TWI377042B - Auto-cleaning device and charging method thereof - Google Patents

Description

1377042

TW5539PA VI. Description of the Invention: [Technical Field] The present invention relates to an automatic cleaning device and a charging method thereof, and more particularly to an automatic cleaning device capable of automatically guiding charging and a charging method thereof. [Prior Art] When the automatic cleaning device is low, it will start the guiding function and automatically return to the charging stand. Generally, the charging stand emits an infrared signal, and after receiving and judging the orientation of the charging stand via the infrared sensor of the automatic cleaning device, it travels toward the charging stand. However, when the automatic cleaning device advances in the direction of the charging stand, if the infrared signal range emitted by the charging stand is left, the automatic cleaning device cannot immediately judge that the next step is to go in that direction, and can only rotate in place to try Enter the infrared signal range emitted by the charging stand. This repeated detection consumes a lot of valuable time and automatically cleans the power of the device. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an automatic cleaning device that can accurately determine the orientation of a charging stand through a light sensor disposed symmetrically in the direction of the conductive portion to accurately advance toward the orientation of the charging stand. In this way, the automatic cleaning device can quickly reach the charging stand and be electrically connected to the charging stand for charging, saving the user a lot of precious time and automatically cleaning the electric device of the device 177042, TW5539P, according to one aspect of the present invention, an automatic Clean the device. The automatic cleaning device is selectively electrically coupled to a charging stand for charging. The charging stand has a light emitter and a charging part. The automatic cleaning device comprises a body, a driving mechanism, a conductive portion, a first photo sensor, a second photo sensor and a control unit. The driving mechanism is used to drive the body to move in a traveling direction. The conductive portion is for contacting the charging portion for charging. The first photo sensor and the second photo sensor are symmetrically disposed on the body. The first photo sensor and the second photo sensor respectively receive signals transmitted by the light emitter to obtain a first signal strength and a second signal intensity. The control unit is electrically connected to the driving mechanism, the first photo sensor and the second photo sensor. The control unit subtracts the first signal strength from the second signal strength into a first reference signal and further determines whether the traveling direction of the body faces the charging portion. When the traveling direction is not toward the charging portion, the control unit controls the driving mechanism to drive the body to face the traveling direction toward the charging portion. According to another aspect of the present invention, a charging method is proposed. The charging method is used to selectively electrically connect an automatic cleaning device to a charging stand for charging. The charging stand has a light emitter and a charging part. The charging method includes the following steps. Receiving a signal transmitted by the optical transmitter to obtain a first signal strength and a second signal strength; subtracting the second signal strength from the first signal strength to obtain a first reference signal; determining the automatic according to the first reference signal Whether the traveling direction of one of the cleaning devices faces the charging portion; if the traveling direction is not toward the charging portion, the automatic cleaning device is controlled to direct the traveling direction toward the charging portion. In order to make the above-mentioned contents of the present invention more comprehensible, the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, together with the drawings, is described in detail as follows: 1377042

TW5539PA [Embodiment] The following is a description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention. However, the description of the embodiments is for illustrative purposes only, and the drawings are for the purpose of illustration and not limitation. The scope of use. Further, the illustration of the embodiments also omits unnecessary elements to clearly show the technical features of the present invention. Referring to Figures 1 and 2, Figure 1 is a schematic view of an automatic cleaning device in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and Figure 2 is a functional block diagram of the automatic cleaning device in Figure 1. As shown in FIG. 1 , the automatic cleaning device 100 includes a body 102 , a driving mechanism 104 , a conductive portion 106 , a first photo sensor 108 , a second photo sensor 110 , and a control unit 112 . Shown in Figure 2). The first photo sensor 108 and the second photo sensor 110 are, for example, infrared sensors. The conductive portion 106 is disposed on the body 102 for electrically connecting to the charging portion 126 for charging. The drive mechanism 104 includes two drive wheels 116 and an auxiliary wheel 118. The drive mechanism 104 is coupled to the body 102 to drive the body 102 to move, for example, to turn or straight ahead toward the direction of travel D1. Here, the traveling direction D1 may be a direction in which the conductive portion 106 and the charging portion 126 perform a charging operation, and the conductive portion 106 may be disposed in the traveling direction D1. The first photo sensor 108 and the second photo sensor 110 are symmetrically disposed on the body 102. For example, the symmetric conductive portion 106 is disposed on the body 102. The first photo sensor 108 is located on the first side 120 of the conductive portion 106, and the second photo sensor 1377042

