KR100500839B1 - Robot cleaner having wall following function and method for following wall - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a robot cleaner having a wall tracking function that can follow a wall / obstacle at a predetermined interval. An object of the present invention as described above is installed in the main body and the drive unit for driving a plurality of wheels, a side sensor that is installed in parallel with the wheel on one side of the main body and can detect the distance to the object, and the object using the side sensor It is achieved by providing a robot cleaner comprising a control unit for controlling the drive unit to travel while maintaining a constant distance. Here, the side sensor is composed of a first sensor and a second sensor spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance, the control unit preferably controls the drive unit so that the distance detected by the first sensor and the second sensor is constant.

Description

Robot cleaner having wall following function and method for following wall}

The present invention relates to a robot cleaner for performing a designated task while driving the area surrounded by a wall / obstacle by itself. More specifically, the present invention relates to a robot cleaner for maintaining a predetermined distance from the wall / obstacle. The present invention relates to a robot vacuum cleaner having a wall tracking function and a wall tracking method.

In general, a robot cleaner is a device that travels a specific area in accordance with a command from an external device and performs a designated task such as a cleaning task or a monitoring task. In addition, the robot cleaner generally has an obstacle avoidance function that senses a wall or obstacle placed in front of the vehicle while driving and avoids the wall / obstacle. Therefore, when a wall / obstacle is detected in front of the robot cleaner, the robot cleaner stops at a distance away from the wall / obstacle and then changes the driving direction in a pre-input direction and continues to perform the indicated work.

However, this obstacle avoidance function causes a problem that the robot cleaner does not completely clean the cleaning area when performing the cleaning operation. That is, since the robot cleaner does not approach the wall / obstacle close by the obstacle avoidance function of the robot cleaner, there is a problem that the robot cleaner does not clean a certain area from the wall / obstacle, that is, the corner of the wall / obstacle.

In addition, when instructing the robot cleaner to clean the area, there is a problem that the user has to input the outline of the cleaning area to the robot cleaner one by one.

Accordingly, there has been a need for an invention for a robot cleaner that can clean corners while running along walls / obstacles and can set areas for self-cleaning.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, by allowing the robot cleaner to run while maintaining a constant distance from the wall / obstacle, having a wall tracking function that can make the corner of the cleaning area more complete Its purpose is to provide a robot cleaner and wall tracking method.

In addition, it is another object to provide a robot cleaner having a wall following function that can set the area to be cleaned by running along the wall / obstacle.

In order to achieve the above object, the robot cleaner having a wall tracking function according to the present invention includes: a main body provided with a driving unit for driving a plurality of wheels; A side sensor installed at one side of the main body in parallel with the wheel and capable of sensing a distance to an object; An upper camera installed in the main body and configured to capture an ceiling and generate an upper image; And the main body is driven while maintaining a constant distance from the object by using the side sensor, and the driving unit is controlled to recognize the driving trajectory of the main body by using the upper image and to stop when the driving trajectory of the main body forms a closed curve. And a controller configured to store the inside of the driving trajectory forming a closed curve as a cleaning area.

Here, the side sensor is composed of a first sensor and a second sensor spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance, the control unit preferably controls the drive unit so that the distance detected by the first sensor and the second sensor is constant.

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And, the side sensor is preferably installed on both sides of the main body.

The object of the present invention as described above, in the wall tracking method of the robot cleaner that runs while following the wall / obstacle using the side sensor, determining whether a wall tracking command is received, and when the wall tracking command is received Moving to a nearby wall / obstacle, determining whether the sensing distance of the first sensor is equal to the sensing distance of the second sensor, and if the sensing distance of the first sensor and the sensing distance of the second sensor are not the same, Controlling the driving unit so that the sensing distance of the sensor and the sensing distance of the second sensor are the same; and if the sensing distance of the first sensor and the sensing distance of the second sensor are the same, the driving continues and the driving trace of the robot cleaner is closed. Determining the application, if the driving trace of the robot cleaner is a closed curve, terminating the wall following driving, and storing the interior of the driving trace as a cleaning area. It is accomplished by providing a wall tracking method of the robot cleaner.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail a preferred embodiment of the robot cleaner having a wall tracking function according to the present invention.

1 and 2, the robot cleaner 10 having a wall tracking function according to the present invention includes a main body 11, a sensor part 12, a bumper 15, a suction part 16, and a rechargeable battery ( 18), a drive unit 20, an upper camera 30, a front camera 32, a control unit 40, a storage device 41, a transmission / reception unit 43, and a side sensor 50.

