Autonomous cleaning robot

Abstract

This invention provides an autonomous cleaning robot that can perform cleaning with minimal unpassed areas near boundary lines. [Solution] An autonomous cleaning robot 1 has a horizontally elongated suction nozzle 20 provided in the width direction at its front end and a control means 60 that controls it to autonomously move in the forward, backward, left, and right directions, wherein the control means 60 can move the autonomous cleaning robot 1 laterally until it approaches the boundary line SB at a predetermined distance away, and then perform boundary edge cleaning operation by moving the autonomous cleaning robot 1 along the boundary line SB.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an autonomous cleaning robot capable of autonomous driving.

Background Art

[0002] In offices, commercial facilities, accommodation facilities, etc., as part of hygiene management, cleaning is carried out using a vacuum cleaner to collect dust on the floor. In recent years, due to factors such as soaring labor costs and a shortage of human resources, there has been an increasing demand for autonomous cleaning robots that can autonomously travel on the floor while sucking dust in order to reduce the burden on workers.

[0003] As such a cleaning robot, there is known one that has drive wheels and control means such as an embedded MPU uses non-contact sensors such as ultrasonic sensors and laser sensors to measure the distance to obstacles such as walls, pillars, and people, and can autonomously travel by changing the travel route and avoiding obstacles (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0004] The autonomous cleaning robot of Patent Document 1 has a wide suction nozzle in the front, drive wheels on the left and right, and has control means and distance sensors, etc. And these left and right drive wheels are each controlled to be driven by separate driving motors, and by adjusting the rotational speed and rotational direction of these left and right drive wheels, forward and backward movement and left and right turning are possible.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] Most cleaning robots prevent missed spots by combining a normal cleaning operation that cleans the central part of a room excluding the walls with a wall-edge cleaning operation that cleans only along the walls. In the autonomous cleaning robot described in Patent Document 1, when starting the wall-edge cleaning operation, the robot gradually approaches the wall while turning left and right so that the body becomes parallel to the wall. However, in this case, there is a problem that areas not passed by the suction nozzle, or in other words, areas that are not cleaned in the cleaning section, are created on the outer diameter side of the track of the trolley due to the turning movement.

[0007] This invention addresses these problems and aims to provide an autonomous cleaning robot that can perform cleaning with minimal areas left unpassed near boundary lines. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] To solve the aforementioned problems, the autonomous cleaning robot of the present invention provides: An autonomous cleaning robot having a horizontally elongated suction nozzle provided in the width direction at the front end, and control means for controlling autonomous movement in the forward, backward, left, and right directions, The control means is characterized by its ability to move the autonomous cleaning robot laterally from side to side until it approaches the boundary line at a predetermined distance, and then perform boundary-edge cleaning by moving the autonomous cleaning robot along the boundary line. This feature allows for cleaning operations where the autonomous cleaning robot moves laterally along the boundary of the cleaning area, minimizing the unpassed area near the boundary that occurs on the outer diameter side due to the robot's rotational movement.

[0009] The suction nozzle is characterized in that its width is shorter than the width of the front of the trolley, and it is fixed in a position that is biased towards one side of the front of the trolley in the left-right direction. This feature allows for cleaning by bringing the suction nozzle close to the boundary line without increasing its size.

[0010] The autonomous cleaning robot is characterized by having multiple Mecanum wheels, each of which can be driven in all directions by a motor for propulsion. This feature allows the Mecanum wheels to be driven and controlled by the drive motor, enabling continuous cleaning in a short time without any areas remaining unpassed by the suction nozzle when the autonomous cleaning robot changes direction from forward movement to sideways movement.

[0011] The control means is characterized by moving the autonomous cleaning robot forward toward the boundary line, rotating it so that the longitudinal direction of the suction nozzle and the boundary line are perpendicular when it approaches the boundary line by a predetermined distance, and then starting the boundary line cleaning operation. This feature allows the autonomous cleaning robot to quickly approach the boundary line by moving forward until it is within a predetermined distance of the boundary line, thanks to the use of Mecanum wheels, which provide greater thrust for forward movement compared to lateral movement.

