U.S. patent application number 11/345601 was filed with the patent office on 2006-08-31 for bumper apparatus of self-advancing cleaner.
This patent application is currently assigned to Funai Electric Co., Ltd.. Invention is credited to Kazuya Sudo, Naoya Uehigashi.
Application Number | 20060191096 11/345601 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 36930722 |
Filed Date | 2006-08-31 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060191096 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Sudo; Kazuya ; et
al. |
August 31, 2006 |
Bumper apparatus of self-advancing cleaner
Abstract
A self-advancing cleaner is provided with a bumper, a damper
made of a resin arranged at a space at which a rotating brush and a
projected corner portion on an upper side of the rotating brush are
opposed, and a resin hinge portion for connecting an end portion of
the bumper and the damper and displacing the damper in an inner and
outer direction. A sensor element for detecting a hazard is
provided at the bumper. The bumper may be attached to a cabinet by
loosely fitting an opening portion of a supporting member to a
round shaft. A switch is provided on the side of the cabinet in
correspondence with operating portion of the bumper. The operating
portions selectively switch electricity conducting of the switch
when the bumper is pivoted to left and right sides of the neutral
position.
Inventors: |
Sudo; Kazuya; (Osaka,
JP) ; Uehigashi; Naoya; (Osaka, JP) |
Correspondence
Address: |
OSHA LIANG L.L.P.
1221 MCKINNEY STREET
SUITE 2800
HOUSTON
TX
77010
US
|
Assignee: |
Funai Electric Co., Ltd.
Daito-shi
JP
|
Family ID: |
36930722 |
Appl. No.: |
11/345601 |
Filed: |
February 1, 2006 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
15/319 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47L 9/009 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
015/319 |
International
Class: |
E01H 1/08 20060101
E01H001/08; E01H 1/05 20060101 E01H001/05 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Feb 2, 2005 |
JP |
P2005-026142 |
Feb 8, 2005 |
JP |
P2005-031605 |
Claims
1. A bumper apparatus of a self-advancing cleaner, comprising: a
cabinet having left and right projected corner portions on a front
side thereof and a round shaft; a left and right rotating brushes
being rotated while being brought into contact with a floor face on
lower sides of the left and right projected corner portions, each
having a rotating shaft projected downward from each projected
corner portion; a bumper comprising a resin molded member between
the left and right rotating brushes, an end portion normally urged
to a front side of the bumper and a supporting member projected
from a center portion in a transverse direction of the bumper, the
supporting member having an opening portion; a damper made of a
resin and arranged at a space at which the left and right rotating
brushes and the left and right projected corner portions are
opposed to each other; and a resin hinge portion continuously
connecting the end portion of the bumper and the damper; and the
resin hinge portion having an elasticity for displacing the damper
in an inner and outer direction, wherein an inner face of the
damper has such a curved shape that the rotating shaft is
surrounded from outside, wherein an outer face of the damper has a
shape along an outer face of each projected corner portion, wherein
the outer face of the damper is disposed on an outer side of an
outer face of each projected corner portion, wherein the bumper is
attached to the cabinet horizontally pivotably and movably in a
front and rear direction by fitting the opening portion of the
supporting member to the round shaft horizontally movably and
movably in the front and rear direction, and wherein a sensor
element detecting a hazard present on a front side in a running
direction of the self advancing cleaner is provided only at the
bumper in the bumper and the damper.
2. A bumper apparatus of a self-advancing cleaner, comprising: a
cabinet having left and right projected cornerportions on a front
side thereof and a round shaft; a left and right rotating brushes
being rotated while being brought into contact with a floor face on
lower sides of the left and right projected corner portions; a
bumper comprising a resin molded member disposed between the left
and right rotating brushes and an end portion; a damper made of a
resin and arranged at a space at which the left and right rotating
brushes and the left and right projected corner portions are
opposed to each other; a resin hinge portion having an elasticity
for displacing the damper in an inner and outer direction, wherein
the damper is integrally molded with the end portion of the bumper
in a cantilever shape by way of the resin hinge portion.
3. A bumper apparatus according t claim 2, wherein an inner face of
the damper has such a curved shape that a rotating shaft of the
rotating brush projected downward from the projected corner portion
is surrounded from outside, wherein an outer face of the damper has
a shape along an outer face of the projected corner portions, and
wherein the outer face of the damper is disposed on an outer side
of the outer face of the projected corner portions.
4. The bumper apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a center
portion in a transverse direction of the bumper is attached to the
cabinet horizontally pivotably and movably in a front and rear
direction.
5. The bumper apparatus according to claim 2, wherein at a portion
of attaching the center portion in the transverse direction of the
bumper and the cabinet, an opening portion of a supporting member
projected from the bumper to an inner side thereof is fitted to a
round shaft provided on the cabinet horizontally movably and
movably in the front and rear direction.
6. The bumper apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the bumper is
normally urged to a front side.
7. The bumper apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a
switching member detecting a rear movement of the bumper; an
engaging face being provided to the opening portion of the
supporting member; a first and second operating portions provided
at the bumper at symmetric positions on left and right sides
interposing the engaging face; and a first and second switches
constituting switching member along with the first and the second
operating portions, and the first and second switches being
provided at left and right portions of the cabinet respectively in
correspondence with the first and the second operating portions;
wherein the bumper is movably attached to a front portion of the
cabinet movably in a front and rear direction and normally urged to
the front side thereof, wherein a supporting member projected is
projected to a rear side, wherein the round shaft configures a
portion of attaching the bumper to the cabinet by being loosely
fitted to the opening portion of the supporting member, wherein the
round shaft enables to pivot the bumper to both sides of a neutral
position in a horizontal direction, wherein the engaging face
restricts a position of projecting the bumper normally urged to the
front side by being engaged with the round shaft, wherein the
engaging face has such a symmetric shape that a center portion of
the engaging face in a left and right direction is disposed at
rearmost position, wherein the first and the second switches
comprise opening/closing change over switches both of which are set
to an electricity conducting mode by the first and second operating
portions when the bumper is disposed at the neutral position in the
horizontal direction, and wherein the first and the second
operating portions selectively switch the electricity conducing
states of the first and the second switches when the bumper is
pivoted to left and right sides of the neutral position in the
horizontal direction.
