Vehicle cleaning device

Abstract

To provide a cleaning device for vehicle which can accurately clean the interior of a vehicle.SOLUTION: A cleaning device for vehicle includes: a robot arm 130 which has a sensor 131 that recognizes the situation of an on-vehicle device 230 mounted on a vehicle 200, and is configured to be movable so as to avoid the on-vehicle device 230 with a prescribed degree of freedom in a passenger compartment; a communication unit 110 which is configured to be able to communicate with the vehicle 200 and receives information about the situation of the on-vehicle device 230 recognized by the sensor 131 from the vehicle 200; and a robot control device 120 which transmits a notification signal indicating that it is difficult to clean the inside of the passenger compartment to an external device when acquiring information indicating that the situation of the on-vehicle device 230 is the situation where it is difficult to clean the inside of the passenger compartment through the communication unit 110, or transmits a control signal that controls the operation of the on-vehicle device 230 to the vehicle 200 so as to realize the situation where the inside of the passenger compartment can be cleaned.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a cleaning device for a vehicle. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there have been proposed cleaning devices for vehicles that clean the interior of a vehicle while moving around to avoid obstacles such as seats inside the vehicle. For example, the device described in Patent Document 1 has a function of replacing the finger part attached to the tip of the robot arm with a cleaning head for cleaning the interior of the vehicle, and cleans various parts of the vehicle interior while moving the cleaning head attached to the tip of the robot arm. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-12635 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in the conventional technology, depending on the conditions inside the vehicle cabin, the degree of freedom of movement of the robot arm may be limited, making it impossible to perform cleaning accurately, and there is still room for improvement.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has an object to provide a vehicle cleaning device that can accurately clean the interior of a vehicle. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A vehicle cleaning device that solves the above problem includes a robot arm that has a recognition unit that recognizes the status of an on-board device mounted on a vehicle and is configured to move within the vehicle cabin to avoid the on-board device with a predetermined degree of freedom, a communication unit that is configured to be able to communicate with the vehicle and acquires from the vehicle information regarding the status of the on-board device recognized by the recognition unit, and a control unit that, when information indicating that the status of the on-board device is in a state where it is difficult to clean the interior of the vehicle is acquired through the communication unit, sends a notification signal to an external device indicating that it is difficult to clean the interior of the vehicle, or sends a control signal to the vehicle that controls the operation of the on-board device so that the interior of the vehicle can be cleaned. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, the interior of the vehicle can be cleaned accurately. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the robot device and its peripheral configuration. [Figure 2] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the contents of a vehicle cleaning process. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Hereinafter, an embodiment of a robot device, which is an example of a vehicle cleaning device, will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0010] 1, the robot device 100 includes, for example, a communication unit 110, a robot control device 120, and a robot arm 130. The robot control device 120 is an example of a control unit.

[0011] The communication unit 110 is configured to be able to communicate with the vehicle 200, and receives information regarding the status of the on-board device 230 installed in the vehicle 200 from the vehicle 200, and transmits control signals for the on-board device 230 to the vehicle 200 according to the status of the on-board device 230.

[0012] The robot control device 120 is an electronic control device that controls the operation of the robot arm 130. When the robot control device 120 acquires information through the communication unit 110 indicating that the situation of the in-vehicle device 230 makes it difficult to clean the interior of the vehicle, the robot control device 120 may transmit a notification signal indicating that it is difficult to clean the interior of the vehicle to an external device through the communication unit 110. When the robot control device 120 acquires information through the communication unit 110 indicating that the situation of the in-vehicle device 230 makes it difficult to clean the interior of the vehicle, the robot control device 120 transmits a control signal to the vehicle 200 that controls the operation of the in-vehicle device 230 so that the interior of the vehicle can be cleaned.

[0013] The robot arm 130 is configured to be movable with a predetermined degree of freedom so as to avoid in-vehicle devices based on a control signal output from the robot control device 120. A sensor 131 and a cleaning device 132 are provided at the tip of the robot arm 130. The sensor 131 is an example of a recognition unit.

[0014] The sensor 131 recognizes the status of the in-vehicle device 230 installed in the vehicle 200. The in-vehicle device 230 includes, for example, windows, doors, seats, etc. of the vehicle 200. The sensor 131 recognizes the open / closed states of the windows and doors of the vehicle 200 and the posture of the seats of the vehicle 200 as the status of the in-vehicle device 230.

[0015] The cleaning device 132 is configured by, for example, a suction-type vacuum cleaner. When the robot arm 130 is positioned to the side of the vehicle 200, the cleaning device 132 is inserted into the vehicle interior through an open window of the vehicle 200 as the tip of the robot arm 130 moves. The cleaning device 132 cleans the in-vehicle device 230 as the tip of the robot arm 130 moves inside the vehicle interior.

[0016] The vehicle 200 includes, for example, a communication unit 210, a vehicle control device 220, and an in-vehicle device 230.

[0017] The communication unit 210 is configured to be able to communicate with the robotic device 100, and, for example, receives control signals for the in-vehicle device 230 from the robotic device 100 and transmits information about the status of the in-vehicle device 230 to the robotic device 100.

