portions of the blades 32, 33 with the floor surface F so as to prevent the vehicle body 2 from moving backward. Due to this forward frictional force, as shown in Fig. 5(3), the connecting arm 41 is pushed relatively forward, and the sliding shaft 45 moves forward and upward while being guided by the inclined groove 44. The connecting arm 41 is pushed up by the frictional force acting on the contact portion of the squeegee 30 with the floor surface F, and assumes a second position (see Fig. 5(3)) in which all but a portion of the squeegee 30 is separated from the floor surface F.

[0086] Specifically, the connecting arm 41 is changed to the second position by moving the sliding shaft 45 to the front upper end 44b of the inclined groove 44. When the connecting arm 41 is changed to the second position, a part of the rear blade 33 is elastically deformed and contacts the floor surface F while the pair of left and right guide rollers 34 are in contact with the floor surface F, and the entire front blade 32 is separated upward from the floor surface F. In detail, the rear blade 33 is in contact with the floor surface F near the center in the left and right direction, but both the left and right sides of the rear blade 33 are separated upward from the floor surface F. The front blade 32 is separated upward from the floor surface F over the entire longitudinal direction (left and right direction). The front blade 32 is slightly separated from the floor surface F near the center in the left and right direction, but it does not matter if it is in slight contact.

[0087] With the connecting arm 41 in the second position, most of the blades 32, 33 are separated upward from the floor surface F, and the squeegee chamber S is opened to the atmosphere. Therefore, the suction force generated by driving the suction blower 18 does not create a negative pressure in the squeegee chamber S, and the adhesion of the blades 32, 33 to the floor surface F is released. This allows the wheels 11 to be driven without applying a large load to the drive motor 11b, and the vehicle body 2 to move backward.

[0088] <Function of the lifting section> Next, the operation of the lifting unit 50 will be described with reference to Fig. 5(4). Fig. 5(4) is a side view showing a state in which the squeegee device 15 is lifted. In the explanation of the operation of the lifting unit 50, the squeegee 30 is placed in a neutral position, and the cleaning motor 19 is stopped.

[0089] When the squeegee 30 is raised from the lowered position to the raised position during cleaning work, the squeegee lever 51 is moved to the upper end of the groove by driving the squeegee cylinder 21 in response to a raising operation by the worker using the operation display unit 6 or the like or the raising control by the control unit 10, and the squeegee 30 is placed in the raised position and the connecting arm 41 is suspended via the wire 52, as shown in Fig. 5 (4). Although not shown in the figures, the cleaning pad 13 and pad cover 22 are also raised from the floor surface F by driving the pad cylinder 20 in response to a raising operation by the worker using the operation display unit 6 or the like or the raising control by the control unit 10.

[0090] <Squeegee shape> Next, the shape of the squeegee 30 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0091] Since the squeegee 30 (squeegee body 31 and each blade 32, 33) has a curved bow shape, the left-right center of the rear blade 33 is located at the rearmost position. In addition, the roller shaft 34a (axis line C connecting the pair of left and right roller shafts 34a) of the pair of left and right guide rollers 34 is located slightly forward of the rearmost end of the squeegee 30 (rear blade 33). In addition, when the vehicle body 2 moves backward, the left-right center of the rear blade 33 is deflected forward. Here, the total length of the squeegee 30 in the left-right direction is called the "total length L1", the left-right length of the rear blade 33 located behind the axis line C is called the "reference length L2", and the left-right length of the deflected portion of the rear blade 33 when the vehicle body 2 moves backward is called the "deflected length L2'".

[0092] The deflection length L2' is slightly longer (wider) than the reference length L2. In the squeegee 30 of the squeegee device 15, it is desirable to set the ratio between the total length L1 and the reference length L2 or the deflection length L2' to about (L1:L2 (or L2')) = (10:2). In other words, it is desirable to design the shape and dimensions of the squeegee 30 and the arrangement of each guide roller 34 so that a portion equivalent to about 20% of the length of the rear blade 33 contacts the floor surface F and deflects relative to the total length L1 of the squeegee 30. Note that this ratio may vary slightly depending on the position of each roller shaft 34a (axis line C) and the curved shape (curvature) of the rear blade 33.

[0093] When the vehicle body 2 moves backward, the rear blade 33 bent at the above ratio is pressed against the floor surface F, generating a frictional force optimal for changing the position of the connecting arm 41. In other words, this frictional force acts as an appropriate load, making it possible to push the sliding shaft 45 up from the rear lower end 44a of the inclined groove 44 to the front upper end 44b.

[0094] If each guide roller 34 were disposed rearward from the position shown in Fig. 3(2), the frictional force between the floor surface F and the rear blade 33 would disappear during the process in which the sliding shaft 45 moves from the rear lower end 44a to the front upper end 44b of the inclined groove 44, and there is a risk that the connecting arm 41 cannot be put into the second position. On the other hand, if each guide roller 34 is disposed forward from the position shown in Fig. 3(2), the frictional force between the floor surface F and the rear blade 33 would become excessively large, impeding the backward movement of the vehicle body 2 and impairing operability. Therefore, the squeegee 30 is configured to satisfy the above ratio.

[0095] <Effect of the squeegee device> In the squeegee device 15 described above, the connecting arm 41 is configured to be able to change its position between a first position in which the squeegee 30 contacts the floor surface F when the vehicle body 2 is moved forward, and a second position in which substantially the entire squeegee 30 is separated from the floor surface F when the vehicle body 2 is moved backward. With this configuration, when the vehicle body 2 is moved forward or backward, the position of the connecting arm 41 can be automatically changed by utilizing the frictional force acting between the squeegee 30 and the floor surface F. When the vehicle body 2 is moved backward, when the connecting arm 41 changes from the first position to the second position, substantially the entire squeegee 30 is separated from the floor surface F. This reduces the adhesive force (load) of the squeegee 30 to the floor surface F, allowing the vehicle body 2 to be moved backward smoothly.

[0096] Furthermore, changing the posture of the connecting arm 41 does not require any specific operation or driving force from another driving device, but is automatically performed by simply moving the vehicle body 2 forward or backward. This makes it possible to omit a specific operation configuration or other driving devices, and therefore a structure for lifting the squeegee 30 when the vehicle body 2 moves backward can be constructed simply and inexpensively, thereby reducing the manufacturing cost of the floor washer 1.

[0097] Furthermore, the squeegee device 15 is configured such that when the vehicle body 2 moves backward, the connecting arm 41 is in the second position to reduce the frictional force between the squeegee 30 and the floor surface F. This configuration makes it possible to prevent the squeegee 30 from rotating left and right or swinging left and right.

[0098] In addition, in the squeegee device 15, when the vehicle body 2 moves backward, the left-right center portion (about 20% of the total length L1) of the rear blade 33 is configured to elastically contact the floor surface F with the connecting arm 41 in the second position. With this configuration, the repulsive force based on the elasticity of the rear blade 33 applies a stable load to the floor surface F, so that the connecting arm 41 can be maintained in the second position. Even when the suction blower 18 applies a suction force to the squeegee chamber S, the entire front blade 32 is raised from the floor surface F when the vehicle body 2 moves backward, so that the squeegee chamber S, which has become negative pressure, can be released. As a result, the adhesion of the squeegee 30 (each blade 32, 33) to the floor surface F is released, so that the position of the squeegee 30 is stable without being deviated left and right when the vehicle body 2 moves backward, and the straightness of the vehicle body 2 when moving backward can be improved.

[0099] <Neutral movement mechanism for the squeegee device> Next, the squeegee device 15 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Figs. 3(1) and (2). Fig. 3(1) is a plan view showing the floor washer 1 during turning. Fig. 3(2) is a plan view showing the floor washer 1 during reverse movement.

[0100] For example, as shown in FIG. 3(1), when the vehicle body 2 turns to the right, the squeegee device 15 also tilts to the right. That is, the squeegee 30 turns to the rotation position. Here, consider a case where the vehicle body 2 is moved straight backward after turning the vehicle body 2. In this case, the vehicle body 2 is moved backward with the squeegee 30 displaced to the rotation position. Since the squeegee 30 is long in the left-right direction, when it is displaced to the right rotation position, it protrudes significantly to the right of the vehicle body 2. In this state, when the vehicle body 2 is moved backward, there is an increased risk that the protruding squeegee 30 will come into contact with an object (obstacle) placed on the floor surface F or the wall of the room. In addition, when the squeegee 30 is positioned between the neutral position and the rotation position, the squeegee 30 (connecting arm 41) may swing unstably.

[0101] Therefore, in the squeegee device 15 according to this embodiment, the sliding connection portion 40 is provided with a neutral movement mechanism 60 that displaces the squeegee 30 to a neutral position when the vehicle body 2 moves backward. The neutral movement mechanism 60 includes a neutral roller 61 and a neutral guide portion 62.

[0102] The neutral roller 61, which is an example of a neutral moving body, is provided on a neutral bracket 61a extending forward from the front end of the connecting arm 41. The neutral roller 61 is rotatably supported on a support shaft extending downward from the front end of the neutral bracket 61a. The neutral roller 61 is provided forward of the pivot shaft 42a of the pivot support part 42.

[0103] The neutral guide portion 62 is provided on the bottom surface of the vehicle body 2, forward of the pivot shaft 42a. The neutral guide portion 62 is provided on the bottom of the vehicle body 2 in a curved state along the pivot direction of the pivot support portion 42. The neutral guide portion 62 is composed of a pair of left and right curved walls 62a extending downward from the bottom surface of the vehicle body 2. The pair of left and right curved walls 62a are formed in a substantially semicircular arc shape that is symmetrical so as to cover the front side of the pivot shaft 42a. The pair of left and right curved walls 62a are formed in a pivot (swing) range of the neutral roller 61 centered on the pivot shaft 42a. The pair of left and right curved walls 62a are formed so that the neutral roller 61 abuts against them when the squeegee 30 is displaced to the pivot position (see FIG. 3(1)). The front ends of the pair of left and right curved walls 62a are spaced from each other, forming an engagement groove 62b for engaging the neutral roller 61.

[0104] <Action of the squeegee device when moving backward after turning the vehicle> Next, the operation of the squeegee device 15 when the vehicle body 2 is reversed after turning will be described. It is assumed that the squeegee 30 is displaced to the rotation position (see FIG. 3(1)).

