KR200481332Y1

KR200481332Y1 - A robot cleaner

Info

Publication number: KR200481332Y1
Application number: KR2020150000890U
Authority: KR
Inventors: 정우철
Original assignee: 에브리봇 주식회사
Priority date: 2015-02-06
Filing date: 2015-02-06
Publication date: 2016-09-19
Also published as: CN107205608A; WO2016126145A1; KR20160002843U

Abstract

A robot cleaner is disclosed. The robot cleaner includes a main body and a drive unit that is provided in the main body and supplies power for driving the robot cleaner. The motive power of the drive unit rotates about the first rotation axis and the second rotation axis. A bumper formed on the outer periphery of the body for protecting the body from an external impact, and a sensing unit for sensing an external impact applied to the bumper, wherein the bumper has a first outer circumference And a second bumper formed on a second outer periphery of the body separate from the first bumper and the first bumper.

Description

A robotic cleaner

The present invention relates to a robot cleaner, and more particularly, to a robot cleaner capable of performing wet cleaning while traveling autonomously.

With the development of industrial technology, various devices are being automated. As is well known, the robot cleaner is a device for automatically cleaning the area to be cleaned by suctioning foreign objects such as dust from the surface to be cleaned while rubbing itself in the area to be cleaned without user's operation, or wiping off foreign matter on the surface to be cleaned .

Generally, such a robot cleaner may include a vacuum cleaner that performs cleaning using a suction force using a power source such as electricity.

The robot cleaner including such a vacuum cleaner has a limitation in that it can not remove foreign matter, stains, etc. adhering to the surface to be cleaned. Recently, a robot cleaner has been developed which can perform wet cleaning by attaching a mop to the robot cleaner .

However, the wet cleaning method using a general robot cleaner is merely a simple method of attaching a mop or the like to the lower part of a conventional vacuum cleaner, which lowers the effect of removing foreign matter and can not perform efficient wet cleaning.

Particularly, in the case of the wet cleaning method of a general robot cleaner, since it travels by using the conventional moving method for the suction type vacuum cleaner and the avoidance method for the obstacle, the foreign matter adhering to the surface to be cleaned even if the dust scattered on the surface to be cleaned is removed There is a problem that it can not be easily removed.

In addition, in the case of a wiping structure of a general robot cleaner, the frictional force with the ground is increased by the rag face, so that additional driving force is required to move the wheel, which increases battery consumption.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a robot cleaner in which a rotating force of a pair of rotary members is used as a moving source of a robot cleaner and a cleaner for wet cleaning is fixed to a rotary member, And a robot cleaner capable of traveling while performing cleaning.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a robot cleaner in which the outer periphery of the main body is divided into a plurality of regions and different bumpers are formed in each of the plurality of regions.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a robot cleaner in which the height of the upper end and the lower end of the bumper is set to meet predetermined conditions.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a robot cleaner including a main body, a drive unit for supplying power for running the robot cleaner provided in the main body, A bumper formed around an outer periphery of the main body to protect the main body from an external impact, and a bumper formed on an outer periphery of the main body to apply a vibration to the bumper The bumper may include a first bumper formed around a first outer periphery of the body and a second bumper formed around a second outer periphery of the body separate from the first bumper .

In addition, when the cleaner for wet cleaning is fixed to the first and second rotary members, the robot cleaner may be configured to perform a cleaning operation based on the frictional forces of the cleaned surfaces and the attached cleaners, It may be possible to drive.

The first and second bumpers may be formed around the left and right sides of the main body with respect to the running direction of the robot cleaner, or may be formed around the front or rear, respectively.

The bumper may further include a third bumper formed on the third outer periphery of the body separately from the first and second bumper and a second bumper formed on the fourth outer periphery of the body separately from the first, 4 bumpers.

The driving unit may include a first driving unit corresponding to the first rotation axis and a second driving unit corresponding to the second rotation axis, and the first driving unit and the second driving unit may be arranged to avoid an obstacle according to the detection result of the sensing unit. And a control unit for controlling the control unit.

The height of the upper ends of the first and second bumper may be equal to or higher than the height of the main body.

The distance between the lower end of the first bumper and the surface to be cleaned may be equal to or less than the thickness of the cleaner.

The lower surface of each of the first and second rotary members on which the cleaner is fixed is protruded toward the surface to be cleaned along the rim of the lower surface to guide the cleaner to be fixed at the optimum position .

According to various embodiments of the present invention, the robot cleaner can travel while performing wet cleaning using the rotational force of the pair of rotating members as a moving power source.

In addition, according to various embodiments of the present invention, the robot cleaner can improve the battery efficiency by using the rotational force of the pair of rotating members as a moving power source.

According to various embodiments of the present invention, the robot cleaner is provided with a first cleaner and a second cleaner, which are rotated by respective rotational movements of the first rotating member and the second rotating member, respectively, It is possible to more effectively remove the adhered foreign matter and the like.

According to various embodiments of the present invention, the robot cleaner forms a plurality of bumpers different from each other around the outer periphery of the body, so that the collision position can be accurately discriminated when colliding with an obstacle.