The sensor unit 12 may measure a travel distance and an obstacle detection sensor 14 disposed at predetermined intervals around the side surface of the main body 11 so as to transmit a signal to the outside and receive the reflected signal. The traveling distance detection sensor 13 is provided.

The obstacle detecting sensor 14 is arranged along the outer circumferential surface of the infrared light emitting element 14a for emitting infrared light and the light receiving element 14b for receiving the reflected light in a vertical pair. Alternatively, the obstacle detection sensor 14 may emit an ultrasonic wave, and an ultrasonic sensor capable of receiving the reflected ultrasonic wave may be applied. The obstacle detecting sensor 14 is also used to measure the distance from the obstacle or the wall.

The mileage detection sensor 13 may be a rotation detection sensor for detecting the rotation speed of the first and second wheels (21a, 21b, 22a, 22b). For example, the rotation detection sensor may be an encoder installed to detect the rotation speed of the first and second motors (23, 24).

The suction part 16 is provided on the main body 11 so that the dust | floor of the floor which opposes while collecting air may be collected. Such a suction unit 16 can be configured by a variety of known methods. As an example, the suction unit 16 includes a suction motor (not shown) and a dust collecting chamber for collecting dust sucked through a suction port or a suction pipe formed to face the floor by driving the suction motor.

The rechargeable battery 18 is installed on the main body 11, and supplies power required for the first and second motors 23 and 24, the controller 40, the sensor 12, and the like of the driver 20.

The bumper 15 is installed on the outer circumference of the robot cleaner main body 11, and when the robot cleaner 10 collides with the surrounding wall / obstacle, it absorbs a shock and outputs a collision signal to the controller 40. Therefore, the bumper 15 is supported by the elastic member so that the robot cleaner 10 can move forward and backward in a direction parallel to the floor on which the robot cleaner 10 runs, and when the bumper 15 collides with an obstacle, the control unit 40 There is a sensor (not shown) that outputs to. Therefore, when the bumper 15 collides with the obstacle, a predetermined collision signal is transmitted to the controller 40.

The driving unit 20 includes two first wheels 21a and 21b provided on the right side of the main body 11 with respect to the driving direction, two second wheels 22a and 22b provided on the left side of the main body 11 and a rear side. Installed to transfer the power of the first motor 23 and the second motor 24 and the rear wheels 21b and 22b to rotate the two wheels 21b and 22b, respectively, to the front wheels 21a and 22a. Timing belt 25. The driver 20 independently drives the first motor 23 and the second motor 24 to rotate in the forward or reverse directions according to the control signal of the controller 40. The running direction is determined by controlling the rotation speeds of the first motor 23 and the second motor 24 differently. That is, when the first motor 23 rotates at a higher speed than the second motor 24, since the first wheels 21a and 21b rotate faster, the robot cleaner 10 rotates toward the second wheel. On the contrary, when the second motor 24 rotates faster than the first motor 23, the second wheels 22a and 22b rotate faster, so that the robot cleaner 10 rotates toward the first wheel.

The front camera 32 is installed on the main body 11 so as to capture the front image and outputs the captured image to the controller 40.

The upper camera 30 is installed on the main body 11 so as to capture the image of the upper side and outputs the captured image to the control unit 40.

The transmitter / receiver 43 transmits data to be transmitted through the antenna 42, and transmits a signal received through the antenna 42 to the controller 40.

The controller 40 processes the signal received through the transmitter / receiver 42 and controls each element. When a key input device (not shown) provided with a plurality of keys for manipulating the function setting of the device is further provided on the main body 11, the controller 40 processes the key signal input from the key input device.

The controller 40 receives the signal from the side sensor 50 and controls the driving unit 20 so that the robot cleaner 10 can run in parallel with the wall / obstacle. In addition, when an obstacle in front of the vehicle is detected by the obstacle detecting sensor 14 or the bumper 15, the driving unit 20 is controlled to travel by avoiding the obstacle.