[0012] The aforementioned autonomous cleaning robot is equipped with a distance sensor for measuring the distance to an object. The control means performs a cleaning operation that combines the boundary cleaning operation and the normal cleaning operation that cleans the center of the cleaning area. The control means is characterized in that, when moving along the boundary line during boundary cleaning operation, it controls the operation at a closer approach distance to the boundary line than during normal cleaning operation. This feature allows for cleaning operations that eliminate unpassed areas by operating at a safe distance during normal cleaning operations to avoid the risk of collision, and operating as close as possible to the boundary line during boundary cleaning operations.

[0013] The control means is characterized by moving the autonomous cleaning robot to the approachable distance by moving it left and right in the lateral direction toward the boundary line during boundary cleaning operation. This feature allows the autonomous cleaning robot to quickly position itself parallel and close to the boundary line.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0014] [Figure 1] It is a perspective view showing the autonomous cleaning robot in an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] It is a left side view showing the autonomous cleaning robot. [Figure 3] It is a right side view showing the autonomous cleaning robot. [Figure 4] It is a top view showing the autonomous cleaning robot. [Figure 5] It is a schematic diagram showing the electrical system of the autonomous cleaning robot. [Figure 6] It is a perspective view showing the structure of the wheels of the autonomous cleaning robot. [Figure 7] It is a bottom view showing the structure of the suction nozzle of the autonomous cleaning robot. [Figure 8] It is a view showing the forward movement of the autonomous cleaning robot. [Figure 9] It is a view showing the rotational movement in the boundary cleaning operation of the autonomous cleaning robot. [Figure 10] It is a view showing the left - right movement in the lateral direction in the boundary cleaning operation of the autonomous cleaning robot. [Figure 11] It is a view showing the forward movement in the boundary cleaning operation of the autonomous cleaning robot. [Figure 12] It is a view showing the forward movement towards the corner in the boundary cleaning operation of the autonomous cleaning robot. [Figure 13] It is a view showing the left - right movement in the lateral direction of the autonomous cleaning robot in the boundary cleaning operation at the corner. [Figure 14] It is a view showing the backward movement of the autonomous cleaning robot in the boundary cleaning operation at the corner.

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0015] The modes for carrying out the autonomous cleaning robot according to the present invention will be described below based on the examples.

Examples

[0016] The autonomous cleaning robot according to the embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 14. Hereafter, the lower left side of Figure 1 will be considered the front side (front view) of the autonomous cleaning robot.

[0017] Autonomous cleaning robots clean offices, commercial facilities, accommodations, etc., by autonomously navigating the floor surface and sucking up and collecting dust and debris without human intervention.

[0018] As shown in Figures 1 to 4, the autonomous cleaning robot (hereinafter referred to as "cleaning robot") 1 mainly consists of a mobile carriage 10 with a suction nozzle 20 attached to its front lower part, and a vacuum cleaner 100 mounted on the rear upper part of the mobile carriage 10. In this embodiment, the vacuum cleaner 100 is a commercial vacuum cleaner that operates on commercial power and has a swivel caster (not shown) on its lower part, and is connected to the suction nozzle 20 by a nozzle hose 120 disposed inside the cleaning robot 1. In this embodiment, the suction nozzle 20 has a width (hereinafter simply referred to as "width") smaller than that of the mobile carriage 10 and is positioned off-center to the right, but the width and left-right position of the suction nozzle 20 can be freely configured.

[0019] The trolley 10 mainly consists of a pair of left and right wheels 30R, 30L provided on the front side of the trolley body 11 and a pair of left and right wheels 40R, 40L provided on the rear side of the trolley body 11, four traction motors 50 (see Figure 5) individually connected to these wheels 30R, 30L, 40R, 40L, three traction batteries 70 (see Figure 3) capable of supplying power to the traction motors 50, etc., and a control device 60 (control means, see Figure 5). In addition, the trolley 10 is equipped with four suction batteries 71 (see Figure 3) that can supply power to the vacuum cleaner 100 via an inverter 72 (see Figure 5), independently of the traction batteries 70. The three traction batteries 70 and the four suction batteries 71 are all of the same standard and can therefore be interchangeable and shared.

[0020] Furthermore, the trolley 10 includes an upper exterior 80 that covers the vacuum cleaner 100 and suction battery 71 placed on the trolley 10, and a lower exterior 90 that covers the trolley body 11 and the trolley battery 70. Sensors 61, 61 (see Figures 2 and 3) provided at the front and rear of the trolley body 11 can sense through the gap formed between the upper exterior 80 and the lower exterior 90. In this embodiment, the sensors 61, 61 are non-contact sensors such as laser sensors and ultrasonic sensors.