The TW5539PX 110 is located on the second side 122 of the conductive portion 106. The first side i2 相对 corresponds to the second side 122. The charging stand 114 further includes a light emitter 124' such as an infrared emitter for emitting an infrared signal S. Among them, the emission direction D2 is the direction with the strongest intensity in the infrared signal S. The charging portion 126 is provided to the charging stand 4 toward the emission direction D2. As shown in FIG. 2, the control unit 112 is electrically connected to the driving mechanism 104, the first photo sensor 1 〇8, the second photo sensor 11 〇, and the conductive portion 106. The first photo sensor log and the second photo sensor receive signals transmitted by the light emitter 124, and the control unit 112 can determine the orientation of the charging stand 114. Then, the control unit 丨12 can further control the body 1〇2 to turn the traveling direction of the body 102 toward the charging stand 114 or continue to advance, so that the conductive portion 106 is correctly and quickly electrically connected to the charging portion 126 for charging. The following describes the charging method for automatically cleaning the unit. Referring to Figure 3, there is shown a flow chart of a charging method in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. In step S302, the first photo sensor 108 and the second photo sensor 110 receive the infrared signal s to obtain the first signal intensity S1 and the second signal intensity S2. According to the characteristics of the general infrared signal, the signal of the infrared signal s which deviates from the emission direction D2 has a weaker signal strength. In addition, the signal intensity on both sides of the emission direction D2 is substantially symmetrical with respect to the emission direction D2. In this characteristic, since the angle A1 between the first signal intensity 31 and the emission direction D2 in FIG. 1 is smaller than the angle A2 between the second signal intensity and the emission direction D2, the intensity of the first signal intensity S1 is greater than Second signal ^//042

TW5539PA intensity value S2 intensity value β Then, in step S304, the control unit 112 subtracts the second signal strength S2 from the first signal strength S1 to become a first reference signal %, as shown in FIG. 4, which shows the implementation A schematic diagram of the first, second signal strength and first reference signal. Then, in step S306, the control unit 112 determines whether the traveling side D1 of the casing 102 faces the charging portion 126 of the charging stand 114 according to the first reference number S3. If not, the process proceeds to step S3〇8; if yes, the process proceeds to step S310. For example, as shown in Fig. 4, the phase of the first signal intensity S1 and the phase of the second signal intensity S2 are the same. When the first signal strength S1 is greater than the second signal strength S2, that is, the relative orientation of the automatic cleaning device 1〇〇 and the charging stand HA is as shown in FIG. 1 , the intensity value of the first reference signal S3 is greater than zero and the first reference signal The phase of S3 is the same as the phase of the first signal strength S1. Therefore, the control unit 112 can clearly indicate the relative orientation of the traveling direction D1 and the charging stand 114 according to the first reference signal. Then, in step S308, if the traveling direction D1 of the body 1〇2 does not face the charging unit 126 of the charging stand 114, the control unit 112 can control the driving mechanism 104 to drive the body 1〇2 to the first side 12 of the traveling direction S1. The direction of rotation is rotated in the direction of rotation D3 shown in the figure i, so that the direction of travel D1 faces the charging portion 126. In addition, if the difference between the intensity values of the first signal intensity S1 and the second signal intensity S2 is larger, the angle of the direction in which the direction M of the automatic cleaning device 1 is deviated from the charging portion 126 is greater, that is, the direction D1 of the first figure is The clockwise direction deviates from the emission direction D2. At this time, the first signal strength. Print 7042