[0105] When the vehicle body 2 starts to move backward, the connecting arm 41 is changed from the first position to the second position (see FIG. 5(3)). In the process of changing the position of the connecting arm 41, the neutral roller 61 provided on the connecting arm 41 is pressed against the curved wall 62a of the neutral guide portion 62. By utilizing the relative forward movement of the connecting arm 41 caused by the backward movement of the vehicle body 2, the neutral roller 61 is guided by the curved wall 62a and rolls toward the engagement groove 62b. Then, the connecting arm 41 automatically rotates about the pivot shaft 42a, and moves the squeegee 30 from the rotation position toward the neutral position as shown in FIG. 3(2). While the connecting arm 41 maintains the second position, the squeegee 30 is displaced to the neutral position.

[0106] When the vehicle body 2 moves backward, the connecting arm 41 is pushed forward by a frictional force acting on the contact portion of the squeegee 30 with the floor surface F in a state where the connecting arm 41 has been changed to the second posture, and the portion of the squeegee 30 other than a part of the squeegee 30 is kept separated from the floor surface F. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5(3), the connecting arm 41 is kept in the second posture by moving the sliding shaft 45 to the front upper end portion 44b, which is the front terminal portion of the inclined groove 44. The connecting arm 41 automatically moves forward in parallel while keeping the second posture. At this time, the contact state of each blade 32, 33 with the floor surface F keeps the contact state in the second posture. That is, the left-right center portion of the rear blade 33 comes into contact with the floor surface F, and the left-right outer side of the rear blade 33 and the entire front blade 32 are separated from the floor surface F. 3B, while the connecting arm 41 maintains the second posture, the neutral roller 61 lightly fits (engages) with the engagement groove 62b of the neutral guide portion 62. By engaging the neutral roller 61 with the engagement groove 62b, the squeegee 30 is held in the neutral position.

[0107] Furthermore, the squeegee device 15 may be provided with a limiter mechanism (not shown) that not only holds the squeegee 30 in the neutral position by the neutral movement mechanism 60 when the vehicle body 2 is traveling backward, but also makes the squeegee 30 held in the neutral position swingable (rotatable) in response to an external force. In the neutral movement mechanism 60 described above, the neutral roller 61 engages with an engagement groove 62b provided between a pair of left and right curved walls 62a of the neutral guide portion 62, thereby holding the squeegee 30 in the neutral position.

[0108] In response to this, the limiter mechanism is configured to keep the height of the curved wall 62a of the neutral guide portion 62 low and tilt the curved wall 62a slightly outward (so as to open downward), making it easier for the neutral roller 61 to climb over the curved wall 62a of the neutral guide portion 62. As a result, for example, when one of the pair of left and right horizontal rollers 36 of the squeegee device 15 abuts against an obstacle behind the squeegee device 15 (left rear side or right rear side) while the vehicle body 2 is traveling backward, the limiter mechanism releases the neutral state of the squeegee 30 and makes the squeegee 30 rotatable due to an appropriate biasing force that the squeegee device 15 receives from the obstacle, so that damage to the squeegee device 15 can be suppressed and the squeegee device 15 can be used preferably.

[0109] <Control unit functions> Next, the details of the functions of the control unit 10 will be described with reference to Fig. 2. In the autonomously traveling floor washer 1, the control unit 10 includes a mode switching unit 70, a map creation unit 71, a plan creation unit 72, and an automatic travel control unit 73 (travel control unit). Regardless of whether the floor washer 1 is a self-traveling or autonomously traveling type, the control unit 10 includes an abnormality determination unit 74 and an abnormality resolution control unit 75. The mode switching unit 70, the map creation unit 71, the plan creation unit 72, the automatic travel control unit 73, the abnormality determination unit 74, and the abnormality resolution control unit 75 may be configured as programs stored in the storage unit 26 and executed by the control unit 10, and are executed by a computer such as the control unit 10.

[0110] The mode switching unit 70 switches the operation mode of the floor washer 1 to either a manual driving mode or an automatic driving mode in response to the operation of a main switch or the like on the operation display unit 6. While the operation mode is set to the manual driving mode by the mode switching unit 70, manual operation input to the driving operation unit 5 is possible, and while the operation mode is set to the automatic driving mode, manual operation input to the driving operation unit 5 is disabled.

[0111] The map creation unit 71 uses a technique such as SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) for estimating the self-position and creating an environmental map in real time. For the vehicle body 2 at a predetermined position, the map creation unit 71 creates a local map of the surroundings of the vehicle body 2 by performing coordinate conversion of the distance and angle from an obstacle (object) measured by the measurement unit 7, and estimates the self-position of the vehicle body 2 in the local map based on the created local map and the amount of movement of the vehicle body 2 measured by the measurement unit 7. Note that the obstacle sensor 7a of the measurement unit 7 acquires two-dimensional data of the distance and angle from the obstacle, and the map creation unit 71 creates the local map by piecing together the two-dimensional data acquired by the obstacle sensor 7a.

[0112] The plan creation unit 72 creates a cleaning plan including an environmental map and a travel route 81 (see FIG. 13(1)) for a cleaning area 80 (see FIG. 13(1)) where automatic travel cleaning is performed, and stores the plan in the storage unit 26. For example, the plan creation unit 72 creates an environmental map based on drawing data of the cleaning area 80 input in advance. Alternatively, the plan creation unit 72 creates an environmental map by stitching together (combining) each local map created by the map creation unit 71 at each position in the cleaning area 80 from when the floor washer 1 starts to when it ends its manual travel.

[0113] In addition, the plan creation unit 72 creates a travel route 81 that travels back and forth in a zigzag pattern so as to fill in the cleaning area 80 (so as not to miss any cleaning) in an environmental map of the cleaning area 80 as shown in FIG. 13(1) based on various set values ​​such as the start position and end position, the safe distance from obstacles such as walls, the travel data such as the travel speed of the travel unit 3 during cleaning and non-cleaning, and the cleaning width and cleaning data of the cleaning unit 4 (ground pressure strength and rotation speed of the cleaning pad 13, the amount of cleaning water supplied by the supply pump 14, the suction strength of the suction blower 18, etc.) input in advance. In FIG. 13, the middle of the travel route 81 that is long in the left-right direction on the paper is omitted. The start position of the travel route 81 is indicated by a square mark, and the end position is indicated by a cross mark. At this time, the plan creation unit 72 may create the travel route 81 so that the cleaning unit 4 overlaps by a predetermined width on the outward and return routes that pass each other. The plan creation unit 72 creates the travel route 81 by associating position data (coordinates and angle), travel data of the travel unit 3, and cleaning data of the cleaning unit 4 for each step (position at a predetermined interval) of the travel route 81.

[0114] When the automatic driving mode is executed, the automatic driving control unit 73 reads the cleaning plan to be executed from the memory unit 26, and automatically controls the running unit 3 based on this cleaning plan, controlling the running unit 3 so that the vehicle body 2 performs automatic driving in accordance with the driving route 81 of the cleaning plan and the driving data for each step.

[0115] Furthermore, when the automatic driving mode is executed, while the driving unit 3 is automatically driving the vehicle body 2 along the driving route 81 of the cleaning plan, the automatic driving control unit 73 reads cleaning data corresponding to the position of the vehicle body 2 on the driving route 81 from the cleaning plan, and controls the cleaning unit 4 to perform cleaning work by automatic control according to this cleaning data.

[0116] The abnormality determination unit 74 determines whether or not an abnormality has occurred in wastewater collection by the squeegee device 15, i.e., whether or not the squeegee device 15 is in an abnormal state, based on the monitoring results of the state of the squeegee device 15 by a monitoring unit such as the rear camera 8b. The abnormality determination unit 74 determines whether or not the squeegee device 15 is in an abnormal state, based on a monitoring image (normal image or infrared image) captured by the rear camera 8b as the monitoring result of the monitoring unit, of a monitoring area including the squeegee device 15 at the rear of the vehicle body 2 and the floor surface F rearward of the squeegee device 15 and in contact with the rear end of the squeegee device 15.

[0117] The abnormality determination unit 74 performs image processing such as negative-positive inversion on the infrared image of the monitored area including the squeegee device 15, and processes the infrared image so that an image indicating the presence of moisture (moisture image) glows white, as shown in Fig. 6(2). When the abnormality determination unit 74 detects a moisture image on the floor surface F behind the squeegee device 15 and in contact with the rear end of the squeegee device 15 from the infrared image of the monitored area including the squeegee device 15, it recognizes that dirty water remains on the floor surface F behind the squeegee device 15 and determines that the squeegee device 15 is in an abnormal state.

[0118] For example, when the abnormality determination unit 74 detects a moisture image from temporally consecutive infrared images (moving images or consecutive still images), if the range or area of ​​the moisture image increases behind the squeegee device 15 over time, it determines that moisture has continuously been generated behind the squeegee device 15 and determines that dirty water remains on the floor surface F behind the squeegee device 15. Alternatively, the abnormality determination unit 74 may determine that dirty water remains on the floor surface F behind the squeegee device 15 when it detects a moisture image with a range or area equal to or larger than a predetermined range from the infrared images.

[0119] When the abnormality determination unit 74 determines that the squeegee device 15 is in an abnormal state, the abnormality resolution control unit 75 executes an operation to resolve the wastewater collection abnormality of the squeegee device 15. For example, while the floor washer 1 is performing traveling cleaning (automatic traveling cleaning), the abnormality resolution control unit 75 executes a reset operation of the squeegee device 15 (squeegee 30) as an operation to resolve the wastewater collection abnormality.

[0120] A situation where the reset operation of the squeegee device 15 is required will be described. In the floor washer 1, if a foreign object such as hair or lint gets caught between the squeegee device 15 (mainly the rear blade 33) and the floor F, the vehicle body 2 may move with the foreign object caught without being sucked in by the suction force of the suction blower 18. In this case, there is a risk that some wastewater will remain on the floor F (uncollected wastewater), or streaks of wastewater will leak out behind the squeegee 30 due to poor adhesion between the squeegee 30 and the floor F.

[0121] With conventional walk-behind floor washer, when an operator performs cleaning work by pushing the walk-behind floor washer from behind, if any sewage remains or streaks appear on the floor surface F, the operator can visually check for this, reverse the walk-behind floor washer, and then run the machine again to re-clean the areas where sewage remains or the streaks appear (residual sewage).