The side sensor 50 is installed on one side of the main body 10 so as to be parallel to the first and second wheels 21a, 21b, 22a, and 22b of the driving unit 20, and spaced apart from each other by a first sensor ( 52) and the second sensor 53. That is, the first sensor 52 and the second sensor 53 of the side sensor 50 are installed on the side of the main body 10 so as to be parallel to the direction in which the robot cleaner 10 travels straight. Since the side sensor 50 can use any sensor which can measure the distance to an obstacle, the side sensor 50 can use about the same thing as the obstacle detection sensor 14 mentioned above. Accordingly, the first sensor 52 and the second sensor 53 of the side sensor 50 may include infrared light emitting elements 52a and 53a for emitting infrared rays and light receiving elements 52b and 53b for receiving the reflected light. They are arranged vertically in pairs. The side sensor 50 may be applied to another ultrasonic sensor which emits ultrasonic waves differently and receives the reflected ultrasonic waves. Therefore, when the robot cleaner 10 runs along the wall in a non-parallel state, the distance detected by the first sensor 52 and the second sensor 53 is different.

The side sensor 50 can be installed only on one side of the main body 11, but installed on both sides of the main body 11 as shown in Figure 1 so that the robot cleaner 10 can follow the wall / obstacle in both directions. It is preferable.

Hereinafter, the operation of the robot cleaner having the configuration as described above and traveling while following the wall / obstacle will be described.

When the wall tracking command is received, the controller 40 searches for and moves to the nearest wall / obstacle using the upper image captured by the upper camera 30 and the obstacle detection sensor 14. Here, the wall following command means that the robot cleaner 10 performs a function of traveling along the wall / obstacle while maintaining a predetermined distance from the wall / obstacle. Here, the predetermined distance needs to be set so that the robot cleaner 10 can move freely in a state where the cover of the robot cleaner 10 and the wall / obstacle do not contact each other. At this time, the narrower the distance between the wall / obstacle and the robot cleaner 10, the more clean the corner of the wall / obstacle with the robot cleaner 10, it is preferable to set the predetermined distance as narrow as possible.

The robot cleaner 10 moved to the wall / obstacle runs while keeping parallel to the wall / obstacle while being spaced a certain distance from the wall / obstacle.

At this time, the control unit 40 will be described with reference to FIG. 3 to control the driving unit 20 so that the robot cleaner 10 travels while keeping parallel to the wall / obstacle using the side sensor 50.

Referring to the drawings, when the wall 80 and the robot cleaner 10 are parallel, the distance L1 detected by the first sensor 52 of the side sensor 50 and the distance detected by the second sensor 53 are described. (L2) is the same. Therefore, the controller 40 controls the driving unit 20 to rotate the first motor 23 and the second motor 24 at the same rotational speed.

When the robot cleaner 10 moves away from the wall, that is, when the first sensor sensing distance L1 is greater than the second sensor sensing distance L2 (L1> L2), the second motor 24 is connected to the first motor 23. By rotating at a higher speed than), the robot cleaner 10 controls to run toward the wall. On the contrary, when the robot cleaner 10 approaches the wall, that is, when the first sensor sensing distance L1 is smaller than the second sensor sensing distance L2 (L1 <L2), the first motor 23 is moved to the second. The driving unit 20 is controlled to rotate at a higher speed than the motor 24 so that the robot cleaner 10 travels in a direction away from the wall.

If the obstacle detection sensor 14 detects an obstacle while the wall tracking driving is performed, the controller 40 does not detect the obstacle in the obstacle detection sensor 14 and the side sensor 50 maintains a certain distance from the obstacle. The driving unit 20 is controlled to travel.

In addition, when the controller 40 receives the bumper signal from the bumper 15 during the wall following driving, the controller 40 reverses the predetermined distance and rotates the predetermined angle while the side sensor 50 maintains the predetermined distance from the wall / obstacle. The driving unit 20 is controlled to travel.

The controller 40 stores the driving trajectory of the robot cleaner 10 while keeping the predetermined distance from the wall / obstacle in the storage device 41. Then, it is determined whether the driving trajectory of the robot cleaner 10 overlaps with the starting point of the driving trajectory, and when the driving trajectory overlaps with the starting point, the wall following driving of the robot cleaner 10 ends. That is, the controller 40 determines whether the driving trace for which the robot cleaner 10 performs the wall following function forms a closed curve, and terminates the wall following driving when the traveling trace forms a closed curve. In this case, the controller 40 may determine whether the driving trajectory forms a closed curve, and various known methods may be used. For example, the upper image captured by the upper camera 30 is divided into a plurality of pixels, and the position information of the wall following driving trajectory of the robot cleaner 10 is stored as a specific pixel position, and the pixel corresponding to the position information of the driving trajectory is stored. Approaches can be applied to determine if they are constantly in a row.