The strength value of the first reference signal S3 obtained by subtracting the second signal strength S2 from the TW5539PA S1 is also stronger. Therefore, the control unit 1丨2 can control the speed at which the drive mechanism 1〇4 drives the body 102 to rotate toward the first side 12〇 of the traveling direction D1. In addition, the control unit 112 can add the first signal strength S1 and the second signal strength S2 to the second reference signal (not shown), and can determine that the automatic cleaning device 1 is away from the charging stand 114 according to the second reference signal. the distance. Further, when the intensity value of the second reference signal is weaker, it indicates that the distance from the automatic cleaning device 1 is farther from the charging stand 114. Therefore, the control unit 112 can control the driving mechanism 1 to drive the body 102 such that the traveling direction D1 is directed toward the charging portion 126. In summary, the automatic cleaning device 1 of the present embodiment can clearly determine the orientation of the charging portion 126 of the charging stand 114, and adjust the traveling direction and speed 'to make the traveling direction D1 accurately and quickly toward the charging portion 126. 'Accelerating the electrical connection between the conductive portion 106 and the charging portion 126 to perform charging. In this way, the valuable time of the user and the power of the automatic cleaning device 100 can be saved. Referring to Fig. 5, a schematic view of the direction of the automatic cleaning device of Fig. 1 taken in the other direction is shown. According to the characteristics of the general infrared signal, the angle A3 between the first signal intensity S4 and the emission direction D2 in FIG. 5 is larger than the angle A4 between the second signal intensity S5 and the emission direction D2. Therefore, the intensity of the first signal intensity S4 is smaller than Second signal strength S5 intensity value. Please refer to Fig. 6 for a schematic diagram showing the first and second signal intensities in Fig. 5. The phase of the first signal strength S4 and the phase of the second signal intensity S5 1377042 TW5539FA 1 ' are the same. When the first signal strength S4 is smaller than the second signal strength S5, that is, when the relative orientation of the automatic cleaning device 100 and the charging stand 114 is as shown in FIG. 5, the intensity value of the first reference signal S6 is greater than zero and the first reference signal S6 The phase is different from the phase of the first signal intensity S4, for example, by 180 degrees. Therefore, the control unit 112 can unambiguously determine the relative orientation of the traveling direction D1 and the charging stand 114 according to the first reference signal S6. In this way, the control unit 112 can control the driving mechanism 104 to drive the body 102 to rotate in the direction of the second side 122 of the traveling direction S1, that is, to the rotation direction D4 shown in FIG. 5, so that the traveling direction D1 faces the charging portion 126. . In addition, if the difference between the intensity values of the first signal strength S4 and the second signal strength S5 is larger, the angle of the direction D1 of the automatic cleaning device 100 deviating from the charging portion 126 is greater, that is, the traveling direction D1 of FIG. 5 is further The counterclockwise direction deviates from the emission direction D2. The intensity value of the first reference signal S6 obtained by subtracting the second signal strength S5 from the first signal intensity S4 is also stronger. Therefore, the control unit 112 can control the speed at which the drive mechanism 104 drives the body 102 to rotate toward the second side 122 of the traveling direction D1. In addition, the control unit 112 adds the first signal strength S4 and the second signal strength S5 to a second reference signal (not shown), and adjusts the speed at which the automatic cleaning device 100 travels toward the charging base 114 according to the second reference signal. For example, when the intensity value of the second reference signal is weaker, the control unit 112 can control the drive mechanism 104 to drive the body 102 such that the speed of the traveling direction D1 toward the charging portion 126 is faster. In step S310, if the traveling direction D1 of the body 102 has approached the charging portion 126 of the charging stand 114, the control unit 112 drives the body 102 1377042.