8. A bumper apparatus of a self-advancing cleaner comprising: a
bumper attached to a front portion of a cabinet movably in a front
and rear direction and normally urged to a front side; a switching
unit detecting a rear movement of the bumper; a switching member
detecting a rear movement of the bumper; a supporting member
projected from a center portion in a transverse direction of the
bumper to a rear side, the supporting member comprising an opening
portion; a round shaft provided at the cabinet, the round shaft
configuring a portion of attaching the bumper to the cabinet by
being loosely fitted to the opening portion of the supporting
member, and the round shaft enabling to pivot the bumper to both
sides of a neutral position in a horizontal direction; an engaging
face being provided to the opening portion of the supporting
member, the engaging face restricting a position of projecting the
bumper normally urged to the front side by being engaged with the
round shaft, and the engaging face has such a symmetric shape that
a center portion of the engaging face in a left and right direction
is disposed at rearmost position,; a first and second operating
portions provided at the bumper at symmetric positions on left and
right sides interposing the engaging face; and a first and second
switches configuring the switching member along with the first and
the second operating portions, and the first and second switches
being provided at left and right portions of the cabinet
respectively in correspondence with the first and the second
operating portions; wherein the first and the second switches
comprise opening/closing change over switches both of which are set
to an electricity conducting mode by the first and second operating
portions when the bumper is disposed at the neutral position in the
horizontal direction, and wherein the first and the second
operating portions selectively switch the electricity conducing
states of the first and the second switches when the bumper is
pivoted to left and right sides of the neutral position in the
horizontal direction.
9. A bumper apparatus of a self-advancing cleaner comprsing: a
bumper attached to a front portion of a cabinet movably in a front
and rear direction and normally urged to a front side; a switching
member detecting a rearward movement of the bumper; wherein the
switching member includes a first and second operating portions at
left and right portions provided at the bumper, wherein a first and
second switches at left and right portions provided on a side of
the cabinet respectively in correspondence with the first and
second operating portions, wherein the bumper is attached to the
cabinet pivotably to left and right sides of a neutral position in
a horizontal direction, and wherein the first and second operating
portions selectively switch electricity conducting states of the
first and the second switches when the bumper is pivoted to left
and right sides of the neutral position in the horizontal
direction.
10. The bumper apparatus of a self-advancing cleaner according to
claim 9, wherein a center portion in a transverse direction of the
bumper is attached to the cabinet movably in the front and rear
direction and pivotably in the horizontal direction.
11. The bumper apparatus of a self-advancing cleaner according to
claim 10, wherein at a portion of attaching the center portion in
the transverse direction of the bumper and the cabinet, a round
shaft provided to a side of the cabinet is loosely fitted to an
opening portion of a supporting member projected from the bumper to
an inner side thereof horizontally movably and movably in the front
and rear direction.
12. The bumper apparatus of a self-advancing cleaner according to
claim 11, wherein the opening portion of the supporting member is
provided with an engaging face for restricting a position of
projecting the bumper normally urged to the front side by being
engaged with the round shaft, and wherein the engaging face having
such a symmetric shape that a center portion of the engaging face
in a left and right direction is disposed at rearmost position.
13. The bumper apparatus of a self-advancing cleaner according to
claim 12, wherein the first and second operating portions are
provided at symmetric positions on both sides thereof.
14. The bumper apparatus according to claim 8, wherien the cabinet
has left and right projected corner portions on a front side
thereof wherein a left and right rotating brushes are rotated while
being brought into contact with a floor face on lower sides of the
left and right projected corner portions, wherein each of the
brushes has a rotating shaft projected downward from each projected
corner portion, wherein the bumper comprises a resin molded member
between the left and right rotating brushes, wherein an end portion
of the bumper is normally urged to a front side of the bumper,
wherein a damper is made of a resin and arranged at a space at
which the left and right rotating brushes and the left and right
projected corner portions are opposed to each other, wherein a
resin hinge portion continuously connects the end portion of the
bumper and the damper, wherein the resin hinge portion has an
elasticity for displacing the damper in an inner and outer
direction, wherein an inner face of the damper has such a curved
shape that the rotating shaft is surrounded from outside, wherein
an outer face of the damper has a shape along an outer face of each
projected corner portion, wherein the outer face of the damper is
disposed on an outer side of an outer face of each projected corner
portion, wherein the bumper is attached to the cabinet horizontally
pivotably and movably in a front and rear direction by fitting the
opening portion of the supporting member to the round shaft
horizontally movably and movably in the front and rear direction,
and wherein a sensor element detecting a hazard present on a front
side in a running direction of the self advancing cleaner is
provided only at the bumper in the bumper and the damper.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is based on and claims the benefit of
priorities from the prior Japanese Patent Applications No.
2005-031605, filed on Feb. 8, 2005 and No. 2005-026142, filed on
Feb. 2, 2005; the entire contents of which are incorporated herein
by references.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to a bumper apparatus of a
self-advancing type cleaner, particularly relates to the bumper
apparatus having a bumper at a front portion thereof and providing
a countermeasure for alleviating impact when two left and right
side portions thereof interposing the bumper is bumped to a hazard
of a wall face at inside of a room or the like, and further
particularly relates to a bumper apparatus capable of detecting
that a bumper provided at a front portion of a cabinet is bumped to
a hazard on a front side in a self-advancing direction.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] FIG. 11 is an outline total perspective view of a
self-advancing type cleaner mounted with a bumper 10 of a related
art, FIG. 12 is a plane view showing a portion of the cleaner
attached with the bumper 10 and FIG. 13 is an outline perspective
view of the bumper 10 of the related art.
[0006] The cleaner A is provided with various mechanisms necessary
for cleaning a floor face while advancing by itself, for example,
mechanism parts of, for example, a dust sucking port and a chamber
of containing a dust containing bag communicated therewith, a
suction fan and a motor for driving the suction fan, an exhaust
port, and a running drive motor, further, as shown by FIG. 11 or
FIG. 12, projected corner portions 11, 11 are provided on left and
right sides of a front side of a cabinet 1 thereof, rotating
brushes 2, 2 are mounted on lower sides of the projected corner
portions 11, 11 and the rotating brushes 2, 2 are connected to
rotating shafts 21, 21 projected downward from the projected corner
portions 11, 11. Further, the bumper 10 arranged between the left
and right rotating brushes 2; 2 is provided with sensor elements 12
. . . for detecting a hazard, and the bumper 10 is attached to the
cabinet 1. Further, running wheels 3 or the like are attached to a
plurality of portions of a bottom plate portion of the cabinet 1.
The cleaner runs by itself on the floor face by rolling the running
wheels 3, dust sucked in the running is caught in the dust
containing bag to thereby clean the floor face or clean
cornerportions at inside of a room by the rotating brushes 2.
Further, a self-advancing direction or a self-advancing speed or
the like is controlled by operating control unit, not illustrated.
Here, as shown by FIG. 13, the bumper 10 comprises an integral
resin molded member prolonged in a transverse direction, and is
provided with a function of preventing a front portion of the
cabinet 1 from being strongly impacted to a hazard in advancing the
cleaner A by itself.
