Self-propelling cleaner

Abstract

A side wall 51 provided with a coupling hole 50 coupled to the dust transporting pipe 6 of a dust chamber 5 is configured in a sloped shape so as to have a predetermined angle θ with respect to the bottom surface of the dust chamber. A photo detector 14 having a light receiving surface along the surface 51 is disposed near the coupling hole 50 of the side wall 51. A photo diode 15 for irradiating light toward the photo detector 14 is disposed on the upper surface of the dust chamber 5. When dust is filled within the dust chamber 5, since dust is accumulated on the photo detector 14, the photo detector 14 does not outputs a light detection signal.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a self-propelling cleaner which performs cleaning while automatically propelling in a cleaning range. [0003] 2. Description of the Related Art [0004] A self-propelling cleaner includes a propelling unit for propelling a main body thereof and a cleaning unit for performing cleaning and performs cleaning while automatically propelling in a cleaning range set in advance. [0005]FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the schematic configuration of a conventional self-propelling cleaner. [0006] As shown in FIG. 8, the conventional self-propelling cleaner is provided in a main body 1 with driving wheels 2, driven wheels 8, and further provided with a nozzle 4 having a brush 40 which contacts with the floor surface and rolls up dust on the floor surface, a dust chamber 5 for accommodating dust thus rolled up by the nozzle 4, and a dust transporting pipe 6 for introducing dust from the nozzle 4 to the d...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The invention is a self-propelling cleaner that can detect when there is too much dust in its dust chamber and alert the user with a light or sound alarm. The cleaner has a main body, a cleaning unit, a propelling unit, and a control unit that moves the main body within a predetermined region. The dust amount detection unit includes a light detector that detects light introduced within the dust chamber to determine the amount of dust. The light detector is positioned near a coupling hole in the dust chamber's side wall, and multiple detectors are placed at different positions in the vertical direction of the side wall. This design allows for accurate detection of dust levels regardless of the type of dust or the floor surface being cleaned.

Problems solved by technology

However, according to the aforesaid conventional dust detection unit, it is not easy to accurately detect an amount of dust within the dust chamber.

However, since an amount of reflection light changes depending on the kind of dust accumulated within the dust chamber and so an amount of light received by the light receiving portion also changes, a dust full state cannot be determined easily.

However, when the operation is stopped, it is difficult to determine whether the operation is stopped due to a failure or due to the termination of the cleaning operation.

Further, in the case of the light alarm, since a small-sized light emitting element such as an LED is used as the light emitting portion, it is difficult for a user to recognize the alarm.

Furthermore, in the case of the sound alarm, such an alarm cannot be used at the time of cleaning an area where a silent state is required to be kept.

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