TW5539PA « · Go straight in the direction of travel D1. For example, please refer to Fig. 7 for a schematic view showing the traveling direction of the body of Fig. 1 toward the charging portion. Since the traveling direction M faces the charging portion 126 of the charging stand 114, the first photo sensor 108 and the second photo sensor 110 respectively receive the first signal intensity and the second signal intensity S8 having substantially equal strengths. The intensity value of the first reference signal (not shown) obtained by subtracting the second signal strength S8 from the first signal strength S7 is substantially equal to zero. At this time, the driving mechanism 1〇4 can drive the body 1〇2 to continue to advance in the _ traveling direction D1 without turning, so that the conductive portion 1〇6 and the charging portion i26 can be electrically connected for charging. Further, since the traveling direction D1 of the body 102 has been directed toward the charging portion 126, the speed at which the driving mechanism 104 drives the body 102 straight in the traveling direction M can be increased, which saves valuable time for the user and automatically cleans the power of the device 100. For example, the control unit 112 may add the first signal strength S7 and the second signal strength S8 of FIG. 7 to a second reference signal (not shown). When the intensity value of the second reference signal is weaker, the control unit 112 controls the speed at which the drive mechanism 1〇4 drives the body 1〇2 to advance in the traveling direction D1. The automatic cleaning device and the charging method thereof disclosed in the above embodiments of the present invention have a plurality of advantages, and some of the advantages are illustrated as follows: (1) The first photo sensor and the second photo sensor are symmetrically disposed on the body ' The orientation of the charging stand can be clearly determined. (2) The control unit subtracts the intensity of the second signal from the intensity of the second signal to obtain a first reference signal, and adjusts the traveling direction and speed of the automatic cleaning device according to the first reference signal to accelerate the completion of the conductive portion and the charging portion. 1377042 TW5539PA 1 · Electrical connection for charging, saving users valuable time and automatically cleaning the power of the device. (3) The control unit adds the first signal strength to the second signal strength to obtain a second reference signal, and adjusts the traveling speed of the automatic cleaning device according to the second reference signal to accelerate completion between the conductive portion and the charging portion. Electrically connected for charging, saving valuable time for the user and automatically cleaning the power of the device. In conclusion, the present invention has been disclosed in the above preferred embodiments, and is not intended to limit the invention. A person skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, the scope of the invention is defined by the scope of the appended claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a schematic view showing an automatic cleaning device in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a functional block diagram of the automatic cleaning device of Fig. 1. Figure 3 is a flow chart showing a charging method in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Figure 4 is a schematic diagram showing the first, second and first reference signals of the embodiment. Fig. 5 is a schematic view showing the traveling direction of the automatic cleaning device of Fig. 1 in the other direction. Figure 6 is a schematic diagram showing the intensity of the first and second signals in Figure 5. FIG. 7 is a view showing the traveling direction of the body of FIG. 1 toward the charging portion.

IS 12 1377042

Schematic diagram of the TW5539PX. [Main component symbol description] 100: automatic cleaning device 102: body 104: drive mechanism 106: conductive portion 108: first photo sensor 110: second photo sensor 112: control unit 114: charging stand 116: drive wheel 118: auxiliary wheel 120: first side 122: second side 124: light emitter 126: charging part

Al, A2, A3, A4: Angle D1: Direction of travel D2: Direction of emission D3, D4: Direction of rotation 51, S4, S7: First signal intensity 52, S5, S8: Second signal strength 53, S6: First reference Signal S302-S310: Step 13

Claims (1)