[0007] Meanwhile, there are known in related arts that a bumper
apparatus is attached to an automatic guided vehicle to absorb
impact (refer to, for example, JP-A-5-201296), that an impact
absorbing bumper is attached to a vehicle body of an automobile
(refer to, for example, JP-A-11-48883) and the like. In the related
arts, according to the bumper apparatus described in Patent
Reference 1, a bumper main body is attached to a vehicle body by
way of a cam or a spring, and impact applied to the bumper main
body is absorbed by deforming the spring. Further, also in the
bumper apparatus described in Patent Reference 2, the bumper is
attached to a vehicle body frame by way of a shock absorber, and
impact applied to the bumper is absorbed by a function of the shock
absorber. Further, in either of the bumper main body described in
Patent Reference 1 and the bumper described in Patent Reference 2,
a portion arranged at a front portion of the vehicle body and a
portion for covering left and right corner portions on a front side
of the vehicle body are formed substantially by the same width, and
continuously installed in a curved shape integrally, and the bumper
main body or the bumper per se are not provided with a
countermeasure for achieving dumping operation.
[0008] In another related art, there is known a bumper apparatus
per se having a function of detecting that a bumper is bumper is
bumped to a hazard on a front side in a self-advancing direction
(refer to, for example, Patent Reference 1). The bumper apparatus
is provided to a mobile X-ray apparatus and an essential portion
thereof will be explained in reference to FIG. 14. FIG. 14 is a
view illustrated in FIG. 1 of JP-A-2002-52016, numeral 400
designates an attaching base, numeral 600 designates a bumper
attached to the attaching base 400 movably in a front and rear
direction at two left and right portions thereof by way of a bolt
401 and a slide plate 402, numeral 403 designates a spring for
springingly urging the bumper 600 to a front side at the two left
and right portions, numeral 410 designates microswitches attached
to the two left and right portions of the attaching base, and
numeral 610 designates switch contact plates provided at left and
right portions of the bumper 600 in correspondence with the
respective microswitches 410.
[0009] According to the bumper apparatus of FIG. 14, when the
bumper 200 is bumped to a hazard and is moved back against urging
of the spring 403, the microswitch 410 is brought into contact with
the switch contact plate 610 to switch an electricity conducting
state thereof, thereby, it is detected that the bumper 600 is
bumped to the hazard.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0010] According to the self-advancing cleaner A explained in FIG.
11 or FIG. 12, the bumper 10 is only arranged over only between the
left and right rotating brushes 2, 2 and therefore, impact when the
left and right projected corner portions 11, 11 of the cabinet 1
are bumped to the wall face at inside of the room or the like
cannot be alleviated by the bumper 10.
[0011] Hence, although in order to improve the point, it is
conceivable to extend the bumper 10 to left and right sides and
dispose the extended portions of the bumper 10 on lower sides of
the left and right projected corner portions of the cabinet 1, when
constituted in this way, there is brought about a concern that
impact when the extended portion of the bumper is impacted to a
hazard of the wall face at inside of the room or the like is
directly transmitted to a portion of attaching the bumper 10 of the
cabinet and attaching structure portions of the both members are
damaged.
[0012] Further, although as shown by FIG. 11, the bumper 10 is
provided with the sensor elements 12 for detecting a hazard and in
running by itself, a hazard on a front side is made to be able to
be detected by operation of the sensor elements 12, since the
bumper 10 is only arranged over only between the left and right
rotating brushes 2, 2, it is difficult to firmly detect a hazard on
a skewed front side in a running direction only by the sensor
elements 12 provided to the bumper 10.
[0013] Although with regard to the point, it is possible to make
also the hazard on the skewed front side in the running direction
detectable by increasing a number of sensor elements provided to
the bumper 10, when constituted in this way, the number of the
sensor elements is increased to increase cost, further, in
consideration that the corner portion can be cleaned after moving
the rotating brushes 2 to the corner portion at inside of the room,
it is not pertinent that the wall face at inside of the chamber is
detected by the sensor element to prevent the left and right
projected corner portions 11, 11 from impacting the wall face at
inside of the room. In other words, in order to clean the corner
portion at inside of the room by the rotating brush 2, it is
necessary that the cleaner A becomes proximate to the wall face at
inside of the chamber to a degreed of bringing the left and right
projected corner portions 11, 11 into contact with the wall face at
inside of the chamber.
[0014] On the other hand, the bumper apparatus described in
JP-A-5-201296 is adopted in an automatic guided vehicle used in an
automatic warehouse or the like, the bumper apparatus described in
JP-A-11-48883 is adopted in an automobile and therefore, the bumper
apparatus are requested to be large-sized and provided with a high
strength in comparison with the bumper apparatus of the
self-advancing cleaner A used in cleaning inside of the room or the
like explained in reference to FIG. 11 and the like. Therefore, it
is actually difficult to provide a countermeasure for alleviating
impact when the left and right projected corner portions 11, 11 of
the cabinet 1 are bumped to the wall face at inside of the room or
the like by applying the structure of the bumper apparatus
described in JP-A-5-201296 or JP-A-11-48883 to the bumper apparatus
of the self-advancing cleaner A as it is, and when the structure is
assumedly adopted as it is, there is constituted a structure of
supporting the bumper 10 of the bumper apparatus of the cleaner A
by a spring or a shock absorber and therefore, not only the spring
of the shock absorber is extraneously needed to considerably
increase cost but also a space for installing the spring or the
shock absorber is extraneously needed to increase the weight, the
cleaner A is large-sized and heavy-weighted and it is difficult to
achieve light-weighted and small-sized formation requested for the
cleaner A for cleaning inside of the room.
[0015] According to the bumper apparatus of the another related art
explained in reference to FIG. 14, even when any position of the
bumper 600 is bumped to the hazard, the bumper is moved back in a
rearward direction relative to the attaching base 100, and the
microswitch is switched by way of such a moving back operation of
the bumper 600 and therefore, a case in which the bumper 600 is
bumped to the hazard disposed on a front side in a running
direction of the mobile X-ray apparatus cannot be identified from a
case in which the bumper 600 is bumped to the hazard disposed on a
skewed front side in the running direction.
[0016] On the other hand, when there is assumedly adopted the
bumper apparatus of a self-advancing cleaner constituting an object
of the invention running by itself in a narrow place of inside of a
room as shown by FIG. 14 and a self-advancing direction or the like
is intended to control by a switch signal of the microswitch when
the bumper is bumped to the hazard, it cannot be determined whether
the hazard is disposed on the front side or on the skewed front
side in the self-advancing direction and therefore, a precise
control cannot be carried out.
[0017] The present invention has been made in view of the above
circumstances. It is an object of the invention to provide a bumper
apparatus of a self-advancing cleaner capable of alleviating impact
when left and right projected corner portions of a cabinet are
impacted to a hazard of a wall face at inside of a room or the like
without increasing a number of sensor elements provided to a bumper
and without adding a large-scaled part of a spring, a shock
absorber or the like and without a concern that the impact is
directly transmitted to a portion of attaching the bumper and the
cabinet to damage attaching structure portions of the both
members.