[0122] However, in the case of a self-propelled (e.g., ride-on) floor washer or an autonomously traveling floor washer, it is difficult to visually check for residual sewage or streaks, and immediate re-cleaning is not possible. Conventionally, after a self-propelled floor washer or an autonomously traveling floor washer has completed automatic cleaning according to a cleaning plan, if an operator visually checks for residual sewage or streaks remaining on the floor F, the operator must manually re-clean the floor or manually drive the self-propelled floor washer or autonomously traveling floor washer to re-clean the floor.

[0123] Therefore, in this embodiment, the abnormality resolution control unit 75 executes a reset operation of the squeegee device 15 as an operation to resolve the wastewater collection abnormality, thereby eliminating foreign matter trapped between the squeegee device 15 and the floor surface F, suppressing the occurrence of residual wastewater and streaks, and also automatically performing re-cleaning of residual wastewater and streaks that have occurred. The reset operation refers to a series of operations for the squeegee device 15 to resolve the occurrence of foreign matter trapped therein.

[0124] <Squeegee device reset operation> The abnormality resolution control unit 75 executes, as a reset operation of the squeegee device 15, at least a travel stop operation that temporarily stops the travel (travel cleaning) of the floor washer 1, a suction backward operation that travels backward a predetermined first backward distance while continuing to suction wastewater by the squeegee device 15 after the travel stop operation, and a squeegee raising operation that raises the squeegee device 15 after the suction backward operation.

[0125] <Travel stop operation> The travel stop operation in the reset operation will be described. For example, the floor washer 1 performs travel cleaning by driving the pad cylinder 20 to lower the cleaning pad 13 and starting the cleaning motor 19 to rotate the cleaning pad 13, and further starting the supply pump 14 to supply cleaning water, thereby cleaning the floor surface F. Also, the floor washer 1 performs travel cleaning by driving the squeegee cylinder 21 to lower the squeegee device 15 and starting the suction blower 18 to suck and collect dirty water after cleaning. Also, the floor washer 1 performs travel cleaning by driving the left and right drive motors 11b to rotate the wheels 11, thereby causing the body 2 to travel forward. At this time, the squeegee device 15 is in a first position as shown in FIG. 5(1).

[0126] <Washing stop operation> As a travel stop operation for the above-mentioned traveling cleaning, the abnormality resolution control unit 75 executes a cleaning stop operation to stop cleaning of the floor surface F by driving the pad cylinder 20 to raise the cleaning pad 13 and stopping the cleaning motor 19 to stop rotation of the cleaning pad 13, and further stopping the supply pump 14 to stop the supply of cleaning water. When executing the cleaning stop operation, the abnormality resolution control unit 75 continues the suction operation of the suction blower 18 to keep the squeegee chamber S at negative pressure with the squeegee device 15 lowered to the floor surface F by its own weight, without raising the squeegee device 15 or starting or stopping the suction blower 18.

[0127] <Preliminary forward movement> Furthermore, as a travel stopping operation, the abnormality resolution control unit 75 controls the drive of the left and right drive motors 11b so as to gradually slow down the forward speed of the vehicle body 2, and after the washing stopping operation, stops the drive of the left and right drive motors 11b to stop the rotation of the wheels 11, thereby stopping the forward travel of the vehicle body 2. Here, during the period between the washing stopping operation and the stopping of the forward travel of the vehicle body 2, as shown in Fig. 5 (2), the abnormality resolution control unit 75 executes a preparatory forward travel operation in which the forward travel is stopped after forward travel of a predetermined preparatory forward distance FD.

[0128] The preliminary forward distance FD may be set to a distance that allows the squeegee 30 to return to the neutral position by the (straight) forward travel of the floor washer 1 even when the squeegee 30 is rotated to a left or right rotation position by the rotation of the floor washer 1. Alternatively, the preliminary forward distance FD may be set so that the position to which the floor washer 1 is moved by the backward travel in the suction backward movement and preliminary backward movement described below returns to a position where the reset condition is satisfied and the reset movement is started (the start position of the preliminary forward movement). Alternatively, the preliminary forward distance FD may be set according to an arbitrary operation of the operator. Alternatively, the preliminary forward distance FD may be set to a distance that allows the squeegee device 15 to completely collect the cleaning water that was used before the reset movement.

[0129] <Suction backward movement> Furthermore, after the traveling stop operation, as shown in Fig. 5 (3), the abnormality resolution control unit 75 executes a suction reverse operation in which the vehicle travels backward a predetermined first reverse distance BD1 while continuing to suck up dirty water with the squeegee device 15. As the suction reverse operation, the abnormality resolution control unit 75 drives the left and right drive motors 11b to rotate the wheels 11, thereby causing the vehicle body 2 to travel backward. At this time, the abnormality resolution control unit 75 controls the drive of the left and right drive motors 11b so as to gradually slow down the reverse speed of the vehicle body 2, and when the first reverse distance BD1 has elapsed, stops the drive of the left and right drive motors 11b to stop the rotation of the wheels 11, thereby stopping the reverse traveling of the vehicle body 2.

[0130] The foreign matter caught between the squeegee device 15 and the floor surface F may be released from the caught state by the squeegee device 15 being dragged backward during the reverse travel of the floor cleaning machine 1. The first backward travel distance BD1 may be set assuming the release of the foreign matter caught between the squeegee device 15 and the floor surface F, or may be set according to an arbitrary operation of the operator.

[0131] Incidentally, even during the suction backward movement, the abnormality resolution control unit 75 continues from the travel stop operation, keeps the cleaning pad 13 elevated, stops the rotation of the cleaning pad 13, and keeps the supply of cleaning water stopped. Furthermore, even during the suction backward movement, the abnormality resolution control unit 75 continues from the travel stop operation, without raising the squeegee device 15 or stopping the suction blower 18, and continues the suction operation of the suction blower 18 with the squeegee device 15 lowered to the floor surface F by its own weight, but the squeegee chamber S does not become negative pressure because the squeegee 30 is released from its suction to the floor surface F.

[0132] <Squeegee lifting motion> Furthermore, after the suction backward movement operation, the abnormality resolution control unit 75 executes a squeegee lifting operation to lift the squeegee device 15 (squeegee 30) as shown in Fig. 5 (4). The abnormality resolution control unit 75 drives the squeegee cylinder 21 to rotate the squeegee lever 51 upward and pull the wire 52 to lift the squeegee device 15. While executing the squeegee lifting operation, the abnormality resolution control unit 75 continues the suction operation of the suction blower 18, but because the squeegee device 15 is lifted, the gap between the squeegee device 15 and the floor surface F opens the squeegee chamber S and does not create negative pressure.

[0133] Any foreign matter caught between the squeegee device 15 and the floor surface F is released from the caught state by the lifting of the squeegee device 15. If the foreign matter falls from the lifted squeegee device 15 to the floor surface F due to its own weight, the fallen foreign matter may be collected by the suction force of the suction blower 18. Also, if a foreign matter is attached to the lifted squeegee device 15, the attached foreign matter may be collected by the suction force of the suction blower 18.

[0134] <Preliminary reverse movement> Furthermore, after the squeegee lifting operation, the abnormality resolution control unit 75 further executes a preliminary reverse operation of traveling backward a predetermined second reverse distance BD2 as shown in Fig. 5 (5). As the preliminary reverse operation, the abnormality resolution control unit 75 drives the left and right drive motors 11b to rotate the wheels 11, thereby causing the vehicle body 2 to travel backward. At this time, the abnormality resolution control unit 75 controls the drive of the left and right drive motors 11b so as to gradually slow down the reverse speed of the vehicle body 2, and when the second reverse distance BD2 has elapsed, stops the drive of the left and right drive motors 11b to stop the rotation of the wheels 11, thereby stopping the reverse travel of the vehicle body 2.

[0135] As a result, the preliminary backward movement can move the squeegee device 15 rearward of the foreign object that has fallen from the squeegee device 15 to the floor surface F during the squeegee lifting movement, and the foreign object can be appropriately collected. The second backward movement distance BD2 may be set in anticipation of the collection of foreign objects that have fallen from the squeegee device 15 or foreign objects attached to the squeegee device 15, or may be set in response to an arbitrary operation by the operator.

[0136] The abnormality resolution control unit 75 maintains the cleaning pad 13 elevated and stops the rotation of the cleaning pad 13 even during the preliminary backward movement, continuing from the suction backward movement and the squeegee lifting movement, and also keeps the supply of cleaning water stopped. Furthermore, the abnormality resolution control unit 75 maintains the squeegee device 15 elevated and continues the suction operation of the suction blower 18 even during the preliminary backward movement, continuing from the squeegee lifting movement.

[0137] When the second backward distance BD2 has elapsed due to the backward travel of the floor washer 1 in the preliminary backward operation, the abnormality resolution control unit 75 completes the reset operation and enables the floor washer 1 to resume traveling cleaning (automatic traveling cleaning).

[0138] Next, an example of the operation of the autonomously traveling floor washer 1 will be described with reference to the flow charts of FIGS.

[0139] First, the floor washer 1 starts a cleaning operation, and the automatic travel control unit 73 starts automatic travel and cleaning based on a predetermined cleaning plan, and then starts the cleaning motor 19 to rotate the cleaning pad 13 and starts the suction blower 18 (step S1). At this time, the rotation speed of the cleaning motor 19 (cleaning pad 13) and the suction strength (suction force) of the suction blower 18 are appropriately set based on the cleaning plan or according to an arbitrary operation by the operator.

[0140] The automatic travel control unit 73 also drives the pad cylinder 20 to lower the cleaning pad 13 and press it against the floor surface F, starts the supply pump 14 to supply cleaning water to the cleaning pad 13 and the floor surface F, drives the squeegee cylinder 21 to lower the squeegee device 15 to bring the squeegee 30 into contact with the floor surface F, and drives the left and right drive motors 11b to rotate the wheels 11 and travel the floor washer 1 forward (step S2). At this time, the ground pressure strength of the pad cylinder 20 (cleaning pad 13), the amount of cleaning water supplied by the supply pump 14, and the rotation speed of the left and right drive motors 11b (wheels 11) are appropriately set based on the cleaning plan or in response to an arbitrary operation by the operator.

[0141] While automatic cleaning is being performed in the above-mentioned state (step S3), the control unit 10 operates monitoring units such as the rear camera 8b to monitor the squeegee device 15, and stores image information such as monitoring images (normal images and infrared images) captured by the rear camera 8b in the memory unit 26.