[0021] The upper casing 80 is mainly divided into four parts: the front casing 80F, the rear casing 80B, and the left and right side casings 80R and 80L. The upper casing 80 has an opening 81 that follows the outer edge of the vacuum cleaner body 100, and a hose opening 82 through which the nozzle hose 120 can be inserted.

[0022] As shown in Figure 5, the control device 60 can control the movement of the trolley 10 based on distance and position information from sensors 61, 61 (see also Figure 2), and information such as rotational speed from rotary encoders (not shown) connected to the four trolley motors 50. Specifically, the control device 60 can individually control the rotational speed and direction of the wheels 30R, 30L, 40R, and 40L by individually switching the magnitude and input direction of the applied voltage to the four trolley motors 50. In Figure 5, thick solid lines represent power supply lines and dotted lines represent signal supply lines.

[0023] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 6, wheels 30L and 40L are so-called Mecanum wheels equipped with multiple rollers 31L and 41L that are inclined at 45 degrees in different directions on the outer circumference of the wheel, and can rotate, turn, move straight forward and backward, and move straight left and right. For the sake of explanation, detailed illustrations are omitted, but wheel 30R is a Mecanum wheel equipped with multiple rollers 31R that are inclined at 45 degrees in the same direction as wheel 40L, and wheel 40R is a Mecanum wheel equipped with multiple rollers 41R that are inclined at 45 degrees in the same direction as wheel 30L. In other words, wheels 30L and 30R are arranged so that the rollers 31L and 31R form a V-shape when the trolley 10 is viewed from the front, and wheels 40L and 40R are arranged so that the rollers 41L and 41R form a V-shape when the trolley 10 is viewed from the rear.

[0024] According to this, the cleaning robot 1 is able to move smoothly in all directions, including forward, backward, left, and right, by combining the driving of wheels 30R, 30L, 40R, and 40L by the travel motors 50, which are individually controlled by the control device 60, with the rolling of rollers 31L, 31R, 41L, and 41R that are in contact with the floor surface.

[0025] As shown in Figure 7, the suction nozzle 20 comprises a suction port 21 and a pair of left and right wheels 22, 22. The wheels 22, 22 are so-called omni-wheels with multiple rollers 23 along their outer circumference, and are driveable in the forward and backward directions by a drive motor (not shown) built into the suction nozzle 20. The suction nozzle 20 may also be provided with a rotating brush at the suction port 21 that can be driven by a drive motor (not shown).

[0026] According to this, the suction nozzle 20 can reduce the resistance between the suction nozzle 20 and the floor surface when the cleaning robot 1 moves in all directions, particularly when it moves left and right or rotates, by combining the driving of wheels 22, 22 by a drive motor (not shown) and the rolling of rollers 23 that are in contact with the floor surface.

[0027] Furthermore, when the cleaning robot 1 moves forward or backward as described later, it is preferable that the speed of the trolley 10 driven by the wheels 30R, 30L, 40R, and 40L, and the speed of the suction nozzle 20 driven by the wheels 22, 22 are controlled to be approximately the same speed so as not to interfere with the movement of the trolley 10. In addition, the control device 60 may coordinate the driving of the wheels 22, 22 in conjunction with the driving of the wheels 30R, 30L, 40R, and 40L.

[0028] Next, the cleaning operation by the cleaning robot 1 of this embodiment will be described. The control device 60 of the cleaning robot 1 has, for example, map data of the cleaning area S, which is an indoor space, and performs a combination of normal cleaning operation, which cleans the area inside the boundary line SB, which is a wall, in the cleaning area S, i.e., the central part of the cleaning area S (indoors), and boundary-edge cleaning operation, which cleans only along the boundary line SB (wall edge).

[0029] This section will specifically describe boundary cleaning operation. In Figures 11 to 14, the area through which the suction port 21 of the cleaning robot 1 passes in the cleaning area S is indicated by dots.

[0030] First, the control device 60 compares the map data of the cleaning area S with the area that has been cleaned by normal cleaning operation. If it determines that the area that should be cleaned by normal cleaning operation has been cleaned, it starts transitioning to boundary cleaning operation from that point onward. To start boundary cleaning operation, the control device 60 moves the cleaning robot 1 from its current position to the point where boundary cleaning operation is to be started.