[0018] It is an another object of the invention to provide a bumper
apparatus of a self-advancing cleaner including a bumper attached
to a front portion of a cabinet movably in a front and rear
direction and normally urged springingly to a front side, and
switching member for detecting a rearward movement of the bumpers
the bumper apparatus being able to be made to be precisely useful
for a control in a self-advancing direction or other operation
control by enabling to precisely determine whether a hazard is
disposed on a front side or a skewed front side in a self-running
direction when the bumper is bumped to the hazard.
[0019] Further, it is still another object of the invention to
provide a bumper apparatus of a self-advancing cleaner capable of
restraining a necessary number of switches constituting switching
member as less as possible when the switching member is adopted as
unit for determining whether a hazard is disposed on a front side
or a skewed front side in a self-advancing direction.
[0020] Further, it is still yet another object of the invention to
provide a bumper apparatus of a self-advancing cleaner capable of
simply constituting a structure of a portion of attaching a bumper
to a cabinet without using an extra part when switching member is
adopted as unit for determining whether a hazard is disposed on a
front side or a skewed front side in a self-advancing
direction.
[0021] According to an aspect of the invention, a bumper apparatus
of a self-advancing cleaner is mounted with rotating brushes
rotated while being brought into contact with a floor face on lower
sides of left and right projected corner portions on a front side
of a cabinet and mounted with a bumper comprising a resin molded
member between the left and right rotating brushes. Further, a
damper made of a resin arranged at a space at which the rotating
brush and the projected corner portion on an upper side of the
rotating brush are opposed to each other is integrally molded with
an end portion of the bumper in a cantilever shape by way of a
resin hinge portion having an elasticity for displacing the damper
in an inner and outer direction.
[0022] According to the above-aspect, when the damper is bumped to
a hazard, the elastic hinge portion is elastically deformed to
absorb an impact at this occasion and therefore, not only the
impact is not directly transmitted to the bumper but also an impact
when the projected corner portion of the cabinet is bumped to a
hazard can also be alleviated. Further, although the damper is only
integrally molded with the bumper by way of the resin hinge
portion, the hazard on the front side in the running direction can
be detected by the bumper and a hazard on a skewed front side in
the running direction can be detected by the damper and therefore,
a width of detecting presence or absence of the hazard on the front
side and on the skewed front side in the running direction can be
enlarged without increasing a number of sensor elements provided at
the bumper and without adding a large-sized part of a spring, a
shock absorber or the like. In addition thereto, the dampers are
arranged at the spaces at which the left and right corner portions
of the cabinet and the rotating brushes on the lower sides of the
corner portions are opposed to each other and continuously provided
to the bumper by way of the resin hinge portions and therefore, the
damper can easily be added to the self-advancing cleaner which is
not provided with a damper explained in reference to FIG. 6 and the
like without changing a shape of the cabinet to also achieve an
advantage that the self-advancing cleaner can be provided
inexpensively by that amount.
[0023] According to the above-aspect, it is preferable to adopt a
constitution that an inner face of the damper is shaped in a curved
shape surrounding a rotating shaft of the rotating brush projected
downward from the projected corner portion from an outer side and
an outer face thereof is shaped in a shape along an outer face of
the projected corner portion and disposed on an outer side of the
outer face of the projected corner portion. According thereto, not
only there is not brought about a situation that displacement of
the damper is hindered by the rotating shaft of the rotating brush
to smoothly and firmly achieve impact alleviating operation by the
damper but also a shape of the outer face of the damper is
excellently matched to a shape of the outer face of the projected
corner portion and a strange feeling in view of design by adding
the damper can be eliminated.
[0024] According to the above-aspect, it is possible to adopt a
constitution that a center portion in a transverse direction of the
bumper is attached to the cabinet horizontally pivotably and
movably in a front and rear direction, in this case, it is
preferable to adopt a constitution that at a portion of attaching
the center portion in the transverse direction of the bumper and
the cabinet, an opening portion of a supporting member projected
from the bumper to an inner side thereof is fitted to a round shaft
provided on a side of the cabinet horizontally movably and movably
in the front and rear direction. According thereto, the bumper is
made to be horizontally pivotable and movable in the front and rear
direction by constituting a fulcrum by the portion of attaching the
center portion in the transverse direction of the bumper and the
cabinet and therefore, when the bumper is bumped to the hazard, the
bumper is horizontally moved or moved in the front and rear
direction and the impact at this occasion is alleviated. Further,
when the damper is bumped to the hazard, the resin hinge portion
connecting the damper and the bumper is deformed to absorb to
alleviate impact at this occasion and therefore, the impact is not
directly transmitted to the bumper and the attaching portion.
Therefore, although the attaching portion is constructed by a
simple constitution of only fitting the opening portion of the
supporting member projected from the bumper to the inner side to
the round shaft on the side of the cabinet, there is not brought
about a situation that the attaching portion is impacted and
destructed.
[0025] According to the above-aspect, it is preferable that the
bumper is normally urged to a front side. According thereto, the
impact when the bumper or the damper is bumped to the hazard can be
absorbed also by an urge force exerted to the bumper.
[0026] According to another aspect of the invention, the bumper
apparatus of the self-advancing cleaner is further embodied by
adopting a constitution of a self-advancing cleaner mounted with
rotating brushes rotated while being brought into contact with a
floor face on lower sides of left and right projected corner
portions on a front side of a cabinet and mounted with a bumper
comprising a resin molded member between the left and right
rotating brushes, the self-advancing cleaner comprising a damper
made of a resin arranged at a space at which a rotating brush and a
projected corner portion on an upper side of the rotating brush are
opposed to each other, and a resin hinge portion for making an end
portion of the bumper normally springingly urged to a front side
and the damper continuous and having an elasticity for displacing
the damper in an inner and outer direction, wherein an inner face
of the damper is shaped in a curved shape surrounding a rotating
shaft of the rotating brush projected downward from the projected
corner portion from an outer side and an outer face thereof is
shaped in a shape along an outer face of the projected corner
portion to be disposed on an outer side of the outer face of the
projected corner portion, the bumper is attached to the cabinet
horizontally pivotably and movably in a front and rear direction by
fitting an opening portion of a supporting member projected from a
center portion in a transverse direction of the bumper to a round
shaft provided on a side of the cabinet horizontally movably and
movably in the front and rear direction, and a sensor element for
detecting a hazard present on a front side in a running direction
is provided only at the bumper in the bumper and the damper.