[0142] Furthermore, the abnormality determination unit 74 determines whether or not an abnormality has occurred in the wastewater collection by the squeegee device 15 based on the monitoring result of the state of the squeegee device 15 by the monitoring unit, for example, a monitoring image by the rear camera 8b (step S4). If it is determined that no abnormality has occurred in the wastewater collection (step S4: No), the automatic travel control unit 73 continues the automatic travel cleaning, and when the automatic travel control unit 73 ends the automatic travel cleaning based on the cleaning plan (step S5: Yes), it stops the floor washer 1 and ends the operation.

[0143] On the other hand, if it is determined that an abnormality has occurred in the wastewater collection (step S4: Yes), the abnormality resolution control unit 75 starts executing a reset operation of the squeegee device 15 as an operation to resolve the wastewater collection abnormality of the squeegee device 15 (step S6).

[0144] The abnormality resolution control unit 75 first performs a travel stop operation, drives the pad cylinder 20 to raise the cleaning pad 13 and release the pressure against the floor surface F, and stops the cleaning motor 19 to stop the rotation of the cleaning pad 13. It also stops the supply pump 14 to stop the supply of cleaning water, and controls the drive of the left and right drive motors 11b to slow down the forward travel speed of the floor washer 1 (step S7).

[0145] The forward travel at this time is a preliminary forward movement, and is performed while the cleaning pad 13 is separated from the floor surface F, the supply of cleaning water is stopped, and the squeegee device 15 is lowered to the floor surface F by its own weight, while the suction blower 18 continues to perform suction. The abnormality resolution control unit 75 determines whether the travel distance of the preliminary forward movement has exceeded the preliminary forward distance FD since the start of the travel stop movement (step S8).

[0146] When the preliminary forward distance FD has elapsed (step S8: Yes), the abnormality resolution control unit 75 stops the forward travel (preliminary forward movement) of the floor washer 1 and ends the travel stop operation by stopping the drive of the left and right drive motors 11b and stopping the rotation of the wheels 11. After that, the abnormality resolution control unit 75 performs a suction backward movement operation, drives the left and right drive motors 11b (in the backward direction) to rotate the wheels 11, and thereby performs backward movement of the floor washer 1 at a low speed (step S9).

[0147] The backward travel (suction backward operation) at this time is performed by separating the cleaning pad 13 from the floor surface F, stopping the supply of cleaning water, and continuing the suction operation of the suction blower 18 with the squeegee device 15 lowered to the floor surface F by its own weight. The abnormality resolution control unit 75 determines whether the travel distance from the start of the suction backward operation has exceeded the first backward distance BD1 (step S10).

[0148] When the first backward distance BD1 has elapsed (step S10: Yes), the abnormality resolution control unit 75 stops the drive of the left and right drive motors 11b to stop the rotation of the wheels 11, thereby stopping the backward travel (suction backward operation) of the floor washer 1. After that, the abnormality resolution control unit 75 performs a squeegee lifting operation, and drives the squeegee cylinder 21 to rotate the squeegee lever 51 upward and pull the wire 52, thereby lifting the squeegee device 15 (step S11). This squeegee lifting operation is performed while the suction blower 18 continues its suction operation.

[0149] Furthermore, the abnormality resolution control unit 75 performs a preliminary reverse operation, driving the left and right drive motors 11b to rotate the wheels 11, thereby causing the floor washer 1 to travel backward at a low speed (step S12). The backward operation (preliminary reverse operation) at this time is performed while the cleaning pad 13 is kept away from the floor surface F, the supply of cleaning water is stopped, the squeegee device 15 is raised and separated from the floor surface F, and the suction blower 18 continues to perform a suction operation. The abnormality resolution control unit 75 determines whether the travel distance from the start of the preliminary reverse operation has exceeded a second reverse distance BD2 (step S13).

[0150] When the second backward distance BD2 has elapsed (step S13: Yes), the abnormality resolution control unit 75 stops the backward travel (suction backward movement operation) of the floor washer 1 by stopping the drive of the left and right drive motors 11b and stopping the rotation of the wheels 11 (step S14). As a result, the abnormality resolution control unit 75 ends the reset operation of the squeegee device 15.

[0151] After that, the process returns to step S1, and the automatic travel control unit 73 resumes the automatic travel cleaning based on the cleaning plan. When the automatic travel cleaning is resumed, the rotation speed of the cleaning motor 19 (cleaning pad 13), the suction strength (suction force) of the suction blower 18, the ground pressure strength of the pad cylinder 20 (cleaning pad 13), the amount of cleaning water supplied by the supply pump 14, and the rotation speeds of the left and right drive motors 11b (wheels 11) are set again to the states before the reset operation.

[0152] In the above embodiment, the abnormality resolution control unit 75 executes the travel stop operation including the cleaning stop operation and the preliminary forward movement operation, the suction backward movement operation, the squeegee lifting operation, and the preliminary backward movement operation, but the present invention is not limited to this example. In other examples, the abnormality resolution control unit 75 may execute at least one of the suction backward movement operation and the squeegee lifting operation to directly eliminate the foreign object caught between the squeegee device 15 and the floor surface F, that is, may execute an appropriate combination of the cleaning stop operation, the preliminary forward movement operation, the suction backward movement operation, the squeegee lifting operation, and the preliminary backward movement operation.

[0153] Furthermore, in order to directly eliminate foreign matter getting caught between the squeegee device 15 and the floor surface F or foreign matter adhering to the squeegee device 15, the abnormality resolution control unit 75 may perform a squeegee vibration operation to vibrate the raised squeegee device 15, in addition to the suction backward movement operation and the squeegee lifting operation. For example, with the squeegee device 15 raised, the abnormality resolution control unit 75 may further drive the squeegee cylinder 21 to rotate the squeegee lever 51 up and down and pull the wire 52 up and down, thereby vibrating the squeegee device 15 up and down. This makes it easier for foreign matter adhering to the squeegee device 15 to fall off.

[0154] As described above, according to this embodiment, the floor washer 1 that performs traveling cleaning by supplying cleaning water to clean the floor surface F while traveling the vehicle body 2 includes the supply pump 14, which is a cleaning water supply unit that supplies cleaning water to the cleaning pad 13 and the floor surface F, the cleaning pad 13, which is a cleaning member that cleans the floor surface F using cleaning water, the squeegee device 15 that collects wastewater after cleaning, the rear camera 8b, which is a monitoring unit that monitors the state of the squeegee device 15, and the abnormality resolution control unit 75 of the control unit 10 that performs an operation to resolve an abnormality in the wastewater collection by the squeegee device 15 when the abnormality determination unit 74 of the control unit 10 determines that the squeegee device 15 is in an abnormal state based on the monitoring results of the monitoring unit.

[0155] With this configuration, the floor washer 1 according to this embodiment can prevent the occurrence of stains on the floor F caused by dirty water leaking out behind the squeegee device 15 after cleaning due to an abnormal state of the squeegee device 15.

[0156] In addition, in the floor cleaning machine 1 according to this embodiment, the abnormality resolution control unit 75 of the control unit 10 executes a reset operation of the squeegee device 15 as an operation for resolving a wastewater collection abnormality, the reset operation including a travel stop operation for temporarily stopping travel, a suction backward operation for traveling backward a predetermined first backward distance while continuing to suck up wastewater by the squeegee device 15 after the travel stop operation, and a squeegee raising operation for raising the squeegee device 15 after the suction backward operation.

[0157] With this configuration, the floor washer 1 is small and maneuverable without increasing the product price, and the suction backward movement and the resetting movement of the squeegee device 15 cause the squeegee lifting movement to separate foreign matter caught between the squeegee device 15 and the floor surface F from the squeegee device 15 and drop it onto the floor surface F. This makes it possible to prevent wastewater from being left behind after cleaning with cleaning water, and to prevent streaks of wastewater leaking behind the squeegee device 15 due to poor contact between the squeegee device 15 and the floor surface F.

[0158] Furthermore, in the floor cleaning machine 1 according to this embodiment, the monitoring unit is equipped with a rear camera 8b that captures an image of the rear of the body of the floor cleaning machine 1, and the abnormality determination unit 74 of the control unit 10 determines whether or not the squeegee device 15 is in an abnormal state based on the monitoring image captured by the rear camera 8b as the monitoring result of the monitoring unit.

[0159] With this configuration, the floor washer 1 can use the monitoring image captured by the rear camera 8b to immediately detect dirt on the floor F caused by dirty water leaking behind the squeegee device 15 after cleaning due to an abnormal state of the squeegee device 15.

[0160] Furthermore, in the floor cleaning machine 1 according to this embodiment, the rear camera 8b has wavelength characteristics that respond to near-infrared light, and the abnormality determination section 74 of the control section 10 determines that the squeegee device 15 is in an abnormal state when it detects an image (moisture image) indicating the presence of moisture on the floor surface F that is rearward of the squeegee device 15 and in contact with the rear end of the squeegee device 15 from the monitoring image (infrared image) captured by the rear camera 8b.

[0161] With this configuration, the floor washer 1 can easily detect dirt on the floor surface F caused by dirty water leaking behind the squeegee device 15 after cleaning due to an abnormal state of the squeegee device 15 by using the monitoring image of the infrared image captured by the rear camera 8b.

[0162] <First Modification> In the above embodiment, the floor washer 1 includes the rear camera 8b having wavelength characteristics that respond to near-infrared rays as a monitoring unit, and when the abnormality determination unit 74 of the control unit 10 detects a moisture image from a monitoring image of an infrared image, the floor washer 1 determines that the squeegee device 15 is in an abnormal state. However, the present invention is not limited to this example. For example, in the first modification, the floor washer 1 includes the rear camera 8b capable of measuring temperature as a monitoring unit, and the cleaning water supply unit including the supply pump 14 supplies cleaning water, which is heated hot water, to the cleaning pad 13 and the floor surface F. Then, when the abnormality determination unit 74 of the control unit 10 detects an image indicating the presence of hot water on the floor surface F that is in contact with the rear end of the squeegee device 15 behind the squeegee device 15 from the monitoring image captured by the rear camera 8b, the abnormality determination unit 74 of the control unit 10 determines that the squeegee device 15 is in an abnormal state.

[0163] In the first modified example, the rear camera 8b is configured with a thermography camera capable of measuring temperature, and may be an infrared camera having wavelength characteristics that respond to far-infrared rays, and is configured without an auxiliary light device. The rear camera 8b takes a monitoring image of a normal image under a natural light environment, while taking a monitoring image of an infrared image showing the temperature distribution of the subject without irradiating the subject with auxiliary light. The cleaning water supply unit has a supply hose (not shown) for supplying cleaning water supplied by the supply pump 14 to the cleaning pad 13 and the floor surface F, and is configured by wrapping a heater around the outer periphery of a part of the supply hose. When supplying cleaning water, the cleaning water supply unit heats the cleaning water passing through the supply hose with the heater, and supplies the cleaning water that is heated warm water. The control unit 10 controls the heating of the cleaning water by the cleaning water supply unit, and heats the cleaning water to warm water of a predetermined temperature or higher, for example.