[0031] As shown in Figure 8, first the control device 60 moves the cleaning robot 1 forward toward the boundary line SB that is closest in a straight line from the cleaning robot 1's current position. Specifically, the control device 60 moves the cleaning robot 1 forward from position P0 to position P1, which is adjacent to the boundary line SB at a predetermined distance, by driving all of the wheels 30R, 30L, 40R, and 40L forward. During this forward movement, the control device 60 moves the front end of the trolley body 11 to a position where the front end of the trolley body 11 and the boundary line SB are separated by a predetermined distance, so that the boundary line SB does not overlap with the trajectory of the front end of the trolley body 11 during the rotational movement described later.

[0032] Once the movement from position P0 to position P1, which is adjacent to the boundary line SB at a predetermined distance, is complete, the control device 60 starts boundary cleaning operation. As shown in Figure 9, in boundary cleaning operation, the control device 60 drives wheels 30R and 40R forward and wheels 30L and 40L backward, causing the cleaning robot 1 to rotate counterclockwise from position P1 to position P2, with the center of rotation being the front-rear and left-right center of the wheels 30R and 30L and wheels 40R and 40L of the trolley body 11. Here, based on distance information from sensors 61, 61, the control device 60 rotates the cleaning robot 1 so that the trolley body 11 is parallel to the boundary line SB, in other words, until the longitudinal direction of the suction nozzle 20 and the boundary line SB are perpendicular (90 degrees in this embodiment).

[0033] Next, as shown in Figure 10, the control device 60 drives the wheels 30L and 40R forward and the wheels 30R and 40L backward, causing the cleaning robot 1 to move laterally from position P2 to position P3 with the suction nozzle 20 toward the boundary line SB. The control device 60 continues to move laterally until the distance between the suction nozzle 20 and the boundary line SB is 10 mm.

[0034] Next, as shown in Figure 11, the control device 60 drives all of the wheels 30R, 30L, 40R, and 40L forward, causing the cleaning robot 1 to move forward from position P3 to position P4 along the boundary line SB.

[0035] Next, we will describe the process when the cleaning robot 1 moves from position P4 to the left of the page in Figure 11, and the suction nozzle 20 comes into contact with another boundary line SB of the cleaning area S and reaches the next boundary line SB2, which together with boundary line SB forms a corner.

[0036] As shown in Figure 12, when the cleaning robot 1 approaches the boundary line SB2, the control device 60 first moves it forward to a position P5 where the distance from the boundary line SB2 is 10 mm. Next, as shown in Figure 13, the control device 60 drives the wheels 30L and 40R backward and the wheels 30R and 40L forward, causing the cleaning robot 1 to move laterally to the left along the next boundary line SB2 by a distance within the width of the suction nozzle 20. During this lateral movement, the distance from the boundary line SB2 is maintained at 10 mm.

[0037] Next, the control device 60 drives all the wheels 30R, 30L, 40R, and 40L backward to move the robot backward to a position P7 that is at a distance greater than or equal to the width of the suction nozzle 20 from the boundary line SB2. The control device 60 repeats this small lateral movement to the left and small backward movement to perform a boundary corner cleaning operation that cleans the area with a front-to-back dimension L1 from the rear end of the cleaning robot 1 to the suction nozzle 20, thereby eliminating any uncleaned areas in the corners.

[0038] After this rearward cleaning operation is completed, the control device 60 drives the wheels 30L and 40R backward and the wheels 30R and 40L forward, causing the cleaning robot 1 to rotate until its chassis 11 is parallel to the next boundary line SB2. The robot then performs lateral movement towards boundary line SB2 and forward movement along the boundary line, cleaning the edge of boundary line SB2. In this way, the control device 60 repeats lateral movement, forward movement along the boundary line, and rearward cleaning operations, completing boundary line cleaning operations targeting the edge of boundary line SB1, the boundary corner, and the edge of boundary line SB2.

[0039] Furthermore, when the cleaning robot 1 is in motion, the control device 60 is configured to stop or detour around objects based on distance information from sensors 61, 61, so as to maintain a state where objects are within a predetermined straight-line distance from the outer edge of the cleaning robot 1, that is, a state where they are relatively separated from the robot at a distance greater than the predetermined distance.