[0027] According to still another aspect, the bumper apparatus of a
self-advancing cleaner includes a bumper attached to a front
portion of a cabinet movably in a front and rear direction and
normally urged springingly to a front side and switching member for
detecting a rearward movement of a bumper. Further, the switching
member includes a first and a second operating portion at two left
and right portions provided at the bumper and a first and a second
switch at two left and right portions provided on a side of the
cabinet respectively in correspondence with the operating portions,
and the bumper is attached to the cabinet movably in the front and
rear direction as well as pivotably to two left and right sides of
a neutral position in a horizontal direction and when the bumper is
pivoted to left and right sides of the neutral position in the
horizontal direction, the first and the second operating portions
selectively switch electricity conducting states of the first and
the second switches.
[0028] According to the above-aspects, when the bumper is bumped to
a hazard disposed on a front side in a self-advancing direction,
the bumper is moved back to a rear side, and when the bumper is
bumped to a hazard disposed on a skewed front side in the
self-advancing direction, the bumper is pivoted to the right side
or the left side of the neutral position in the horizontal
direction. Further, whereas when the bumper is moved back to the
rear side, the switching member including the first and the second
switches detects the rearward movement of the bumper and therefore,
it can be determined that the bumper is bumped to the hazard on the
front side in the self-advancing direction, when the bumper is
pivoted to the left side or the right side of the neutral position
in the horizontal direction, the electricity conducting states of
the first and the second switches are selectively switched and
therefore, thereby, it can be determined that the bumper is bumped
to the hazard on the skewed front side in the self-advancing
direction.
[0029] According to the above-aspects, it is preferable that a
center portion in a transverse direction of the bumper is attached
to the cabinet movably in the front and rear direction and
pivotably in the horizontal direction. According thereto, even when
a hazard is disposed on a skewed right front side in the
self-advancing direction or even when a hazard is disposed on a
skewed left front side thereof, by bumping the bumper to the
hazards, the bumper is pivoted to the right or the left side
without difficulty.
[0030] According to the above-aspects, it is preferable that at a
portion of attaching the center portion in the transverse direction
of the bumper and the cabinet, a round shaft provided to a side of
the cabinet is loosely fitted to an opening portion of a supporting
member projected from the bumper to an inner side thereof
horizontally movably and movably in the front and rear direction.
According thereto, the portion of attaching the bumper to the
cabinet is constituted by the supporting member on the side of the
bumper and the round shaft on the side of the cabinet and
therefore, the attaching portion can simply be constituted without
using an extra part.
[0031] According to the above-aspects, it is preferable that the
opening portion of the supporting member is provided with an
engaging face for restricting a position of projecting the bumper
normally urged springingly to the front side by being engaged with
the round shaft and a center portion in a left and right direction
of the engaging face is formed in a shape of a valley in a left and
right symmetric shape disposed at a rearmost position. According
thereto, a valley bottom portion of the engaging face in the shape
of the valley is pressed to the round shaft on the side of the
cabinet by a force of normally urging springingly the bumper to the
front side. Therefore, a position and an attitude of the bumper
relative to the cabinet when the bumper is not bumped to the hazard
are stabilized.
[0032] According to the above-aspects, it is preferable that the
first and the second operating portions are provided at symmetric
positions on both sides of the engaging face by interposing the
engaging face. According thereto, when the bumper is bumped to the
hazard to be pivoted to the left side or the right side, a
detecting sensitivity by the first and the second switches is easy
to be stabilized.
[0033] According to the above-aspects, a bumper apparatus of a
self-advancing cleaner can adopt a constitution of a bumper
apparatus of a self-advancing cleaner including a bumper attached
to a front portion of a cabinet movably in a front and rear
direction and normally urged springingly to a front side and
switching member for detecting a rear movement of the bumper, the
bumper apparatus comprising a supporting member projected from a
center portion in a transverse direction of the bumper to a rear
side and an opening portion provided to the supporting member, a
round shaft provided at the cabinet and constituting a portion of
attaching the bumper to the cabinet by being loosely fitted to the
opening portion of the supporting member and enabling to move the
bumper in the front and rear direction as well as enabling to pivot
the bumper to both sides of a neutral position in a horizontal
direction, an engaging face which is provided to the opening
portion for restricting a position of projecting the bumper
normally urged springingly to the front side by being engaged with
the round shaft and a center portion in a left and right direction
of which is formed in a shape of a valley in a left and right
symmetric shape disposed at a rearmost position, a first and a
second operating portion provided at the bumper at symmetric
positions on two left and right sides interposing the engaging
face, and a first and a second switch constituting switching member
along with the first and the second operating portions and provided
at two left and right portions of the cabinet respectively in
correspondence with the first and the second operating portions,
wherein the first and the second switches comprise opening/closing
change over switches both of which are set to an electricity
conducting mode by the first and the second operating portions when
the bumper is disposed at the neutral position in the horizontal
direction, and the first and the second operating portions
selectively switch the electricity conducing states of the first
and the second switches when the bumper is pivoted to left and
right sides of the neutral position in the horizontal direction.
Operation or the like will be explained in details in reference to
the embodiment, mentioned below.
[0034] According to the above-aspects, in the self-advancing
cleaner provided with the bumper on the front side of the cabinet,
by only adding a simple constitution that the damper is made to be
continuous to the end portion of the bumper by way of the resin
hinge portion, there is achieved an excellent effect that impact
when the left and right projected corner portions of the cabinet
are bumped to the hazard of the wall face at inside of the room or
the like can be alleviated and there is not a concern of directly
transmitting the impact to a portion of attaching the bumper and
the cabinet to damage the attaching structure portions of the both
members without increasing a number of the sensor elements provided
at the bumper and without adding a large-scaled part of a spring, a
shock absorber or the like. Further, there is also achieved an
effect of capable of adding the damper without changing a shape of
the cabinet of the self-advancing cleaner provided with the bumper
on the front side of the cabinet. Therefore, the bumper apparatus
requests light-weighted formation and small-sized formation. The
bumper apparatus can inexpensively be provided but also the bumper
and the damper and therefore, the portion of attaching the bumper
and the cabinet are difficult to be destructed and therefore, there
is achieved an advantage that the cleaner is easy to carry and
excellent in a way of use thereof for a user.
[0035] According to the above-aspects, the apparatus can not only
identify whether the hazard is disposed on the front side or the
skewed front side in the self-advancing direction but also can
precisely identify whether the hazard of the skewed front side is
disposed on the right front side or the left front side and
therefore, the self-advancing direction or other operation of the
cleaner running by itself at inside of the room can pertinently be
detected by constituting a reference by a detecting signal when the
bumper is bumped to the hazard. Therefore, the self-advancing
cleaner having an excellent way of use for a user can be
provided.