[0164] On a monitoring image (infrared image) captured by measuring the temperature of a subject using rear camera 8b, hot water (e.g., hot water having a predetermined temperature or higher) is highlighted in response to infrared rays. When an image indicating the presence of hot water (e.g., hot water having a predetermined temperature or higher) on floor surface F rearward of squeegee device 15 and in contact with the rear end of squeegee device 15 is detected from the infrared monitoring image, the abnormality determination unit 74 recognizes that dirty water remains on floor surface F rearward of squeegee device 15 and determines that squeegee device 15 is in an abnormal state.

[0165] According to the first modification, as in the first embodiment, by using the monitoring image of the infrared image captured by the rear camera 8b, it is possible to immediately and easily find stains on the floor surface F caused by dirty water leaking out behind the squeegee device 15 after washing with warm water due to an abnormal state of the squeegee device 15. Note that in the first modification, there is no need to provide an auxiliary light device, and the monitoring section can be simplified, allowing costs and power consumption to be reduced.

[0166] Alternatively, in another example, the cleaning water supply unit including the supply pump 14 supplies cleaning water mixed with a known additive to the cleaning pad 13 and the floor surface F. The additive is a substance that reacts to a predetermined infrared ray, may be colorless, and is composed of a substance that does not cause problems when it remains on the floor surface F. In such another example, there is no need to provide an auxiliary light device on the rear camera 8b or a heater on the cleaning water supply unit, and the moisture mixed with the additive reacts to infrared rays and is displayed in an emphasized manner on the infrared image captured by the rear camera 8b. The abnormality determination unit 74 determines that the squeegee device 15 is in an abnormal state when an image indicating the presence of cleaning water mixed with the additive on the floor surface F that is behind the squeegee device 15 and in contact with the rear end of the squeegee device 15 is detected based on a reaction to a predetermined infrared ray from the monitoring image of the infrared image.

[0167] Or, in another example, the auxiliary light device of the rear camera 8b irradiates the subject with auxiliary visible light, and the rear camera 8b captures an infrared surveillance image with the auxiliary visible light reflected by the water surface. In such another example, an image showing the presence of moisture (moisture image) can be detected from the infrared image by simple image processing without negative-positive inversion.

[0168] <Second Modification> In the above embodiment, an example has been described in which the abnormality determination unit 74 in the floor washer 1 determines that the squeegee device 15 is in an abnormal state when an image indicating the presence of moisture on the floor surface F that is behind the squeegee device 15 and in contact with the rear end of the squeegee device 15 is detected from a monitoring image captured by the rear camera 8b, but the present invention is not limited to this example. For example, in the second modified example, in the floor washer 1, as shown in Fig. 4, the abnormality determination unit 74 detects the position of the mark portion 65 provided on the squeegee device 15, recognizes the movement state and / or angular attitude of the squeegee device 15 based on the detected position of the mark portion 65, and determines whether or not the squeegee device 15 is in an abnormal state based on the recognition result.

[0169] In the second modified example, the squeegee device 15 includes a plurality of mark portions 65 spaced apart in the longitudinal direction of the squeegee device 15. The mark portions 65 are, for example, disposed at equal intervals on both the left and right sides from the left-right center of the squeegee body 31 of the squeegee device 15 and provided on the upper surface of the squeegee body 31. Specifically, the mark portion 65 formed of a sticker or the like is affixed to the upper surface of the squeegee body 31. For example, a specific mark design may be applied to the mark portion 65, or a retroreflective sheet used in road signs or the like may be used.

[0170] In the second modified example, the rear camera 8b serving as the monitoring unit captures a monitoring image of at least a monitoring area including the multiple mark portions 65 of the squeegee device 15 at the rear of the vehicle body 2. When the vehicle body 2 of the floor washer 1 turns left or right, the squeegee device 15 turns from the neutral position toward a left or right rotation position following the turning of the vehicle body 2. Therefore, the rear camera 8b is configured to be able to capture not only a monitoring image of the monitoring area including the multiple mark portions 65 of the squeegee device 15 in the neutral position, but also a monitoring image of the monitoring area including the multiple mark portions 65 of the squeegee device 15 in the rotation position.

[0171] In the second modified example, the abnormality determination unit 74 detects an image showing the mark portion 65 provided on the squeegee device 15 from the monitoring image captured by the rear camera 8b, and detects the position of the mark portion 65 on the monitoring image. The abnormality determination unit 74 determines whether the position of the mark portion 65 detected from the monitoring image is the normal position, assuming that the position of the mark portion 65 of the squeegee device 15 in a normal moving state and / or in a normal angular posture (including a position within an allowable range) is the normal position.

[0172] If the position of the mark portion 65 detected from the monitoring image is a normal position, the abnormality determination unit 74 recognizes that the movement state and / or the angular attitude of the squeegee device 15 is normal and determines that the squeegee device 15 is not in an abnormal state. On the other hand, if the position of the mark portion 65 detected from the monitoring image is not a normal position, for example, if it is significantly (above a predetermined value) deviated from the normal position or is swinging or vibrating significantly, the abnormality determination unit 74 recognizes that the movement state and / or the angular attitude of the squeegee device 15 is abnormal and determines that the squeegee device 15 is in an abnormal state.

[0173] The abnormality determination unit 74 may store the normal position of the mark portion 65 of the squeegee device 15 in advance in the storage unit 26, or may calculate it based on the position of the vehicle body 2, the position of the squeegee device 15, and the position of the mark portion 65 on the squeegee device 15. When the vehicle body 2 of the floor washer 1 turns left or right, the squeegee device 15 turns from the neutral position to a turning position left or right following the turning of the vehicle body 2. Therefore, the abnormality determination unit 74 may store in advance in the storage unit 26 or may calculate the normal position of the mark portion 65 of the squeegee device 15 in a normal moving state and / or a normal angular posture for each straight traveling state or turning state of the vehicle body 2.

[0174] According to the second modified example, similarly to the first embodiment, by detecting the mark portion 65 of the squeegee device 15 from the monitoring image captured by the rear camera 8b, the movement state and / or angular posture of the squeegee device 15 can be easily monitored, and an abnormal state of the squeegee device 15 can be easily recognized.

[0175] In the second modified example, the multiple mark portions 65 of the squeegee device 15 are configured with a sticker, a specific mark design, a retroreflective sheet, or the like, but the present invention is not limited to this example. In another example, the multiple mark portions 65 may be configured with a light-emitting portion such as an LED that emits a predetermined light. Specifically, each mark portion 65 is formed by arranging multiple LED elements in an LED array. The LEDs that constitute the mark portion 65 make the image of the mark portion 65 in the monitoring image captured by the rear camera 8b easier to recognize in the image processing by the abnormality determination unit 74 by appropriately selecting the arrangement pattern of the multiple LED elements and the wavelength of the emitted light.

[0176] The abnormality determination unit 74 detects an image showing the LED mark portion 65 from the monitoring image, and detects the position of the mark portion 65 on the monitoring image. The abnormality determination unit 74 recognizes the movement state and / or angular attitude of the squeegee device 15 based on the detected position of the LED mark portion 65, and determines whether or not the squeegee device 15 is in an abnormal state based on the recognition result.

[0177] In order to light up the LED mark section 65, the squeegee device 15 may supply power to the mark section 65 by wiring from the power supply unit 9 to the mark section 65, or may supply power to the mark section 65 by wiring from a battery provided in the squeegee device 15 to the mark section 65. Alternatively, the squeegee device 15 may be provided with a power generation unit that generates power in response to the rotation of the guide roller 34, and wiring may be provided from the power generation unit to the mark section 65 to supply power generated as the squeegee device 15 moves across the floor surface F to the mark section 65. Alternatively, the squeegee device 15 may be provided with a power generation unit that generates power in response to the suction action of the suction hose 23 by the suction blower 18 or the action of another member operating in the vicinity of the squeegee device 15.

[0178] According to this other example, it is possible to easily detect the image of the LED mark portion 65 from the monitoring image captured by the rear camera 8b due to the relationship between the characteristics of the rear camera 8b and the LED element arrangement pattern and light wavelength of the LEDs that make up the mark portion 65. Therefore, even in a dark situation, the movement state and / or angular attitude of the squeegee device 15 can be easily monitored based on the monitoring image, and an abnormal state of the squeegee device 15 can be easily recognized.

[0179] The second modified example may be used in combination with the above-described embodiment or first modified example, or may be applied separately from the above-described embodiment or first modified example.

[0180] <Third Modification> In the above embodiment, an example has been described in which the abnormality determination unit 74 in the floor washer 1 determines whether or not the squeegee device 15 is in an abnormal state based on a monitoring image captured by the rear camera 8b, but the present invention is not limited to this example. For example, in the third modified example, the floor washer 1 includes a microphone 66 and a vibration sensor 67, which are vibration detection units, as shown in FIG. 2, as a monitoring unit that monitors the state of the squeegee device 15.

[0181] The microphone 66 is provided, for example, near the rear camera 8b and collects sounds near the squeegee device 15. The vibration sensor 67 is provided on or near the squeegee device 15 (for example, the squeegee 30 or the squeegee body 31) and detects vibrations of the squeegee device 15.

[0182] The abnormality determination unit 74 inputs audio information collected by the microphone 66 and detects from the audio information an abnormal state such as a vibration sound, abnormal sound, or chatter sound generated when the squeegee device 15 moves. For example, the abnormality determination unit 74 stores in advance in the storage unit 26 the sound of the squeegee device 15 when it is normal and when it is abnormal, and compares this with the audio information input from the microphone 66 to determine whether or not the squeegee device 15 is in an abnormal state.

[0183] Furthermore, the abnormality determination unit 74 inputs vibration information detected by the vibration sensor 67, and detects from the vibration information an abnormal state such as abnormal vibration occurring when the squeegee device 15 moves. For example, the abnormality determination unit 74 stores in advance in the storage unit 26 the vibration frequency of the squeegee device 15 in a normal state and the vibration frequency of the squeegee device 15 in an abnormal state, and compares this with the vibration information input from the vibration sensor 67 to determine whether the squeegee device 15 is in an abnormal state.