According to various embodiments of the present invention, the height of the upper end and the lower end of the bumper is made to match a predetermined condition, so that the robot cleaner can detect various obstacles encountered while driving.

According to various embodiments of the present invention, the rotation axis of each of the pair of rotary members of the robot cleaner is inclined so as to have a predetermined angle with respect to the central axis, so that the moving speed and cleaning ability of the robot cleaner can be improved have.

1 is an exploded perspective view of a robot cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a bottom view of a robot cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a front view of a robot cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a cross-sectional view of a robot cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a plan view of a robot cleaner according to another embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a plan view of a robot cleaner according to another embodiment of the present invention.
7 is a block diagram illustrating a robot cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention.
8 to 9 are views for explaining a traveling operation of the robot cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention.
10 is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling the robot cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The following merely illustrates the principles of the present invention. Therefore, those skilled in the art will be able to devise various arrangements which, although not explicitly described or shown herein, embody the principles of the invention and are included in the concept and scope of the invention. It is also to be understood that all conditional terms and examples recited in this specification are, in principle, explicitly intended only for the purpose of enabling the concept of the present invention to be understood and are not to be construed as limited to such specifically recited embodiments and conditions do.

In addition, it should be understood that the principles, aspects and embodiments of the present invention, as well as any and all details reciting any particular embodiment, are intended to cover structural and functional equivalents thereof. It is also to be understood that such equivalents include all elements contemplated to perform the same function, regardless of the structure, regardless of the currently known equivalents as well as the equivalents to be developed in the future.

Thus, for example, it should be understood that the block diagrams herein represent conceptual views of exemplary circuits embodying the principles of the invention. Similarly, all flowcharts, state transition diagrams, pseudo code, and the like are representative of various processes that may be substantially represented on a computer-readable medium and executed by a computer or processor, whether or not the computer or processor is explicitly shown .

The functions of the various elements shown in the figures, including the functional blocks depicted in the processor or similar concept, may be provided by use of dedicated hardware as well as hardware capable of executing software in connection with appropriate software. When provided by a processor, the functions may be provided by a single dedicated processor, a single shared processor, or a plurality of individual processors, some of which may be shared.

Also, the explicit use of terms such as processor, control, or similar concepts should not be interpreted exclusively as hardware capable of running software, and may be used without limitation as a digital signal processor (DSP) (ROM), random access memory (RAM), and non-volatile memory. Other hardware may also be included.

In the claims hereof, the elements represented as means for performing the functions described in the detailed description include all types of software including, for example, a combination of circuit elements performing the function or firmware / microcode etc. , And is coupled with appropriate circuitry to execute the software to perform the function. This invention, as defined by these claims, is intended to encompass any means by which the functions provided by the various listed means are combined and combined with the manner in which the claims are required, .

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The above objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which a person skilled in the art can easily implement the technical idea of the present invention There will be. In the following description of the present invention, a detailed description of known technologies related to the present invention will be omitted when it is determined that the gist of the present invention may unnecessarily obscure the present invention.

Hereinafter, various embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 to 4 are views for explaining a structure of a robot cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention. More particularly, FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a robot cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the robot cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a robot cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention Fig. 4 is a sectional view corresponding to the plan view of Fig. 3; Fig.

1 to 4, the robot cleaner 100 of the present invention includes a main body 10 that forms an outer appearance of the robot cleaner 100 structurally, a main body 10 formed around the main body 10, A bumper 20 that protects the robot 10, a sensing unit 130 that senses an external impact applied to the bumper 20, a driving unit that is installed in the main body 10 and supplies power for driving the robot cleaner 100, A first rotating member 110 coupled to the driving unit 150 to rotate and a second rotating member 120 coupled to the driving unit 150 and a power supply unit 190 installed inside the main unit 10, have.

The robot cleaner 100 can perform the wet cleaning using the cleaners 210 and 220 for wet cleaning. Here, the wet cleaning may mean cleaning by wiping the surface to be cleaned using the cleaners 210 and 220, and may include cleaning using, for example, a dry mop or the like, or cleaning using a wet mop or the like.

The driving unit 150 includes a first driving unit 151 installed inside the main body 10 to be coupled with the first rotating member 110 and a second driving unit 151 disposed inside the main body 10 and coupled to the second rotating member 120 And may include a first driver 152. Here, the driving unit 150 may include a motor, a gear assembly, and the like.

The first rotating member 110 is coupled to the first driving unit 151 to transmit the power by the first driving unit 151 and to rotate about the first rotating shaft 310 by the power. Member 111 as shown in FIG. Further, the first cleaner 210 for wet cleaning may include a first fixing member 112 to which the first cleaner 210 can be fixed.

The second rotating member 120 is coupled to the second driving unit 152 and transmits power by the second driving unit 152 and rotates about the second rotating shaft 320 by the power. 2 transmitting member 121, as shown in FIG. In addition, the second cleaner 220 for wet cleaning may include a second fixing member 122 to which the second cleaner 220 can be fixed.