[0036] Further, according to the above-aspects, the apparatus using
the first and second switches as the switching member for detecting
that the bumper is bumped to the hazard and constituting the
portion of attaching the bumper and the cabinet by loosely fitting
the round shaft on the side of the cabinet to the opening portion
of the supporting member projected from the bumper, there is
achieved an excellent effect that only the switches of a number the
same as a number of those in the case of the bumper apparatus
explained in reference to FIG. 6 are provided, further, it can be
determined whether the hazard is disposed on the front side, on the
skewed right front side, or the skewed left front side in the
self-advancing direction while minimizing a number of parts by
dispensing with use of an extra part at the attaching portion.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0037] These and other objects and advantages of this invention
will become more fully apparent from the following detailed
description taken with the accompanying drawings in which:
[0038] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an outlook of a
self-advancing cleaner having a bumper apparatus according to an
embodiment;
[0039] FIG. 2 is a front view of the cleaner according to the
embodiment;
[0040] FIG. 3 is an outline plane view showing a structure of a
portion of attaching a bumper according to the embodiment;
[0041] FIG. 4 is an outline perspective view of the bumper
integrally molded with a damper according to the embodiment;
[0042] FIG. 5 is a sectional view for explaining an up and down
movement restricting guide of the bumper according to the
embodiment;
[0043] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an outlook of a
self-advancing cleaner having a bumper apparatus according to
another embodiment;
[0044] FIG. 7 is a plane view of the bumper apparatus in an initial
state in which the bumper is not bumped to a hazard according to
the another embodiment;
[0045] FIG. 8 is a plane view of the bumper apparatus in a state in
which the bumper apparatus is bumped to a hazard to be moved back
according to the another embodiment;
[0046] FIG. 9 is a plane view of the bumper apparatus in a state in
which the bumper apparatus is bumped to a hazard to be pivoted
according to the another embodiment;
[0047] FIG. 10 is a plane view enlarging a portion of attaching the
bumper to a cabinet according to the another embodiment;
[0048] FIG. 11 is an outline total perspective view of a
self-advancing cleaner mounted with a bumper of the related
art;
[0049] FIG. 12 is a plane view showing a portion of attaching the
bumper of a cleaner of FIG. 11;
[0050] FIG. 13 is an outline perspective view of the bumper of the
related art;
[0051] FIG. 14 is a view illustrated in FIG. 1 of the another
related art; and
[0052] FIG. 15 is a plan view of the bumper apparatus according to
still another embodiment.
DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
[0053] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an outlook of a
self-advancing cleaner A having a bumper apparatus according to an
embodiment, FIG. 2 is a front view of the cleaner, FIG. 3 is an
outline plane view showing a structure of a portion of attaching
the bumper 10, FIG. 4 is an outline perspective view of the bumper
10 integrally molded with a damper 4, and FIG. 5 is a sectional
view for explaining an up and down movement restricting guide 100
of the bumper 10.
[0054] The self-advancing cleaner A shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. 2 is
provided with various mechanisms necessary for cleaning a floor
face while advancing by itself, further, the projected corner
portions 11, 11 are provided on the left and right sides of the
cabinet 1, the rotating brushes 2, 2 are mounted to the lower sides
of the projected corner portions 11, 11, the rotating brushes 2, 2
are connected to the rotating shafts 11, 11 projected downward from
the projected corner portions 11, 11, further, the sensor elements
12 . . . for detecting a hazard are provided to the bumper 10
arranged between the left and right rotating brushes 2, 2, similar
to the self-advancing type cleaner A explained in reference to FIG.
6. Further, as shown by FIG. 3, the running wheels 3 or the like
are attached a plurality of portions of the bottom plate portion of
the cabinet 1, the cleaner runs by itself on the floor face by
rolling the running wheels 3, dust sucked in running by itself is
caught in the dust containing bag, the floor face is cleaned or the
corner portion at inside of the room is cleaned by the rotating
brush 2, and the self-advancing direction or the self-advancing
speed or the like is controlled by operating the control unit, not
illustrated, similar to the self-advancing type cleaner A explained
in reference to FIG. 6 and the like.
[0055] The embodiment differs from the related art explained in
reference to FIG. 6 and the like in that left and right end
portions of the bumper 10 are continuously added with the dampers 4
which are not provided with the sensor elements and the damper 4 is
arranged at a space at which the projected corner portion 11 and
the rotating brush 2 on the lower side are opposed to each other as
shown by FIG. 1 or FIG. 2. The point will be explained as
follows.
[0056] As shown by FIG. 3 or FIG. 4, the bumper 10 comprises the
integral resin molded member formed to be prolonged in the
transverse direction and the respective left and right end portions
are integrally molded with the dampers 4 continuously in a
cantilever shape by way of resin hinge portion 5. Further, the
bumper 10 is formed in a curved shape along a curved shape of a
front face of the cabinet 1, in addition thereto, a shape of an
outer face 41 of the damper 4 is formed in a curved shape along a
shape of an outer face of the projected corner portion 11 (refer to
FIG. 1) of the cabinet 1 and the outer face 41 is disposed on an
outer side of the outer face of the projected corner portion 11 as
is seen in FIG. 2. In addition thereto, according to the damper 4,
as shown by FIG. 3, an inner face 42 thereof is shaped in a curved
shape to surround the rotating shaft 21 of the rotating brush 2
from an outer side. Therefore, by a space formed between the damper
4 and the rotating shaft 21, the damper 4 can smoothly be displaced
by constituting a fulcrum by the resin hinge portion 5 in an inner
and outer direction as shown by an arrow mark M without interfering
with the rotating shaft 21. As shown clearly in FIG. 4, the resin
hinge portion 5 is formed to be thin-walled to thereby achieve an
elasticity particular to resin. Therefore, even when the damper 4
is displaced to an inner side as indicated by an imaginary line in
FIG. 3 by receiving an external force as in impacting to a hazard,
when the external force is removed, the damper 4 returns to an
initial position indicated by a bold line in FIG. 3 by an elastic
recovery property of the resin hinge portion 5. Further, according
to the embodiment, the damper 4 is extended on a lower side of the
projected corner portion 11 of the cabinet 1 from a front side over
to a side of the projected corner portion 11.
[0057] Further, according to the embodiment, as is seen in FIG. 2,
a height of installing the damper 4 is slightly lower than a height
of installing the bumper 10. This is because a position of a height
of a space at which the projected corner portion 11 and the
rotating brush 2 on the lower side are opposed to each other is
slightly lower than the height of installing the bumper 10 and
therefore, the height of installing the damper 4 is matched to the
position of the height of the space at which the projected corner
portion 11 and the brush 2 are opposed to each other. Thereby, the
damper 4 can be added without changing a shape of the cabinet 1 of
the self-advancing type cleaner A explained in reference to FIG. 6
and the like. Further, in order to determine the height of
installing the damper 4 to be slightly lower than the height of
installing the bumper 10 and arrange the damper 4 at the space at
which the projected corner portion 11 and the rotating brush 2 on
the lower side are opposed to each other, as is known by FIG. 4,
the damper 4 may be installed continuously to a lower end of the
resin hinge portion 5 formed by a width substantially the same as
that of the bumper 10 and installed continuously in a horizontal
direction from the bumper 10.
