Autonomous Vacuum Cleaner Swing Navigation for Narrow-Spot Cleaning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional autonomous vacuum cleaners face inefficiencies in cleaning narrow spots due to difficulties in effectively detecting and avoiding obstacles, leading to unnecessary actions and reduced cleaning efficiency.
Innovation Solution
The vacuum cleaner employs a combination of object detection means and detection sensors to control its driving wheels, allowing it to autonomously travel and adjust its trajectory to efficiently clean around obstacles by swinging to face detected objects, thereby improving navigation through narrow spaces.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the vacuum cleaner uses conventional sensors (infrared, ultrasonic) to detect obstacles, then the cleaning robot can avoid obstacles, but it cannot directly discriminate obstacle shapes or types, leading to inefficient cleaning in narrow spots
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the detection function into two separate detection means: one for detecting objects in the forward direction and another for detecting objects in the lateral direction. This segmentation allows the system to efficiently determine both the presence and position of obstacles without requiring complex scanning operations, thereby improving cleaning efficiency in narrow spots while maintaining obstacle discrimination capability.
2Measurement precision
If the vacuum cleaner scans obstacles by swinging while using sensors, then the shape of obstacles can be discriminated, but this results in unnecessary actions and reduced cleaning efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs detection means that are pre-positioned to detect obstacles in both forward and lateral directions before the vacuum cleaner enters narrow spots. This preliminary detection allows the control unit to plan the cleaning path in advance, eliminating the need for time-consuming scanning operations by swinging, thus reducing cleaning time while maintaining obstacle discrimination capability.
Data Source
Figure 1(a)~1(h)
Figure 2(a)~2(b)
Figure 3(a)~3(c)
AI summary
Provided is a vacuum cleaner capable of more efficiently cleaning narrow spots while effectively avoiding an object (P). An object sensor (31) provided in a main casing (15) detects the presence or absence of an object (P) within a specified distance in a plurality of directions on a forward side of the main casing (15). A control unit controls operation of driving wheels (25), (25) based on detection of an object (P) by the object sensor (31) to thereby make the main casing (15) autonomously travel. When an object (P) is detected by the object sensor (31), the control unit controls the operation of the driving wheels (25), (25) so that the main casing (15) is swung to an angle corresponding to a direction of the detected object (P) to thereby make a side portion of the main casing (15) face the object (P).