[0018] The vehicle control device 220 is an electronic control device that controls the operation of the in-vehicle device 230. For example, the vehicle control device 220 determines whether the in-vehicle device 230 is in a state where cleaning by the robot arm 130 is possible, based on control information of the in-vehicle device 230 received from the in-vehicle device 230. The vehicle control device 220 determines that the in-vehicle device 230 is in a state where cleaning by the robot arm 130 is possible, for example, on the condition that the windows of the vehicle 200 are open and the seats of the vehicle 200 are not reclined forward. Then, the vehicle control device 220 transmits information indicating the determination result as to whether cleaning by the robot arm 130 is possible to the robot device 100 via the communication unit 210.

[0019] The vehicle control device 220 may control the operation of the in-vehicle device 230 so that the interior of the vehicle can be cleaned, based on a control signal for the in-vehicle device 230 received from the robot device 100. In this case, when the vehicle control device 220 receives a control signal for the in-vehicle device 230 from the robot device 100, the vehicle control device 220 may, for example, open a window of the vehicle 200 that is in a closed state or raise a seat of the vehicle 200 that is in a forward-leaning state.

[0020] Next, an example of a cleaning process for the vehicle 200 executed by the robot device 100 of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in Fig. 2. The flowchart shown in Fig. 2 is executed, for example, when the vehicle 200 is positioned to the side of the robot arm 130.

[0021] As shown in FIG. 2, the robot device 100 first acquires information about the status of the in-vehicle device 230 from the vehicle 200 (step S10).

[0022] Next, the robot device 100 determines whether or not a window of the vehicle 200 is open based on the information about the state of the in-vehicle device 230 acquired in the previous step S10 (step S11).

[0023] When the robot device 100 determines that the window of the vehicle 200 is open (step S11=YES), the robot device 100 determines whether the seat of the vehicle 200 is reclined forward or not based on the information about the status of the in-vehicle device 230 acquired in the previous step S10 (step S12).

[0024] If the robot device 100 determines in the previous step S12 that the seat of the vehicle 200 is not tilted forward (step S12=YES), it operates the robot arm 130 and starts cleaning the interior of the vehicle (step S13).

[0025] Next, the robot device 100 controls the operation of the in-vehicle device 230 to facilitate cleaning of the interior of the vehicle (step S14). In this case, the robot device 100, for example, fully opens the windows of the vehicle 200, slides the seats of the vehicle 200 backward, or opens the rear door of the vehicle 200.

[0026] If the robot device 100 determines in the previous step S11 that the windows of the vehicle 200 are closed (step S11=NO), or if the robot device 100 determines in the previous step S12 that the seats of the vehicle 200 are reclined forward (step S12=NO), the robot device 100 may control the operation of the in-vehicle device 230 so that the interior of the vehicle can be cleaned, and then start cleaning the interior of the vehicle.

[0027] Next, the robot device 100 determines whether or not the cleaning of the interior of the vehicle has been completed (step S15). If the robot device 100 determines that the cleaning of the interior of the vehicle has not been completed (step S15=NO), the robot device 100 continues cleaning the interior of the vehicle while maintaining the posture of the in-vehicle device 230.

[0028] On the other hand, if the robot device 100 determines that the cleaning of the vehicle interior is completed (step S15=YES), it controls the operation of the in-vehicle device 230 so that the in-vehicle device 230 returns to the state before the movement (step S16), and ends the flowchart shown in FIG. 2.

[0029] Furthermore, if the robot device 100 determines in the previous step S11 that the windows of the vehicle 200 are closed (step S11=NO), or if the robot device 100 determines in the previous step S12 that the seats of the vehicle 200 are reclined forward (step S12=NO), the robot device 100 notifies the external device that cleaning of the interior of the vehicle is not possible (step S17), and ends the flowchart shown in FIG. 2.

[0030] The above-described embodiments are intended to facilitate understanding of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. The present invention may be modified or improved without departing from its spirit, and equivalents are also included within the scope of the present invention. In other words, designs modified by those skilled in the art as appropriate are also encompassed within the scope of the present invention as long as they incorporate the characteristics of the present invention. For example, the elements of the present embodiments, as well as their arrangement, materials, conditions, shapes, sizes, etc., are not limited to those illustrated and can be modified as appropriate. Furthermore, the embodiments are merely examples, and partial substitution or combination of the configurations shown in different embodiments is possible. These are also encompassed within the scope of the present invention as long as they incorporate the characteristics of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0031] 100... robot device, 110... communication unit, 120... robot control device, 130... robot arm, 131... sensor, 132... cleaning device, 200... vehicle, 210... communication unit, 220... vehicle control device, 230... in-vehicle device

Claims

[Claim 1] a robot arm having a recognition unit that recognizes the status of an on-board device mounted in a vehicle, the robot arm being configured to be movable within the vehicle cabin with a predetermined degree of freedom so as to avoid the on-board device; a communication unit configured to be able to communicate with the vehicle and to acquire, from the vehicle, information relating to the state of the in-vehicle device recognized by the recognition unit; a control unit that, when receiving information through the communication unit indicating that the situation of the in-vehicle device is such that it is difficult to clean the interior of the vehicle, transmits a notification signal to an external device indicating that it is difficult to clean the interior of the vehicle, or transmits to the vehicle a control signal that controls the operation of the in-vehicle device so that the interior of the vehicle can be cleaned; Equipped with Vehicle cleaning device.

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