[0058] Next, a structure of a portion of attaching the bumper 10
and the cabinet 1 will be explained in reference to FIG. 3, FIG. 4
or FIG. 5.
[0059] A center portion in a transverse direction of the bumper 10
is projected with a supporting member 6 in a shape of a plate piece
toward an inner side thereof, and an opening 7 provided to the
supporting member 6 is loosely fitted to a round shaft 8 projected
from a center portion in a transverse direction of a bottom plate
portion of the cabinet 1. Further, an edge of the opening 7 is
provided with a cam face 71 in a ridge shape, when the bumper 10 is
pressed forward and the cam face 71 is brought into contact with
the round shaft 8, a position in the transverse direction (left and
right direction) of the bumper 10 is determined at one portion.
Further, a width in a front and rear direction of the opening 7 is
made to be wider than a diameter of the round shaft 8, and the
bumper 10 is made to be movable in the front and rear direction by
an amount of a dimension of capable of displacing the round shaft 8
relatively in the front and rear direction at inside of the opening
7. Therefore, the bumper 10 is attached to the cabinet 1 to be able
to pivot horizontally as indicated by an arrow mark H in FIG. 3 by
way of the round shaft 8 and the supporting member 6 and to be able
to move in the front and rear direction as indicated by an arrow
mark V in the drawing.
[0060] Further, the bumper 10 is provided with projected pieces 9,
9 on both sides interposing the supporting member 6 and the
projected pieces 9, 9 are exerted with springing urge forces of
torsional coil springs 91 attached to the bottom plate portion of
the cabinet 1. Therefore, the bumper 10 is normally urged in the
forward direction by the springing urge forces of the torsional
coil springs 91, further, the bumper 10 is hampered from jumping
out in the front direction by bringing the cam face 71 into contact
with the round shaft 8.
[0061] Further, as shown by FIG. 3, two left and right portions of
the bottom plate portion of the cabinet 1 are provided with the up
and down movement restricting guides 100 for restricting an up and
down displacement width and the height position of the bumper 10.
As shown by FIG. 5, the up and down movement restricting guide 100
is provided with a groove portion 110 fitted to a horizontal plate
piece portion 101 provided to the bumper 10 to be able to displace
in the front and rear direction and the bumper 10 is provided with
a play in an up and down direction a by a width matching a groove
width of the groove portion 110.
[0062] Next, operation of the self-advancing cleaner A constituted
as described above will be explained.
[0063] In a case in which when the cleaner A runs by itself on the
floor face at inside of the room, a hazard on a front side is
detected by the sensor element 12 provided at the bumper 10, the
self-advancing direction is changed based on a detecting signal
thereof to avoid the cleaner A from being bumped to the hazard to
be unable to run by itself.
[0064] On the other hand, when the cleaner A approaches, for
example, a wall face at inside of the room from the skewed
direction and the wall face at inside of the room is not detected
by the sensor element 12, although the damper 4 on a side of being
proximate to the wall face at inside of the room is bumped to the
wall face at inside of the room, when the bumping is brought about,
the damper 4 is displaced to the inner side against the elasticity
by constituting the fulcrum by the resin hinge portion 5.
Therefore, shock of impact is absorbed and alleviated by deforming
the resin hinge portion 5 and even when the projected corner
portion 11 of the cabinet 1 is bumped to the wall face at inside of
the room thereafter, it is avoided that the projected corner
portion 11 is cracked or the wall face at inside of the room is
damaged by the impact. In addition thereto, the shock in bumping
the damper 4 to the wall face at inside of the room is not directly
transmitted to the bumper 10 and is not directly transmitted to a
portion of attaching the bumper 10 and the cabinet 1, that is, an
attaching portion F constituted by a portion of fitting the round
shaft and the opening 7 of the supporting member 6 and therefore,
there is not a concern of bringing about a situation that the
bumper 10 and the attaching portion F is destructed by the
impact.
[0065] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an outlook of a
self-advancing cleaner A having a bumper apparatus according to
another embodiment. The self-advancing cleaner of the drawing is
provided with various mechanisms necessary for cleaning a floor
face while running by itself, further, rotating brushes 302, 302
are mounted on left and right sides of a front side of a cabinet
301, a bumper 310 is arranged between the rotating brushes 302, 302
and the bumper 310 is provided with sensor elements 312 . . . for
detecting a hazard. Further, running wheels or the like are
attached to a plurality of portions of a bottom plate portion of
the cabinet 301, the cleaner runs by itself on the floor face by
rolling the running wheels, dust sucked in running the cleaner by
itself is caught in a dust containing bag to clean the floor face
and clean corner portions at inside of a room by the rotating brush
302. Further, a self-advancing direction, a self-advancing speed or
the like is controlled by operating controlling unit, not
illustrated.
[0066] FIG. 7 is a plane view of the bumper apparatus in an initial
state in which the bumper 310 is not bumped to a hazard, FIG. 8 is
a plane view of the bumper apparatus in a state in which the bumper
310 is bumped to a hazard M and is moved back, FIG. 9 is a plane
view of the bumper apparatus in a state in which the bumper 310 is
bumped to the hazard M to be pivoted, and FIG. 10 is a plane view
enlarging a portion M of attaching the bumper 310 to the cabinet
301.
[0067] The bumper 310 comprises an integral resin molded member
formed to be prolonged in a transverse direction and is formed in a
curved shape along a curved shape of a front face of the cabinet
301. As enlarging to show in FIG. 10, at the portion A for
attaching the bumper 310 to the cabinet 301, a center portion in a
transverse direction of the bumper 310 is projected with a
supporting member 320 in a shape of a plate piece to direct to a
rear side thereof, and an opening portion 30 provided to a rear end
portion of the supporting member 20 is loosely fitted to a round
shaft 340 comprising a boss projected from a center portion in a
transverse direction of a bottom plate portion of the cabinet 301.
That is, a lateral width and a longitudinal width of the opening
portion 330 is formed to be slightly larger than a diameter of an
outer periphery of the round shaft 340 fitted to the opening
portion 30. Therefore, the bumper 310 can be moved in a front and
rear direction as indicated by an arrow mark V of FIG. 7 within a
range of restricting a position thereof by the round shaft 340 and
is pivotable also in a horizontal direction as indicated by an
arrow mark H of FIG. 7. Further, an opening edge of the opening
portion 330 is provided with an engaging face 331 formed in a
valley shape in a left and right symmetric shape at which a center
portion in the left and right direction is disposed at a rearmost
position. Therefore, when the bumper 310 is pressed to a front side
and the engaging face 331 is engaged with the round shaft 308, a
position of projecting the bumper 10 to the front side is
restricted by the engagement, further, a position in the lateral
direction (left and right direction) of the bumper 310 is
determined at one portion by guiding operation of the engaging face
331.