[0184] According to the third modified example, by using the vibration detection unit, such as the microphone 66 or the vibration sensor 67, as a monitoring unit, the condition of the squeegee device 15 can be easily monitored based on the audio information and vibration information of the squeegee device 15, and an abnormal condition of the squeegee device 15 can be easily recognized.

[0185] The third modified example may be used in combination with the above-mentioned embodiment, the first modified example, and / or the second modified example, or may be applied separately from the above-mentioned embodiment, the first modified example, and / or the second modified example.

[0186] <Fourth Modification> Furthermore, in the configurations of the above-mentioned embodiment, the first variant, the second variant, the third variant, and other examples, in the fourth variant, an artificial intelligence (AI) constituted by the computer of the control unit 10 or the computer of an external device via the communication unit 29 has the function of learning through machine learning how to determine whether the squeegee device 15 is in an abnormal state based on the monitoring results of the squeegee device 15 by the monitoring unit.

[0187] The machine learning adopted in the fourth modification is preferably supervised learning, and the relationship between data is recognized by learning the "relationship between input and output" from the read data. For example, a "correct answer" label is assigned to the learning data by manually inputting the history of replacement due to breakdown or wear and tear of the actual squeegee device 15 by an operator, and the computer automatically distinguishes the characteristics of the data to which the "correct answer" label is assigned from the characteristics of the other data in the given learning data, and by improving the discrimination ability, it becomes possible to output data that is the "correct answer" for the input value. In addition, in the machine learning adopted in the fourth modification, data other than the manual input of the supervised learning data described above is input to a deep learning algorithm, and a neural network similar to human nerve cells is used to learn the feature amount that is useful for the AI ​​to automatically determine the output of data, and the computer autonomously learns the characteristics of the data.

[0188] In the fourth variant, learning models such as an input pattern model and an abnormal state judgment model generated by machine learning for an input pattern of surrounding information of the squeegee device 15, including the monitoring results of the squeegee device 15 by the monitoring unit, and a judgment of an abnormal state of the squeegee device 15 corresponding to the input pattern, are stored in a memory unit 26, for example, in a judgment history DB.

[0189] In addition, in the fourth variant, learning models such as an input pattern model, a failure determination model, and a replacement time determination model generated by machine learning for an input pattern of surrounding information about the squeegee device 15 and a determination of a failure or replacement time of the squeegee device 15 corresponding to the input pattern are stored in a memory unit 26, for example, a failure and replacement history DB.

[0190] In the fourth modified example, for example, the abnormality determination unit 74 of the control unit 10 learns learning models such as an input pattern model and an abnormal state determination model by machine learning. The abnormality determination unit 74 uses the type of each surrounding information of the squeegee device 15, the type of its detailed items, and the data items of the determination history DB as input parameters, and performs machine learning with the abnormal state determination according to the input pattern as an output parameter to construct a learning model (an input pattern model and an abnormal state determination model). In this learning model, each input pattern and each abnormal state determination are appropriately associated and stored, and the more machine learning is performed, the more appropriately the input pattern and each abnormal state determination are associated, and by using the learning model, the abnormality determination unit 74 can more appropriately perform an abnormal state determination according to the input pattern.

[0191] For example, as shown in FIG. 9, the abnormality determination unit 74 constructs a learning model by machine learning using a network in which virtual computer nodes (shown as small circles in FIG. 9) are connected to neural networks, that is, a neural network. The abnormality determination unit 74 may input the types of each surrounding information, the types of its detailed items, and the data items of the determination history DB as input parameters to the input layer of the neural network, and may further input installation location data regarding the installation of the floor washer 1 and date and time data when the automatic traveling cleaning is performed. The neural network is divided into an input layer and an intermediate layer, and in the calculation of the intermediate layer, a weighting coefficient set for each type of detailed item is used, and the larger the weighting coefficient, the more important it is to be machine-learned. As the output layer of the neural network, a learning model for abnormal state determination (abnormal state determination model) may be generated, and a learning model for an input pattern (input pattern model) may be generated and stored in the determination history DB of the storage unit 26.

[0192] As shown in FIG. 10, the types of each surrounding information are, for example, image information and vibration information showing the state of the squeegee device 15, cleaning work information showing the running status of the machine, and other information (for example, information that changes in real time). The types of detailed items of the image information are wastewater remaining data, squeegee oscillation data, squeegee neutral data, etc. based on the monitoring image captured by the rear camera 8b, which is the monitoring result of the squeegee device 15. The types of detailed items of the vibration information are squeegee vibration data, squeegee chatter sound data, squeegee abnormal sound data, etc. based on the detection result of the microphone 66 and the vibration sensor 67, which is the monitoring result of the squeegee device 15. The types of detailed items of the cleaning work information are straight running data, running speed data, cleaning water supply amount data, suction blower strength data, etc. The types of detailed items of the other information are floor surface type data, date and time / day data, weather data, congestion data, event data, etc.

[0193] In FIG. 10, weighting of data for each input layer is presented, but the weighting may change sequentially through machine learning.

[0194] The monitoring image and vibration analysis using machine learning by the abnormality determination unit 74 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

[0195] The abnormality determination unit 74 performs image information analysis based on the monitoring image captured by the rear camera 8b as the monitoring result of the squeegee device 15, and inputs the result (step S21).

[0196] The abnormality determination unit 74 performs image information analysis based on the audio information detected by the microphone 66 and the vibration information detected by the vibration sensor 67 as the monitoring results of the squeegee device 15, and inputs the results (step S22).

[0197] The abnormality determination unit 74 refers to and inputs the cleaning work information based on the travel data and cleaning data during the automatic travel and cleaning of the floor washer 1 (step S23).

[0198] The abnormality determination unit 74 refers to and inputs other information based on the environment during the automatic traveling and cleaning of the floor washer 1 (step S24).

[0199] The abnormality determination unit 74 performs an abnormal state determination by referring to the determination history DB based on the above-mentioned input information, and performs a failure determination and a replacement time determination by referring to the failure and replacement history DB (step S25).

[0200] The abnormality determination unit 74 performs machine learning of each piece of input information and the abnormal state determination, failure determination, and replacement time determination that have been performed (step S26).

[0201] The abnormality determination unit 74 outputs the results of the failure determination and the replacement time determination by issuing an alarm or displaying the results via the operation and display unit 6 (step S27).

[0202] As shown in Fig. 11, image information and vibration information are analyzed, and cleaning work information and other information are referenced from the cleaning plan and operation settings, and machine learning is performed by correlating them while considering mutual weighting, and a failure prediction and replacement time prediction are obtained as output, and an alarm is output. The history of actual replacement work is repeatedly used as teacher data, and is accumulated and recorded in the failure replacement history of the memory unit 26.

[0203] For example, when the floor washer 1 is cleaning according to a cleaning plan, the operation of the body 2 and various settings are monitored, as well as the swing angle, vibration state, presence or absence of remaining wastewater, and state of remaining wastewater of the squeegee device 15. If it is determined based on the monitoring results that the tendency of the posture state of the squeegee device 15 has deviated from the initial normal state, the floor washer 1 will sound an alarm of an abnormality in the squeegee device 15 (front blade 32 or rear blade 33) or calculate and output the expected replacement time based on the operating time.

[0204] Furthermore, the floor washer 1 may evaluate the travel speed, the amount of cleaning water supplied, and the strength of the suction blower in relation to the remaining dirty water, and output the settings optimized based on the evaluation results as recommended settings.

[0205] The abnormality determination unit 74 performs machine learning when storing the input pattern of the surrounding information and the abnormal state determination in the storage unit 26 in association with each other. When storing in the storage unit 26, each piece of surrounding information constituting the input pattern is identified as a type of surrounding information or a type of detailed item, and stored in a data item of the determination history DB. During machine learning, the data items identified as the types of surrounding information or detailed items are extracted from the determination history DB. The abnormality determination unit 74 may input the input pattern and the abnormal state determination in association with each other by input via the operation display unit 6 or communication with an external device via the communication unit 29, and store them in the storage unit 26 or perform machine learning.

[0206] The input parameters are not limited to those described above, and may include definition data and automatically generated data. The definition data is, for example, data that defines operation rules and priority operation policies with other devices. The automatically generated data is data that is automatically generated sequentially by machine learning, and may include, for example, past stored data (for example, input pattern data) accumulated in a judgment history DB, abnormal state judgment data that was generated and executed in the past, and these data imported from an external DB.

[0207] In addition, the judgment history DB, input pattern model, and abnormal state judgment model that can be used by the abnormality judgment unit 74 are not limited to those stored in the memory unit 26, and the abnormality judgment unit 74 can also use the judgment history DB, input pattern model, and abnormal state judgment model stored in an external device via the communication unit 29.

[0208] Next, the automatic traveling and cleaning including machine learning of the floor washer 1 of this embodiment will be specifically described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

[0209] When the floor washer 1 starts automatic cleaning based on a predetermined cleaning plan, the rear camera 8b captures monitoring images as a result of monitoring the squeegee device 15, and / or the microphone 66 and the vibration sensor 67 detect audio information and vibration information as a result of monitoring the squeegee device 15, and sequentially inputs the information as surrounding information indicating the situation around the floor washer 1 (step S31).

[0210] Based on an input pattern consisting of one or more pieces of inputted surrounding information, the abnormality determination unit 74 performs an abnormal state determination of the squeegee device 15 as necessary (step S32). Even if the floor washer 1 inputs surrounding information other than the surrounding information used for abnormal state determination, the abnormality determination unit 74 regards a pattern in which all of the surrounding information is inputted sequentially as an input pattern. At this time, the abnormality determination unit 74 determines the input pattern based on the input pattern model stored in the storage unit 26, and performs abnormal state determination based on the abnormal state determination model stored in the storage unit 26.

[0211] Thereafter, when the abnormal state determination is completed, the abnormal state determination unit 74 associates the input pattern with the abnormal state determination and stores them in the storage unit 26, and stores them in the determination history DB (step S33). At this time, the input pattern stored in the determination history DB includes other surrounding information input in addition to the surrounding information used for the abnormal state determination.

[0212] The abnormality judgment unit 74 performs machine learning based on the surrounding information of the input pattern stored in the judgment history DB and the abnormal state judgment associated with it (step S34), and generates an input pattern model and an abnormal state judgment model and stores them in the memory unit 26 (step S35).