1377042 On August 31, 101, according to the replacement page 2012/8/31_1a, the application and the amendments are as follows: 1. An automatic cleaning device, which is selectively electrically connected to a charging stand for charging, the charging The base has a light emitter and a charging portion, the automatic cleaning device includes: a body; a driving mechanism for driving the body to move toward a traveling direction; a conductive portion for contacting the charging portion for charging; The first photo sensor and the second photo sensor are symmetrically disposed on the body, and the first photo sensor and the second photo sensor respectively receive the signal emitted by the light emitter to obtain a first signal strength and a second signal strength; and a control unit electrically connected to the driving mechanism, the first photo sensor and the second photo sensor, the control unit is configured to the first signal intensity Subtracting the second signal strength to become a first reference signal, and determining whether the traveling direction of the body faces the charging portion; wherein, when the traveling direction is not facing the charging portion, the control unit controls The driving mechanism drives the body to face the traveling direction toward the charging portion; wherein the first photo sensor is located at a first side of the conductive portion, and the second photo sensor is located at a second side of the conductive portion The first side corresponds to the second side system; wherein the phase of the first signal strength and the phase of the second signal strength are the same, the control unit is further configured to use the phase of the first reference signal and the first When the phase of the intensity of the signal is the same and the intensity value of the first reference signal is greater than zero, the driving mechanism is controlled to drive the body to the first 098129877 1013332772-0 14 1377042 c on August 31, 101, the replacement page 2012/ 8/31_1sl Requirement & Correct the direction of the side rotation. 2. The automatic cleaning device of claim 1, wherein the control unit is further configured to control the driving mechanism to drive the body to rotate to the first side when the intensity value of the first reference signal is stronger. The faster the speed. 3. The automatic cleaning device of claim 1, wherein the control unit is further configured to add the first signal intensity to the second signal strength to form a second reference signal, and further The weaker the intensity value of the second reference signal is, the faster the speed at which the drive mechanism drives the body toward the direction of travel. 4. The automatic cleaning device of claim 1, wherein the first photo sensor is located on a first side of the conductive portion, and the second photo sensor is located on a second side of the conductive portion The first side corresponds to the second side system; wherein the phase of the first signal strength and the phase of the second signal strength are the same, the control unit is further configured to use the phase of the first reference signal and the phase When the phase of the first signal intensity is different and the φ intensity value of the first reference signal is greater than zero, the driving mechanism is controlled to drive the body to rotate in the direction of the second side; wherein the phase of the first reference signal The phase of the first signal strength is 180 degrees out of phase. 5. The automatic cleaning device of claim 4, wherein the control unit is further configured to control the driving mechanism to drive the body to rotate to the second side when the intensity value of the first reference signal is stronger. The faster the speed. 098129877 1013332772-0 15 1377042 ,----, ,0 August 31, 1101, shuttle is 2012/8/31"s application & Amendment 6. The automatic cleaning device as described in claim 1, The control unit is further configured to control the driving mechanism to drive the body to continue toward the traveling direction when the intensity value of the first reference signal is substantially equal to zero. 7. The automatic cleaning device of claim 6, wherein the control unit is further configured to control the drive mechanism to drive the body to advance rapidly toward the direction of travel. 8. The automatic cleaning device of claim 1, wherein the first photo sensor and the second photo sensor are infrared sensors. A charging method for selectively electrically connecting an automatic cleaning device to a charging stand, the charging stand having a light emitter and a charging portion, and the automatic cleaning device includes a conductive portion, a first photo sensor and a second photo sensor, the first photo sensor is located on a first side of the conductive portion, and the second photo sensor is located on a second side of the conductive portion The first side corresponds to the second side, the charging method includes: • receiving a signal emitted by the light emitter to obtain a first signal strength and a second signal strength, wherein the first signal strength The phases of the phase and the first intensity of the first phase are the same; the first signal is subtracted from the intensity of the second signal to obtain a first reference signal; and the first reference signal is used to determine one of the automatic cleaning devices. Whether the forward direction is toward the charging portion; and the right traveling direction is not toward the charging portion, and the automatic cleaning device is controlled to direct the traveling direction toward the charging portion, wherein the first reference signal 098129877 16 1 013332772-0 1377042 . On August 31, 101, the nuclear replacement page 2012/8/31_1sl reclaimed & the corrected phase is the same as the phase of the first signal intensity and the intensity of the first reference signal is greater than zero, The automatic cleaning device is driven to rotate in the direction of the first side. 10. The charging method of claim 9, wherein the step of controlling the automatic cleaning device to direct the traveling direction toward the charging portion further comprises: driving when the intensity value of the first reference signal is stronger The faster the automatic cleaning device rotates toward the first side. 11. The charging method of claim 9, wherein the step of controlling the automatic cleaning device to direct the traveling direction toward the charging portion further comprises: adding the first signal strength and the second signal Intensifying the second reference signal; and the step of controlling the automatic cleaning device to direct the traveling direction toward the charging portion further comprises: driving the automatic cleaning device when the intensity value of the second reference signal is weaker The faster the direction of travel is toward the charging section. The charging method of claim 9, wherein the step of controlling the automatic cleaning device to direct the traveling direction toward the charging portion further comprises: when the phase of the first reference signal and the first When the phase of the intensity of the signal is different and the intensity value of the first reference signal is greater than zero, the automatic cleaning device is driven to rotate in the direction of the second side; wherein, the phase of the first reference signal and the first The phase of the signal strength is 180 degrees out of phase. 098129877 1013332772-0 17 1377042 Aug. 31, pp. 31, pp. 31, pp. 31/31/15, and the charging method described in claim 12, wherein the automatic cleaning device is controlled The step of causing the traveling direction toward the charging portion further comprises: driving the automatic cleaning device to rotate to the second side faster as the intensity value of the first reference signal is stronger. 14. The charging method of claim 9, wherein the step of controlling the automatic cleaning device to direct the traveling direction toward the charging portion further comprises: when the intensity value of the first reference signal is substantially equal to zero, The automatic cleaning device is driven to continue in the direction of travel. 15. The charging method of claim 14, wherein the step of driving the automatic cleaning device to continue in the traveling direction further comprises: driving the automatic cleaning device to advance rapidly in the traveling direction. 18 098129877 1013332772-0