Self-propelled cleaner

• US 20050236021A1
• Filed: 04/11/2005
• Published: 10/27/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 04/15/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Funai Electric Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Funai Electric Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Suzuki, Kazuaki
• Application Number:
  US11/102,968
• Publication Number:
  US 20050236021A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 134/56.R
• CPC Class Codes: A01G 27/00 Self-acting watering devices, e.g. for flower-pots
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 2201/04 Automatic control of the travelling movement; Automatic obstacle detection
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/009 Carrying-vehicles; Arrangements of trollies or wheels; Means for avoiding mechanical obstacles

Abstract

Conventionally, it is impossible to water a potted plant or the like with a freely moving cleaner. A cleaner of this invention finds a travel route to the location of a first potted plant said cleaner determines that current time is a timer-set time, travels to said location to pour a specified amount of water on said potted plant, on completion of that watering finds a travel route to a second potted plant, travels to said location, pours a specified amount of water on said second potted plant, and on completion of that watering returns to an initial standby position at a hall.

Claims

1. A self-propelled cleaner having a body equipped with a cleaning mechanism and a drive mechanism having a plurality of drive wheels disposed at left and right sides of said body and capable of being controlled to rotate individually so as to enable steering and driving said cleaner,

said cleaner comprising:

a mapping processor that obtains and stores in memory geographical information on a room to be cleaned while said cleaner is traveling in a room for cleaning and also obtains positional information on potted plant from a marker installed at a predetermined location in the room and outputting predetermined positional information, and then adds said positional information to said geographical information;

a watering mechanism that waters a potted plant located at a predetermined place and height and comprises

a reverse-J shaped watering nozzle capable of being vertically tilted at its base and

a lift mechanism capable of moving up and down that supports said watering nozzle from below at a point nearer to the end of said nozzle than a rotation fulcrum at the base of said nozzle, and moves up before watering and down to start watering, and is equipped with a pressure pump to pressurize discharging water to a predetermined pressure and a magnetic valve to control the amount of water by discharging the pressurized water for a predetermined duration, wherein the amount of discharging water can be adjusted by adjusting the time during which said magnetic valve is opened, a water supply tank with an opening and a lid on the top that opens said lid at a predetermine position of a water supply station and supplies water to said watering mechanism; and

a watering control processor capable of controlling, at a predetermined timing, said drive mechanism to travel the cleaner from current position to the location of a potted plant to be set in said geographical information and said watering mechanism to water at said location.

2. A self-propelled cleaner having a body equipped with a cleaning mechanism and a drive mechanism capable of steering and driving said cleaner, wherein said cleaner further comprising:

a mapping processor that stores in memory geographical information on a room to be cleaned;

a watering mechanism that water a potted plant located at a predetermined place and height; and

a watering control processor capable of controlling, at a predetermined timing, said drive mechanism to travel the cleaner from current position to the location of a potted plant to be set in said geographical information and said watering mechanism to water at said location.

3. A self-propelled cleaner of claim 2 wherein:

said mapping processor obtains positional information from a marker, which is installed at a predetermine location and outputs a predetermined said positional information, and add that information to said geographical information.

4. A self-propelled cleaner according to claim 2, wherein:

said watering mechanism further comprising

a reverse-J shaped watering nozzle capable of being tilted vertically at its base, and

a lift mechanism capable of moving up and down that supports said watering nozzle from below at a point nearer to the end of said watering nozzle than a rotation fulcrum at the base of said watering nozzle,

wherein

the lift mechanism moves up before watering and down to start watering.

5. A self-propelled cleaner according to claim 4, wherein:

said watering nozzle further comprises

a watering pipe that is rotatably supported in vertical direction by a bracket mounted on the top of the body at one end, with the end of a watering tube exposed at the other end;

said lift mechanism is disposed nearer to the end of said nozzle than the rotation fulcrum of said nozzle, and further comprises

a drive motor having a warm gear on a rotation shaft,

a rotation gear that is disposed in parallel to vertical direction and engages with said warm gear, and a

lever that fixed to said rotation gear and rotates with said rotation gear within a predetermined angle range.

6. A self-propelled cleaner according to claim 2, wherein:

said watering mechanism has a water supply tank with an opening and a lid on top and is used along with a predetermined water supply station;

said water supply station has a alignment mechanism with said body which enables said water supply nozzle to be aligned with the opening of said water supply tank; and

said watering mechanism receives water by opening said lid at the position of said water supply station.

7. A self-propelled cleaner according to claim 6, wherein:

said watering mechanism is equipped with a replenishment tank and a replenishment pump; and

water is supplied to said water supply tank through the end of said water supply nozzle.

8. A self-propelled cleaner according to claim 7, wherein:

said water supply station is equipped with a water supply nozzle projecting outward horizontally from the top of the body of said self-propelled cleaner, and having an downward opening at the end and a projecting portion that is supported in a horizontally rotatable manner at the base and projects from the lower end of its rotating shaft in the same manner and direction as the upper part;

said projecting portion is concaved at the end to allow a roughly close contact with the surface of said body and when said body approaches and first hits this projecting portion displaces appropriately to closely contact said body; and

said rotation shaft has an elongated hole at the end in which a support is inserted to allow some free movements, and therefore even if said body is slightly misaligned with said projecting portion said body moves by itself to contact said projecting portion, whereby said body is aligned with said projecting portion to achieve a roughly close contact.

9. A self-propelled cleaner according to claim 8, wherein:

a spring is mounted inside said elongated hole to energize a support pin inward; and

said projecting portion is normally fully projecting outward to leave room for being pushed into the body and when said projecting portion is pushed into the body a micro switch is displaced to signal a completion of alignment, thereby activating said replenishment pump to discharge the water in said replenishment tank from the end of said water supply nozzle.

10. A self-propelled cleaner of claim 2, wherein:

said watering mechanism further comprises a pressure pump to pressurizes discharging water to a predetermined pressure and a magnetic valve to control the amount of water by discharging the pressurized water for a predetermined duration; and

the amount of discharging water can be adjustable by adjusting the time during which said magnetic valve is opened.

11. A self-propelled cleaner of claim 2, wherein:

said watering control processor determines whether or not the water temperature is within a predetermine temperature range and causes said watering to be done only when the water temperature is within the predetermined range.