As described above, if the suction unit 16 is operated while the robot cleaner 10 is driving the wall following, the cleaning of the corner of the cleaning area can be completed more completely because the cleaning is performed near the wall / obstacle. have.

In addition, if the control unit 40 is set to recognize the inside of the closed curve formed by the wall following driving trajectory of the robot cleaner 10 as the cleaning area, the user does not need to separately input the outline of the cleaning area to the robot cleaner 10. do. Then, the controller 10 may clean the cleaning area while controlling the driving unit 20 to drive the inner region of the driving trajectory in a specific driving pattern such as a zigzag method.

In the above description, the controller 40 directly analyzes the signal of the side sensor 50 to perform an example of self-following wall driving.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the robot vacuum cleaner system is constructed to externally process a constant distance maintenance control with the side sensor 50 in order to reduce the computational processing burden on the wall following driving of the robot cleaner 10.

To this end, the robot cleaner 10 is configured to wirelessly transmit the sensing distance measured by the side sensor 50 to the outside and operate according to a control signal received from the outside, and the remote controller 60 controls the work and the wall. The robot cleaner 10 is wirelessly controlled through a series of controls including the following driving.

The remote controller 60 includes a wireless repeater 63 and a central controller 70.

The wireless repeater 63 processes the radio signal received from the robot cleaner 10 and transmits the radio signal to the central control unit 70 through a wire, and wirelessly transmits the signal received from the central control unit 70 through the antenna 62. To the robot cleaner 10.

The central control unit 70 is constructed of a conventional computer, an example of which is shown in FIG. Referring to the drawings, the central controller 70 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 71, a ROM 72, a RAM 73, a display device 74, an input device 75, A storage device 76 and a communication device 77.

The storage device 76 is provided with a robot cleaner driver 76a for controlling the robot cleaner 10 and processing a signal transmitted from the robot cleaner 10.

The robot cleaner driver 76a, when executed, provides a menu for setting the control of the robot cleaner 10 through the display device 74, so that a menu item selected by the user for the provided menu can be executed by the robot cleaner. Process. Preferably, the menu includes a cleaning operation and a monitoring operation as a large category, and a plurality of menus that can be supported by a device to be applied, such as a work target area selection list and a work method, are provided as a sub selection menu for the large category.

When the robot cleaner driver 76a receives a work instruction signal through the input device 75 by the set work timing or the user, the ceiling imaged by the upper camera 30 of the robot cleaner 10 waiting at the waiting place first. The image of the upper part of the robot cleaner 10 is received from the robot cleaner 10, and the location information of the waiting place of the robot cleaner 10 is calculated and stored in the storage device 76.

Thereafter, the robot cleaner driver 76a controls the robot cleaner 10 so that the indicated work can be performed. When the robot cleaner driver 76a receives a wall following command, the robot cleaner driver 76a compares the sensing distances L1 and L2 of the first sensor 52 and the second sensor 53 of the side sensor 50 received from the controller 40. The control unit 50 is controlled in the same manner as described above. In addition, the robot cleaner driver 76a displays the wall following driving trajectory of the robot cleaner 10 on the display device 74. FIG. 5 shows the wall following driving trace 82 displayed on the display device 74. 5 shows a state in which the driving track 82 has a closed curve and the wall following driving is finished.

The controller 40 of the robot cleaner 10 controls the driver 20 according to the control information received from the robot cleaner driver 76a through the wireless repeater 63, and performs arithmetic processing for position recognition and wall following driving. The burden is omitted. In addition, the control unit 40 of the robot cleaner 10 transmits the current upper image captured by the upper camera 30 and the distance signal of the side sensor 50 to the central controller 70 through the wireless repeater 63. send.

Hereinafter, a wall tracking method of the robot cleaner according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 6.

First, the controller determines whether a wall following command has been received (S110).

When the wall tracking command is received, the control unit controls the driving unit to move the robot cleaner to the nearest wall / obstacle (S120).

When the robot cleaner approaches the wall / obstacle, the controller determines whether the distance detected by the first sensor of the side sensor and the distance detected by the second sensor are the same (S130). If the first sensor sensing distance and the second sensor sensing distance are different, the driving unit is controlled to be the same as the first sensor sensing distance and the second sensor sensing distance (S170). That is, when the first sensor sensing distance is greater than the second sensor sensing distance, the driving unit is controlled so that the second wheel rotates at a higher speed than the first wheel so that the first sensor sensing distance and the second sensor sensing distance become the same ( S180). On the contrary, when the first sensor sensing distance is smaller than the second sensor sensing distance, the driving unit is controlled to rotate at a higher speed than the second wheel so that the first sensor sensing distance and the second sensor sensing distance are the same. S190).