[0213] In addition, the input pattern model and the abnormal state judgment model generated by the abnormality judgment unit 74 as described above can be used even when the cleaning plan is different. For example, for a cleaning plan of a specific cleaning site, an input pattern including audio information (work chime, alarm sound, etc.) around the floor washer 1 and the corresponding abnormal state judgment are set in the input pattern model and the abnormal state judgment model. In this case, the same abnormal state judgment is often performed for an input pattern including the same audio information (work chime, alarm sound, etc.) even in cleaning plans of other cleaning sites, so the same input pattern model and abnormal state judgment model can be used.

[0214] The input pattern model and abnormal state judgment model generated by the abnormality judgment unit 74 are not limited to the examples described above, and various similar input patterns can be associated with each abnormal state judgment, and various similar abnormal state judgments can be associated.

[0215] According to the fourth modified example, an input pattern of the surrounding information of the squeegee device 15, including the monitoring results of the squeegee device 15 by the monitoring unit, and an abnormal state determination of the squeegee device 15 corresponding to the input pattern are stored in the storage unit 26 as a learning model learned by machine learning, and an appropriate abnormal state determination is applied by machine learning according to the surrounding information, so that it is possible to accurately recognize abnormalities in the squeegee device 15. Furthermore, in the fourth modified example, not only the abnormal state determination but also the prediction of failures and replacement times can be appropriately performed by machine learning according to the surrounding information.

[0216] <Fifth Modification> In the above embodiment, an example has been described in which the abnormality resolution control unit 75 in the floor washer 1 executes the reset operation of the squeegee device 15 as an operation for resolving the wastewater collection abnormality, but the present invention is not limited to this example. In the fifth modified example, in addition to or instead of the reset operation of the squeegee device 15 in the automatic travel cleaning in a predetermined cleaning plan, the abnormality resolution control unit 75 in the floor washer 1 may automatically create an additional cleaning plan (additional plan) as an operation for resolving the wastewater collection abnormality after the completion of the cleaning plan (see FIG. 13(1)), and execute the automatic travel cleaning according to the additional plan (see FIG. 13(2)). At this time, the plan creation unit 72 and the automatic travel control unit 73 function as the abnormality resolution control unit 75. Note that, when the floor washer 1 executes the additional plan instead of the reset operation of the squeegee device 15, the reset operation of the squeegee device 15 in the automatic travel cleaning in the original cleaning plan is omitted.

[0217] In the fifth modified example, while the automatic travel control unit 73 is performing automatic travel cleaning according to a predetermined cleaning plan, the rear camera 8b, which is a monitoring unit of the squeegee device 15, captures a monitoring image of a monitoring area including the squeegee device 15 at the rear of the vehicle body 2 and the floor surface F that is in contact with the rear end of the squeegee device 15 behind the squeegee device 15, and stores the captured image in the storage unit 26. When the abnormality determination unit 74 detects a moisture image on the floor surface F that is in contact with the rear end of the squeegee device 15 behind the squeegee device 15 from such a monitoring image, and recognizes that sewage remains on the floor surface F behind the squeegee device 15, the abnormality determination unit 74 stores information about the remaining sewage (sewage remaining information), for example, the position and state (shape of the sewage remaining image) on the environmental map where the remaining sewage was detected, in the storage unit 26, as shown in FIG. 13(1), regardless of whether the squeegee device 15 is in an abnormal state.

[0218] When automatic cleaning according to a specified cleaning plan is completed, if remaining wastewater information is stored in the memory unit 26, the plan creation unit 72 functioning as an abnormality resolution control unit 75 creates an additional plan based on the remaining wastewater information and stores it in the memory unit 26.

[0219] At this time, as shown in FIG. 13(2), the plan creation unit 72 may create an additional travel route (additional route 82) that travels the position of the remaining wastewater in the shortest distance or the shortest time based on the environmental map of the original cleaning plan and the position of the remaining wastewater indicated by the remaining wastewater information, regardless of the travel route 81 of the original cleaning plan, and may create an additional plan so that the cleaning work is performed only at the position of the remaining wastewater indicated by the remaining wastewater information while traveling along the additional route 82. That is, in the route from one remaining wastewater to the next remaining wastewater, the cleaning pad 13 is separated from the floor surface F, the squeegee device 15 is raised, the supply of cleaning water is stopped, and the floor washer 1 is caused to travel. Note that, when the remaining wastewater image shape indicated by the remaining wastewater information extends in a predetermined direction, the plan creation unit 72 may create the additional route 82 so as to pass the position of the remaining wastewater along the direction in which the remaining wastewater image shape extends.

[0220] Alternatively, the plan creation unit 72 may create an additional plan based on the environmental map and driving route 81 of the original cleaning plan, such that the cleaning operation is performed only at locations where sewage remains, as indicated by the remaining sewage information, while driving along the original driving route 81.

[0221] When creating an additional plan for remaining sewage, the plan creation unit 72 may set cleaning data according to the original cleaning plan, or may set cleaning data suitable for washing and cleaning the remaining sewage based on the shape of the remaining sewage image.

[0222] When an additional plan is created, the automatic driving control unit 73, functioning as an abnormality resolution control unit 75, reads the additional plan from the memory unit 26 and performs automatic control of the driving unit 3 based on this additional plan, controlling the driving unit 3 so that the vehicle body 2 performs automatic driving in accordance with the driving route 81, the additional route 82, and the driving data for each step of the additional plan.

[0223] Furthermore, while the traveling unit 3 automatically travels the vehicle body 2 along the traveling route 81 or the additional route 82 of the additional plan, the automatic driving control unit 73 reads cleaning data corresponding to the position of remaining sewage in the vehicle body 2 from the cleaning plan, and controls the cleaning unit 4 to perform cleaning work by automatic control according to this cleaning data.

[0224] In the fifth variant, the operator may select whether to perform a reset operation of the squeegee device 15 or to create and execute an additional plan as an operation to resolve the wastewater collection abnormality before the start of the automatic cleaning operation of the cleaning plan, or the operator may select during the automatic cleaning operation of the cleaning plan (for example, when a moisture image is detected from a monitored image).

[0225] Alternatively, in the fifth variant, the control unit 10 may determine whether to perform a reset operation of the squeegee device 15 or to create and execute an additional plan as an operation to resolve the wastewater recovery abnormality, depending on the occurrence status of remaining wastewater (e.g., the location and condition of the remaining wastewater).

[0226] At this time, the control unit 10 may learn through machine learning, using artificial intelligence (AI), the selection of an operation for resolving the wastewater collection abnormality of the squeegee device 15 based on the occurrence status of remaining wastewater. That is, similar to the above-mentioned fourth modified example, the control unit 10 uses data including the occurrence status of remaining wastewater as an input parameter, and performs machine learning with the selection of an operation for resolving the wastewater collection abnormality according to the input pattern as an output parameter to construct each learning model. Then, by using each learning model, the control unit 10 selects an appropriate operation for resolving the wastewater collection abnormality through machine learning according to the occurrence status of remaining wastewater, and can accurately resolve the wastewater collection abnormality.

[0227] Furthermore, the floor washer 1 may combine the execution of a reset operation of the squeegee device 15 with the execution of an additional plan as an operation for resolving a wastewater collection abnormality in a predetermined cleaning plan. That is, when residual wastewater (wastewater collection abnormality) occurs during automatic travel cleaning with a predetermined cleaning plan, the floor washer 1 may perform a reset operation at the position where the wastewater remains, and after the automatic travel cleaning is completed, create and execute an additional plan at the position where the wastewater remains.

[0228] <Sixth Modification> In the sixth modified example, a monitoring system 100 for the above-mentioned floor washer 1 can be configured as shown in Fig. 14. The monitoring system 100 includes a plurality of floor washer 1 (1a, 1b, 1c) having the same configuration as the above-mentioned floor washer 1, and a monitoring device 101. The plurality of floor washer 1a, 1b, 1c and the monitoring device 101 are communicatively connected via a predetermined network 102 such as the Internet. The plurality of floor washer 1a, 1b, 1c are each connected to the network 102 via a communication unit 29. Although three floor washer 1a, 1b, 1c are illustrated in Fig. 14, the monitoring system 100 may include two floor washer 1 or four or more floor washer 1.

[0229] The monitoring system 100 also includes a plurality of worker terminal devices 103 (103a, 103b, 103c). The plurality of worker terminal devices 103a, 103b, 103c are connected to the plurality of floor washer 1a, 1b, 1c via the network 102 in a one-to-one communicable manner. The plurality of worker terminal devices 103a, 103b, 103c can transmit operation signals to the plurality of floor washer 1a, 1b, 1c, respectively, and can also receive operation statuses from the plurality of floor washer 1a, 1b, 1c.

[0230] The monitoring device 101 includes, for example, a Web AP (Web Application) server 101a, a DB server 101b, and a database 101c. The monitoring device 101 has a function of sharing information among the floor cleaners 1a, 1b, and 1c, and stores cleaning plans generated by the floor cleaners 1a, 1b, and 1c, input pattern models such as image information and vibration information, and learning models such as abnormal state determination models in the database 101c, and manages them so that each of the floor cleaners 1a, 1b, and 1c can use them. The monitoring device 101 may also store abnormal state determination history, reset history, and failure history of each of the floor cleaners 1a, 1b, and 1c in the database 101c. If the user of each of the floor cleaners 1a, 1b, and 1c has a membership contract, the monitoring device 101 may store the membership contract information in the database 101c.

[0231] For example, the monitoring device 101 receives learning models such as an input pattern model and an abnormal state determination model generated by each of the floor cleaning machines 1a, 1b, and 1c, and stores them in the database 101c. The monitoring device 101 may transmit a transmission request to each of the floor cleaning machines 1a, 1b, and 1c so that each of the floor cleaning machines 1a, 1b, and 1c transmits the learning models to the monitoring device 101.

[0232] Furthermore, the monitoring device 101 reads out learning models such as input pattern models and abnormal state determination models generated by the other floor cleaning machines 1b and 1c from the database 101c and transmits them to the one floor cleaning machine 1a. The monitoring device 101 may transmit the learning models of the other floor cleaning machines 1b and 1c to the one floor cleaning machine 1a when it receives learning models from the other floor cleaning machines 1b and 1c, when it receives a transmission request from the one floor cleaning machine 1a to transmit a learning model to the one floor cleaning machine 1a, or during a predetermined time period when the one floor cleaning machine 1a does not travel or clean.