[0040] In detail, during normal cleaning operation, which cleans the center of the cleaning area S (indoors), the approach distance is set to 50 mm, and the system is operated in a way that maintains a state where there are no objects within 50 mm. In boundary cleaning operation, which cleans only along the boundary line SB (wall), the approach distance is set to 10 mm, and the system is operated in a way that maintains a state where there are no objects within 10 mm. The control device 60 can check the cleaned area using the map data of the cleaning area S and determine when the normal cleaning operation is complete.

[0041] In other words, since the transition to boundary cleaning operation begins only after the normal cleaning operation is completed, the approach distance is set to 10 mm from the moment the boundary cleaning operation starts. To put it another way, the control device 60 identifies the boundary line SB where boundary cleaning operation should be performed and performs the process of switching the approach distance. Therefore, during normal cleaning operation, the vehicle is operated at a sufficient approach distance to avoid the risk of collision, and during boundary cleaning operation, it is operated as close as possible to the boundary line SB, making it possible to perform cleaning operation that eliminates unpassed areas.

[0042] Furthermore, when moving laterally towards the boundary line SB during boundary edge cleaning operation, the approach distance is set to 10 mm. This allows the cleaning robot 1 to quickly move parallel and close to the boundary line SB without having to stop at a position far from the boundary line SB.

[0043] As described above, the control device 60 of the cleaning robot 1 in this embodiment moves the cleaning robot 1 laterally from side to side until it is within a predetermined distance from the boundary line SB, and then performs boundary edge cleaning by moving the cleaning robot 1 along the boundary line SB. This makes it possible to perform cleaning that eliminates the unpassed area near the boundary line SB that occurs on the outer diameter side due to the rotational movement of the cleaning robot 1 by moving the cleaning robot 1 laterally from side to side along the boundary line SB of the cleaning area S.

[0044] Furthermore, the suction nozzle 20 has a width shorter than the width of the front of the trolley 10 and is fixed to one side of the front of the trolley 10 in the left-right direction. This allows for cleaning close to walls while ensuring sufficient suction power without increasing the size of the suction nozzle 20.

[0045] Furthermore, since the drive motor 50 drives and controls the Mecanum wheels 30L, 30R, 40L, and 40R respectively, there are no areas that the suction nozzle 20 does not pass through when the cleaning robot 1 changes direction from forward movement to left-right movement, enabling continuous cleaning in a short time.

[0046] Furthermore, the control device 60 moves the cleaning robot 1 forward until it is within a predetermined distance of the boundary line SB, then rotates the cleaning robot 1 so that it is parallel to the boundary line SB, and starts cleaning along the boundary line. Since the Mecanum wheels 30L, 30R, 40L, and 40R have greater thrust when moving forward than when moving left or right in the lateral direction, the cleaning robot 1 can be brought close to the boundary line SB quickly and efficiently by moving forward until it is within a predetermined distance of the boundary line SB.

[0047] Furthermore, since the sensors 61, 61 are composed of non-contact laser sensors, if the boundary line SB is, for example, a wall, it is possible to clean the edge of the boundary line while maintaining an extremely close distance, without contact with the wall, while preventing damage to the wall or the cleaning robot 1, and preventing dirt from accumulating on it.

[0048] Although embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the drawings, the specific configurations are not limited to these embodiments, and additions and modifications that do not depart from the spirit of the present invention are also included.

[0049] For example, the cleaning robot described in the above embodiment has a configuration in which a separate vacuum cleaner is mounted on the upper rear of a traveling carriage having a suction nozzle. However, the cleaning robot is not limited to this configuration, and the functional part of the vacuum cleaner may be integrally formed with the traveling carriage.

[0050] Furthermore, although the above embodiment describes a configuration in which the cleaning robot is constantly performing suction while autonomously moving, the vacuum cleaner's operation may be controlled by control means to stop suction or reduce the suction force while the cleaning robot is turning or rotating. This eliminates or reduces the resistance caused by the suction nozzle sticking to the floor surface when the cleaning robot is turning or rotating, allowing the cleaning robot to turn and rotate more smoothly.

[0051] Furthermore, although the above embodiment described a configuration in which the suction nozzle has a width smaller in the left-right direction than the trolley, the suction nozzle is not limited to this configuration, and its left-right width may be the same as or larger than the left-right width of the cleaning robot. The left-right width of the suction nozzle should be within a range that allows for the formation of a suction opening large enough to maintain the cleaning capacity of the vacuum cleaner mounted on the trolley.