When the first sensor sensing distance and the second sensor sensing distance are the same, the controller determines whether the driving trajectory forms a closed curve while controlling the driving unit to continue driving while rotating the first wheel and the second wheel at the same speed (S140, S150).

In this case, a variety of known methods may be used for the control unit to determine whether the driving trajectory forms a closed curve. For example, the upper image captured by the upper camera is divided into a plurality of pixels, and the position information of the wall following driving trajectory of the robot cleaner is stored as a specific pixel position, and whether the pixels corresponding to the position information of the driving trajectory are continuously connected continuously. Judgment methods may be applied.

When the driving trajectory forms a closed curve, the controller waits for the next command after finishing the wall following driving (S160).

As described above, the robot cleaner having the wall tracking function according to the present invention can be closely followed by the wall / obstacle by the side sensor, so that the corner caused by the wall / obstacle can be cleaned more completely.

In addition, when the inside of the wall following driving trajectory is recognized by the controller as the cleaning area, the user does not need to input the cleaning area separately.

As described above, according to the robot cleaner and the wall tracking method having the wall tracking function according to the present invention, since the robot cleaner can travel at a constant distance from the wall / obstacle, the corner of the cleaning area is more completely completed. Can be cleaned.

In addition, according to the present invention can provide a robot cleaner having a wall following function that can set the area to be cleaned by running along the wall / obstacle forming the periphery of the cleaning area.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described specific embodiments, and various modifications can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the gist of the invention as claimed in the claims. Such changes are intended to fall within the scope of the claims.

1 is a perspective view showing a state in which the cover of the robot cleaner having a wall tracking function according to the present invention is separated;

2 is a block diagram showing a system of a robot cleaner having a wall tracking function according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a view for explaining a state in which the robot cleaner of FIG. 1 follows a wall;

Figure 4 is a block diagram showing a central control device of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen displayed on the display device of FIG. 4 when the robot cleaner of FIG. 1 completes tracking a wall. FIG.

6 is a flowchart illustrating a wall tracking method of the robot cleaner according to the present invention.

* Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings *

10; Robot cleaner 11; main body

12; Sensor unit 14; Obstacle Detection Sensor

15; Bumper 16; Reducer

20; A driver 21; First wheel

22; Second wheel 23; 1st motor

24; Second motor 30; Upward camera

40; Control unit 41; Memory

50; Side sensor 52; First sensor

53; Second sensor 60; Remote controller

63; Wireless repeater 70; Central control unit

80; Wall 82; Wall tracking track

Claims (6)

A main body provided with a driving unit for driving a plurality of wheels; A side sensor installed at one side of the main body in parallel with the wheel and capable of sensing a distance to an object; An upper camera installed in the main body and configured to capture an ceiling and generate an upper image; And The main body is driven while maintaining a constant distance from the object by using the side sensor, by using the upward image to recognize the driving trajectory of the main body to control the driving unit to stop when the running trajectory of the main body to form a closed curve And a controller configured to store the inside of the driving trajectory forming a closed curve as a cleaning area. The robot cleaner of claim 1, wherein the side sensor comprises a first sensor and a second sensor installed at a predetermined distance apart from each other. The robot cleaner of claim 2, wherein the controller controls the driving unit such that the distance detected by the first sensor and the second sensor is constant. delete The robot cleaner of claim 3, wherein the side sensors are installed on both sides of the main body. In the wall tracking method of the robot cleaner which runs while following the wall / obstacle using the side sensor, Determining whether a wall follow command is received; If the wall following command is received, moving to the nearest wall / obstacle; Determining whether the sensing distance of the first sensor and the sensing distance of the second sensor are the same; If the sensing distance of the first sensor and the sensing distance of the second sensor are not the same, controlling and driving the driving unit so that the sensing distance of the first sensor and the sensing distance of the second sensor are the same; If the sensing distance of the first sensor and the sensing distance of the second sensor are the same, continuing driving and determining whether the driving trajectory of the robot cleaner is a closed curve; Terminating the wall following driving if the driving trace of the robot cleaner is a closed curve; And And storing the inside of the driving trajectory as a cleaning area.