[0233] Each of the floor cleaning machines 1a, 1b, and 1c transmits learning models such as the input pattern model and the abnormal state determination model stored in the storage unit 26 to the monitoring device 101 via the communication unit 29. Each of the floor cleaning machines 1a, 1b, and 1c may transmit the learning models to the monitoring device 101 when the learning models such as the input pattern model and the abnormal state determination model are generated, when a transmission request for the learning models is received from the monitoring device 101, or during a predetermined time period when traveling or cleaning is not performed.

[0234] Furthermore, the first floor washer 1a receives learning models such as input pattern models and abnormal state determination models of the other floor washer 1b, 1c from the monitoring device 101 via the communication unit 29 and stores them in the storage unit 26. The first floor washer 1a can determine the input pattern and the abnormal state using not only the learning models generated by itself but also the learning models generated by the other floor washer 1b, 1c. The first floor washer 1a may transmit a transmission request to the monitoring device 101 so that the monitoring device 101 transmits the learning models to the first floor washer 1a.

[0235] In the above, an example has been described in which the monitoring device 101 transmits the learning models of other floor cleaning machines 1b and 1c to one floor cleaning machine 1a, but the monitoring device 101 transmits the learning models of each floor cleaning machine 1a, 1b, and 1c to each other.

[0236] In the above, an example has been described in which the monitoring device 101 identifies the learning models of each of the floor cleaning machines 1a, 1b, and 1c and stores and manages them in the database 101c. However, the monitoring device 101 may also integrate the learning models of each of the floor cleaning machines 1a, 1b, and 1c through machine learning.

[0237] Thus, according to the sixth modified example, the monitoring system 100 includes the above-mentioned floor washer 1 and a monitoring device 101 that wirelessly communicates with the floor washer 1. The monitoring device 101 receives and stores image information of the squeegee device 15 captured by a monitoring unit and vibration information detected from the squeegee device 15 by the monitoring unit, generates a learning model used to generate a level of normality of the squeegee device 15 by machine learning using the stored image information and vibration information, and determines and outputs the level of normality of the squeegee device 15 based on the learning model.

[0238] In other words, in a floor cleaning machine 1 that performs traveling cleaning by supplying cleaning water to clean a floor surface F while traveling a vehicle body 2, a method for determining the state of a squeegee device 15 that collects wastewater after cleaning includes a monitoring process for monitoring the state of the squeegee device 15, and a determination process for determining the degree of normal state of the squeegee device 15 based on image information captured of the squeegee device 15 in the monitoring process and vibration information detected from the squeegee device 15 in the monitoring process.

[0239] According to a sixth modified example, a monitoring system 100 including the floor washer 1 includes a plurality of floor washer 1 (1a, 1b, 1c) and a monitoring device 101 communicably connected to the plurality of floor washer 1a, 1b, 1c via a network 102. Each of the plurality of floor washer 1a, 1b, 1c transmits a learning model to the monitoring device 101. The monitoring device 101 receives the learning models from the plurality of floor washer 1a, 1b, 1c and stores them in a database 101c, and transmits the learning models constructed by the other floor washer 1b, 1c to the one floor washer 1a, and the one floor washer 1a judges an input pattern and / or judges an abnormal state using the learning model generated by the floor washer 1a and the learning models generated by the other floor washer 1b, 1c.

[0240] With this configuration, the monitoring system 100 of the sixth modified example can share surrounding information of multiple floor cleaning machines 1 (1a, 1b, 1c) and determine various input patterns in response to various cases, and can accurately determine abnormal conditions based on the various input patterns, thereby improving safety.

[0241] According to the sixth variant, by accumulating data such as surrounding information of the squeegee device 15 in various cleaning areas 80 by multiple floor cleaners 1 (1a, 1b, 1c) in the monitoring device 101, the accuracy of machine learning that applies a learning model of the surrounding information is improved, and it becomes possible to more appropriately determine an abnormal state using the learning model of the surrounding information, issue an abnormality warning, and calculate the operating time for the expected replacement timing.

[0242] Furthermore, in the monitoring system 100, a plurality of floor cleaners 1 (1a, 1b, 1c) can be operated, and each floor cleaner 1 may create a cleaning plan and perform automatic travel cleaning so that the plurality of floor cleaners 1 (1a, 1b, 1c) share the cleaning work of the cleaning area 80 at one work site. In this case, for the additional plan created as in the fifth modified example for the remaining wastewater in each cleaning area 80, the additional plan may be assigned to each floor cleaner 1 so that the plurality of floor cleaners 1 (1a, 1b, 1c) can execute the additional plan efficiently. For example, if it is determined that the remaining wastewater left by one floor cleaner 1a is in the movement path of another floor cleaner 1b, such as a storage place, charging place, drainage place, or water supply place, the other floor cleaner 1b may execute an additional plan to re-clean the remaining wastewater. In this way, an additional plan may be assigned to each floor cleaner 1 so that the floor cleaner 1 that can easily access a certain remaining wastewater executes the additional plan for the remaining wastewater.

[0243] Alternatively, in the monitoring system 100, the multiple floor washer 1 (1a, 1b, 1c) may transmit remaining wastewater information to the monitoring device 101, and the monitoring device 101 may create an additional plan based on the remaining wastewater information instead of each floor washer 1. In this case, the monitoring device 101 may recognize the current positions of the multiple floor washer 1 (1a, 1b, 1c) in each cleaning area 80, and create and assign an additional plan for the remaining wastewater so that each floor washer 1 can easily access the remaining wastewater.

[0244] In addition, the technology of the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and may be variously changed, substituted, or modified within the scope of the gist of the technical idea. Furthermore, if the technical idea can be realized in a different way due to the progress of technology or another derived technology, it may be implemented using that method. Therefore, the claims cover all embodiments that can be included in the scope of the technical idea. [Industrial Applicability]

[0245] As described above, the technique of the present invention is suitable for use in floor cleaners used in commercial facilities such as large shopping malls, offices, hotels, hospitals, schools, factories, and the like. [Explanation of symbols]

[0246] 1, 1a, 1b, 1c Floor cleaning machine 2. Body 3 Running part 4 Cleaning Department 6 Operation display section 8. Imaging unit 8a Front camera 8b Rear camera (surveillance section) 9 Power supply section 10 Control section 13 Cleaning pad (cleaning material) 14 Supply pump (cleaning water supply section) 15 Squeegee device 18 Suction Blower 26 Memory section 29 Communications Department 30 Squeegee 32 Front Blade 33 Rear Blade 65 Mark Section 66 Microphone (vibration detection unit, monitoring unit) 67 Vibration sensor (vibration detection unit, monitoring unit) 70 Mode switching section 71 Cartography Department 72 Planning Department 73 Automatic driving control unit 74 Abnormality determination section 75 Abnormality elimination control unit 100 Surveillance System 101 Monitoring equipment 101a Server 101b DB server 101c Database 102 Network 103, 103a, 103b, 103c Operator terminal device

Claims

1. A floor cleaning machine that performs traveling cleaning by supplying cleaning water to clean a floor surface while traveling a vehicle body, A cleaning water supply unit that supplies the cleaning water; A cleaning member that cleans the floor surface using the cleaning water; A squeegee device for collecting wastewater after cleaning; A monitoring unit that monitors a state of the squeegee device; a control unit that executes an operation to resolve the abnormality in wastewater collection by the squeegee device when it is determined that the squeegee device is in an abnormal state based on a monitoring result of the monitoring unit; A floor cleaning machine comprising:

2. The control unit executes a reset operation of the squeegee device, as the cancellation operation, which includes a travel stop operation for temporarily stopping travel, a suction backward operation for traveling backward a predetermined first backward distance while continuing to suction the wastewater after the cleaning by the squeegee device after the travel stop operation, and a squeegee raising operation for raising the squeegee device after the suction backward operation.

3. The monitoring unit includes a rear camera that captures an image of a rear side of the floor washer, 2. The floor washer according to claim 1, wherein the control unit determines whether or not the squeegee device is in an abnormal state based on a monitoring image captured by the rear camera as the monitoring result of the monitoring unit.

4. The rear camera has wavelength characteristics that respond to near-infrared rays, The floor cleaning machine according to claim 3, characterized in that the control unit determines that the squeegee device is in an abnormal state when an image indicating the presence of moisture on the floor surface rearward of the squeegee device and in contact with the rear end of the squeegee device is detected from the surveillance image captured by the rear camera.

5. The cleaning water supply unit supplies the cleaning water which is heated water, The floor cleaning machine according to claim 3, characterized in that the control unit determines that the squeegee device is in an abnormal state when an image indicating the presence of warm water on the floor surface rearward of the squeegee device and in contact with the rear end of the squeegee device is detected from the monitoring image captured by the rear camera.

6. the squeegee device includes a plurality of mark portions spaced apart in a longitudinal direction of the squeegee device, The floor cleaning machine according to claim 1, characterized in that the monitoring unit detects the position of the mark portion, recognizes the movement state and / or angular posture of the squeegee device based on the detected position of the mark portion, and determines whether or not the squeegee device is in an abnormal state based on the recognition result.

7. 7. The floor washer according to claim 6, wherein the mark portion is formed of a light emitting portion that emits a predetermined light.

8. The floor washer according to claim 1 , wherein the monitoring unit includes a vibration detection unit.

9. A storage unit is provided for storing the state of the squeegee device monitored by the monitoring unit and the running state of the body of the floor washer, The control unit generates a learning model used to determine whether or not the squeegee device is in an abnormal state by machine learning using the state of the squeegee device stored in the memory unit and the running conditions of the machine, and determines whether or not the squeegee device is in an abnormal state based on the learning model.

10. The floor cleaning machine according to claim 1 , A monitoring device that is wirelessly connected to the floor cleaning machine, The monitoring device receives and stores image information of the squeegee device captured by the monitoring unit and vibration information detected from the squeegee device by the monitoring unit, generates a learning model used to determine the degree of normality of the squeegee device through machine learning using the stored image information and vibration information, and determines and outputs the degree of normality of the squeegee device based on the learning model.

11. A method for determining the state of a squeegee device that collects dirty water after cleaning in a floor cleaning machine that performs traveling cleaning by supplying cleaning water to clean a floor surface while traveling a vehicle body, comprising: a monitoring step of monitoring a state of the squeegee device; a determination step of determining a degree of a normal state of the squeegee device based on image information of the squeegee device captured in the monitoring step and vibration information detected from the squeegee device in the monitoring step; A method for determining whether or not a particular

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