[0052] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the control device was described as moving the cleaning robot forward towards the boundary line SB closest in a straight line from the cleaning robot's current position when initiating boundary cleaning operation. However, the control device is not limited to this, and the boundary cleaning operation may be initiated from a predetermined coordinate, and the cleaning robot may be moved to that coordinate using map data.

[0053] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the rotational movement of the cleaning robot during boundary cleaning operation was described as having the center of rotation as the front-rear and left-right center of the wheels 30R, 30L and wheels 40R, 40L of the trolley body. However, the embodiment is not limited to this, and for example, the rotational movement may be performed around the left-right center of the width of the suction opening of the suction nozzle.

[0054] Furthermore, although the above embodiment described a cleaning robot having a configuration with multiple Mecanum wheels, the cleaning robot is not limited to this, and the wheels of the cleaning robot may be made of wheels other than Mecanum wheels, as long as they enable the cleaning robot to be driven in all directions. In addition, the cleaning robot may have a movement mechanism separate from the wheels that enables left-right movement and turning / rotational movement, respectively.

[0055] Furthermore, although the above embodiment described a configuration in which the suction nozzle has a plurality of omniwheels driven by a drive motor (not shown), the suction nozzle is not limited to this configuration, and the wheels of the suction nozzle may be other wheels besides omniwheels, as long as they enable the suction nozzle to be driven in the front-rear direction. Also, the wheels of the suction nozzle may not be driven, but rather driven wheels.

[0056] Furthermore, the approachable distance differs between normal cleaning operation, which cleans the center of the cleaning area S (indoors), and boundary cleaning operation, which cleans only along the boundary line SB (wall edge). Both are based on distance information obtained by sensor 61, but this is not limited to this. In boundary cleaning operation, sensor 61 may be turned off, and distance information may be obtained using another sensor.

[0057] Furthermore, the system is not limited to a configuration in which a boundary cleaning operation is performed only along the boundary line SB (wall edge) after a normal cleaning operation that cleans the center of the cleaning area S (indoors). For example, a configuration in which a normal cleaning operation is performed after the boundary cleaning operation is completed may also be used. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0058] 1. Autonomous cleaning robot 10. Running bogie 11. Bogie body 20 Suction nozzles 21 Suction port 22 wheels 23 Laura 30L, 30R wheels (Mecanum wheels) 31L, 31R Roller 40L, 40R wheels (Mecanum wheels) 41L, 41R Roller 50 Motor for driving 60 Control device (control means) 61 Sensors 70 Driving Battery 71 Suction Battery 80 Upper exterior 90 Lower exterior 100 vacuum cleaner 120 Nozzle Hose S Cleaning Area SB border SB2 border

Claims

1. An autonomous cleaning robot having a horizontally elongated suction nozzle provided in the width direction at the front end, and control means for controlling autonomous movement in the forward, backward, left, and right directions, The control means is characterized in that it can move the autonomous cleaning robot left and right in a lateral direction until it approaches the boundary line at a predetermined distance away, and then perform boundary-edge cleaning operation by moving the autonomous cleaning robot along the boundary line.

2. The autonomous cleaning robot according to claim 1, characterized in that the suction nozzle has a width shorter than the width of the front of the trolley and is fixed in a position that is biased toward one side in the left or right direction of the front of the trolley.

3. The autonomous cleaning robot according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it has a plurality of Mecanum wheel wheels, each of which can be driven in all directions by a driving motor.

4. The control means moves the autonomous cleaning robot forward toward the boundary line, rotates it so that the longitudinal direction of the suction nozzle is perpendicular to the boundary line when it approaches the boundary line by a predetermined distance, and then starts cleaning the boundary line, as described in any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. The aforementioned autonomous cleaning robot is equipped with a distance sensor for measuring the distance to an object. The control means performs a cleaning operation that combines the boundary cleaning operation and the normal cleaning operation that cleans the center of the cleaning area. The autonomous cleaning robot according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, when moving along the boundary line during boundary edge cleaning operation, the operation is controlled at a closer approach distance to the boundary line than during normal cleaning operation.

6. The autonomous cleaning robot according to claim 5, characterized in that the control means moves the autonomous cleaning robot to the approachable distance by moving it left and right in the lateral direction toward the boundary line during boundary edge cleaning operation.

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