[0068] The bumper 310 is provided with projected pieces 350, 360
projected in a rear direction at symmetric positions on both sides
interposing the supporting member 320, whereas the projected pieces
350, 360 are provided with a first and a second operating portion
351, 361 at symmetric positions on two left and right sides
interposing the engaging face 331, switching member S are provided
on a side of the cabinet 301 in correspondence with the respective
first and second operating portions 351, 361. In the illustrated
example, the switching member S comprises a first and a second
switch S1, S2 provided at two left and right portions of the
cabinet 301.
[0069] Further, the bumper 310 is normally urged springingly to a
front side of the bumper 310 by a left and right pair of torsional
coil springs 370, 380 arranged at left and right symmetric portions
of the bottom plate portion of the cabinet 301. Further, in an
initial state shown in FIG. 7, that is, in a state in which the
bumper 310 is not pressed to the rear side, a valley bottom portion
of the engaging face 331 is engaged with the round shaft 301 by an
urge force by the left and right pair of coil springs 370, 380, the
position of projecting the bumper 310 is restricted by the
engagement to prevent the bumper 310 from jumping to the front
side. In addition thereto, an urge force of the left and right pair
of torsional coil springs 370, 380 is uniformly exerted to the left
and right symmetric portions of the bumper 310, thereby, the bumper
310 is maintained in a stable attitude without being inclined to a
front and rear direction. Further, the position of the bumper 310
which is not inclined to the front and rear direction in this way
is referred to as a neutral position in a horizontal direction.
[0070] Here, when opening/closing change over switches are adopted
for the first and second S1, S2 and as shown by FIG. 7, the bumper
310 is maintained in the initial state and is maintained at the
horizontal neutral position, the first operating portion 351
presses the first switch S1 to maintain an electricity conducting
mode and the second operating portion 361 presses the second switch
S2 to maintain the electricity conducting mode. The initial state
of the bumper 310 is maintained when the cleaner runs by itself
without being bumped to a hazard.
[0071] Further, when the bumper 310 is pressed to a rear side as
indicated by an arrow mark R of FIG. 8 while maintaining the
horizontal neutral position against the urge force of the left and
right torsional coil springs 370, 380 from the initial state of
FIG. 7, as shown by the drawing, the first operating portion 351 is
left from the first switch S1, also the second operating portion
361 is left from the second switch S2 and both of the first and the
second switches S1, S2 are switched to an electricity shut off
mode. The bumper 310 is moved back in this way when the center
portion of the bumper 310 is bumped to the hazard M in
self-advancing the cleaner. Therefore, at this occasion, it is
determined that the bumper 310 is bumped to the hazard M on the
front side in the self-advancing direction by switching both of the
first and the second switches S1, S2 to the electricity shut off
mode, based on a result of the determination, the self-advancing
direction of the cleaner can be changed, the self-advancing of the
cleaner can be stopped, or other operation control can be carried
out.
[0072] Further, from the initial state of FIG. 7, when the bumper
310 is pivoted to a left side in the horizontal direction relative
to the self-advancing direction from the neutral position in the
horizontal direction, as shown by FIG. 9, while maintaining the
first switch S1 in the electricity conducting mode by pressing the
first switch S1 by the first operating portion 351, the second
operating portion 361 is left from the second switch S2 and the
second switch S2 can be switched to the electricity shut off mode.
The bumper 310 is pivoted to the left side in the horizontal
direction relative to the self-advancing direction from the neutral
position in the horizontal direction in this way when the center
portion through the left side portion of the bumper 310 is bumped
to the hazard M as shown by FIG. 9. Therefore, at this occasion, it
is determined that the bumper 310 is bumped to the hazard M on the
left front side in the self-advancing direction by switching only
the second switch S2 to the electricity shut off mode, based on a
result of the determination, the self-advancing direction of the
cleaner can be changed, the self-advancing can be stopped, or other
operation control can be carried out.
[0073] Further, conversely, from the initial state of FIG. 7, when
the bumper 310 is pivoted to a right side in the horizontal
direction relative to the self-advancing direction of the neutral
position in the horizontal direction, while maintaining the second
switch S2 in the electricity conducing mode by pressing the second
switch S2 by the second operating portion 361, the first operating
portion 361 is left from the first switch S1 and the first switch
S1 is switched to the electricity shut off mode. The bumper 310 is
pivoted to the right side in the horizontal direction relative to
the self advancing direction from the neutral position in the
horizontal direction in this way, when the center portion through
the right side portion of the bumper 310 is bumped to the hazard M
although not illustrated. Therefore, at this occasion, it is
determined that the bumper 310 is bumped to the hazard on the right
front side in the self-advancing direction by switching only the
first switch S1 to the electricity shut off mode, based on a result
of the determination, the self-advancing direction of the cleaner
can be changed, the self-advancing can be stopped, or other
operation control can be carried out.
[0074] According to the embodiment, as shown by FIG. 10, at the
portion A' of attaching the bumper 310 to the cabinet 1, the
opening portion 330 provided to the supporting member 320 integral
with the bumper 310 is only loosely fitted to the round shaft 31
integral with the cabinet 301 and therefore, an extra part is not
used for the attaching portion A', which is useful for promoting
mass production performance. Despite the constitution, the bumper
310 is movable in the front and rear direction and pivotable to
both sides of the neutral position in the horizontal direction.
Further, it is detected whether the bumper 310 is moved back, or in
which direction of left and right directions the bumper 310 is
moved from the neutral position in the horizontal direction by the
first and the second switches S1, S2 and therefore, there is
achieved an advantage that the position of the hazard bumped to the
bumper 310 can be determined in three directions of the front side
in the self-advancing direction, a skewed right front side in the
self-advancing direction, and a skewed left front side in the
self-advancing direction by the very simple constitution.
Therefore, operation of the cleaner after the bumper 310 is bumped
to the hazard is made to be easy to be controlled pertinently
without using a number of parts or switches. Further, according to
the embodiment, although the modes of the two first and second
switches S1, S2 in the initial state are determined to the
electricity conducting modes, the modes of the switches S1, S2 in
the initial state can also be determined to the electricity shut
off modes.
[0075] According to still another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 15
as well as FIG. 4 of the embodiment, left and right end portions of
the bumper 310 may be continuously added with a damper 500 which
are not provide with a sensor element. The damper 500 may be
arranged at a space at which the projected corner portion 311 and
the rotating brush 302 on a lower side are opposed to each other as
shown FIG. 2. Further, as shown in FIG. 15 as well as FIG. 3, two
left and right portions of the bottom plate portion of the cabinet
301 are provided with up and down movement restricting guides 501,
501 for restricting an up and down displacement width and the
height position of the bumper 310.
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