Self-propelled electronic device

• US 10,702,112 B2
• Filed: 08/02/2016
• Issued: 07/07/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 11/11/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Tsuboi, Masanori, Senoo, Toshihiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Holloway, Jason
• Application Number:
  US15/751,648
• Publication Number:
  US 20180235421A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,435 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 2201/02 Docking stations; Docking operations
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 2201/022 Recharging of batteries
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 2201/04 Automatic control of the travelling movement; Automatic obstacle detection
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/2826 the condition of the floor
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/2852 Elements for displacement of the vacuum cleaner or the accessories therefor, e.g. wheels, casters or nozzles
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/2873 Docking units or charging stations for autonomous or robotic vacuum cleaners A47L2201/02
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/2894 Details related to signal transmission in suction cleaners
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/02 Control of position or course in two dimensions
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0212 with means for defining a desired trajectory involving a plurality of land vehicles G05D1/0287

Abstract

A self-propelled electronic device including: at least one drive wheel disposed at a bottom of a housing, the drive wheel traveling the housing while being displaced in a vertical direction in accordance with undulations of a floor surface; a drive wheel sensor for detecting a position of the drive wheel relative to the housing; a floor detection sensor for detecting a distance between the bottom of the housing and the floor surface; and a travel control unit for determining and deciding a course of the housing based on the determination that there exists a step on the floor surface if the distance detected by the floor detection sensor is longer than a predetermined reference distance, or, otherwise, the position of the drive wheel detected by the drive wheel sensor is lower than a predetermined reference position, by successively referring to output of the drive wheel sensor and the floor detection sensor, wherein, if the position of the drive wheel detected by the drive wheel sensor is lower than a predetermined reference position, the travel control unit further refers to the distance detected by the floor detection sensor, and if the distance detected by the floor detection sensor is longer than the predetermined reference distance, the travel control unit perform the avoidance traveling control of the housing to avoid the step, and travels the housing, whereas, if the distance detected by the floor detection sensor is the predetermined reference distance or shorter, the travel control unit does not perform the avoidance traveling control of the housing, and continues the traveling of the housing.

Claims

1. A self-propelled electronic device comprising:

at least one drive wheel disposed at a bottom of a housing, the drive wheel traveling the housing while being displaced in a vertical direction in accordance with undulations of a floor surface;

a drive wheel sensor for detecting a position of the drive wheel relative to the housing;

a floor detection sensor for detecting a distance between the bottom of the housing and the floor surface; and

a travel control unit for deciding a course of the housing based on determination that there exists a step on the floor surface if the distance detected by the floor detection sensor is longer than a predetermined reference distance, or, otherwise, the position of the drive wheel detected by the drive wheel sensor is lower than a predetermined reference position, by successively referring to output of the drive wheel sensor and the floor detection sensor, wherein

the travel control unit further refers to the distance detected by the floor detection sensor, if the position of the drive wheel detected by the drive wheel sensor is lower than a predetermined reference position, and

the travel control unit performs avoidance traveling control of the housing to avoid the step, if the distance detected by the floor detection sensor is longer than the predetermined reference distance, whereas

the travel control unit, does not perform the avoidance traveling control of the housing and continues the traveling of the housing, if the distance detected by the floor detection sensor is the predetermined reference distance or shorter.

2. The self-propelled electronic device according to claim 1, wherein after the position detected by the drive wheel sensor is lower than the predetermined reference position and the travel control unit determines not to perform the avoidance traveling control of the housing, the travel control unit stops the drive wheel if the detected position does not change to be higher than the predetermined reference position after a predetermined time has been passed.

3. The self-propelled electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the avoidance traveling control of the housing is a traveling operation in which the traveling of the housing is temporarily stopped, a backward movement or forward movement of the housing is performed, and, thereafter, a change of direction of the housing is carried out.

4. The self-propelled electronic device according to claim 1, comprising a right drive wheel positioned at a right side of the bottom of the housing and a left drive wheel positioned at a left side of the bottom of the housing, and the travel control unit changes the course of the housing by differentiating driving speed or driving directions between the right drive wheel and the left drive wheel.

5. The self-propelled electronic device according to claim 3, wherein the floor surface detection sensor is positioned on the bottom of the housing and, at least, at a front or rear side of the drive wheel.

6. The self-propelled electronic device according to claim 2, wherein the avoidance traveling control of the housing is a traveling operation in which the traveling of the housing is temporarily stopped, a backward movement or forward movement of the housing is performed, and, thereafter, a change of direction of the housing is carried out.

7. The self-propelled electronic device according to claim 2, comprising a right drive wheel positioned at a right side of the bottom of the housing and a left drive wheel positioned at a left side of the bottom of the housing, and the travel control unit changes the course of the housing by differentiating driving speed or driving directions between the right drive wheel and the left drive wheel.