Here, when the lower end regions of the first transmitting member 111 and the second transmitting member 112 are coupled to the main body 10, they may be protruded in the direction of the surface to be cleaned. Or when the first transmitting member 111 and the second transmitting member 112 are coupled to the main body 10, they may not be protruded in the direction of the surface to be cleaned.

When the first fixing member 112 and the second fixing member 122 are coupled to the main body 10, the first fixing member 112 and the second fixing member 122 may be protruded in the direction of the surface to be cleaned, for example, The first cleaner 210 and the second cleaner 220 for cleaning may be fixed.

The first cleaner 210 and the second cleaner 220 are made of a cloth capable of wiping various surfaces to be cleaned such as a microfiber cloth, a mop, a nonwoven fabric, a brush, And can be made of the same fiber material. The shapes of the first cleaner 210 and the second cleaner 220 may be circular as shown in FIG. 1, but may be implemented in various forms without limitation.

The fixing of the first and second cleaners 210 and 220 may be performed using a method of covering the first fixing member 112 and the second fixing member 122 or a method using a different attachment means have. For example, the first cleaner 210 and the second cleaner 220 may be attached and fixed to the first fixing member 112 and the second fixing member 122 with a Velcro tape or the like.

In the robot cleaner 100 according to the present embodiment of the present invention, the first cleaner 210 and the second cleaner 220 are rotated by the rotation of the first rotating member 110 and the second rotating member 120, As a result, it is possible to remove foreign matter adhering to the floor through friction with the surface to be cleaned. Further, when a frictional force with the surface to be cleaned is generated, the frictional force can be used as a moving source of the robot cleaner 100.

More specifically, as the first rotating member 110 and the second rotating member 120 rotate, the robot cleaner 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention generates frictional force with the surface to be cleaned, The moving speed and direction of the robot cleaner 100 can be adjusted according to the magnitude and direction of the operation of the robot cleaner 100.

3 and 4, the first rotary shaft 310 and the second rotary shaft 320 of each of the first and second rotary members 110 and 120 are driven by the motive power of the pair of the driving units 151 and 152, Can be inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to the central axis 300 corresponding to the vertical axis of the main body 100.

Accordingly, when the cleaners 210 and 220 for wet cleaning are respectively fixed to the first and second rotary members 110 and 120, the fixed cleaners 210 and 220 are moved along the inclination of the first and second rotary shafts 310 and 320 And can be inclined downward outward with respect to the central axis 330.

Here, the center axis 300 may mean the axis perpendicular to the surface to be cleaned of the robot cleaner 100. For example, assuming that the robot cleaner 100 travels in an XY plane formed by the X and Y axes to clean the robot cleaner 100 during the cleaning operation, the center axis 300 is perpendicular to the surface to be cleaned of the robot cleaner 100 Axis Z axis.

The predetermined angle may be a first angle (a degree) corresponding to an inclined angle of the first rotation axis 310 with respect to the center axis 300 and a second angle (a degree) corresponding to the second rotation axis 320 with respect to the center axis 300. [ And a second angle (b degrees) corresponding to this tilted angle. Here, the first angle and the second angle may be the same or different from each other.

Further, each of the first angle and the second angle may preferably be an angle within an angular range of 1 degree or more and 3 degrees or less. Here, the angle range described above can be a range that can optimally maintain the wet cleaning ability and the traveling speed of the robot cleaner 100, as shown in Table 1 below.

Tilted angle Cleaning ability (based on 3 points) Driving speed (based on 3 points) Less than 1 degree Clean all surfaces cleaned with cleaner (3) Very slow (0) 1 degree Clean all surfaces cleaned with cleaner (3) Slow (1) 1.85 degrees Clean all of the cleaning surfaces that rub against the cleaner except for a part near the center axis (2) Usually (2) 3 degrees Clean all of the cleaning surfaces that rub against the cleaner except for a part near the center axis (1) Fast (3) Greater than 3 degrees Clean most of the cleaning surfaces that come into contact with the cleaner except for a large number of areas around the central axis (0) Fast (3)

That is, referring to Table 1, the robot cleaner 100 has a pair of rotation shafts 310 and 320 inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to the central axis 300, And cleaning ability. In particular, by keeping the predetermined angle in the range of 1 degree to 3 degrees, the wet cleaning ability and the traveling speed of the robot cleaner can be maintained optimally. However, various embodiments of the present invention may not be limited to the angular ranges described above.

On the other hand, when the pair of rotating members 110 and 120 rotate according to a predetermined angle, a relative frictional force generated between the pair of rotating members 110 and 120 and the surface to be cleaned can be generated largely outside the center of the main body 10. Accordingly, the moving speed and direction of the robot cleaner 100 can be controlled by the relative frictional force generated by controlling the rotations of the pair of rotating members 110 and 120, respectively. According to the embodiment of the present invention, the movement speed and direction control of the robot cleaner 100 will be described later.

Meanwhile, when the robot cleaner 100 travels by the above-described operation, the robot cleaner 100 may collide with various obstacles existing on the surface to be cleaned. Here, the obstacle may include various obstacles that obstruct the cleaning operation of the robot cleaner 100, such as a low obstacle such as a threshold, a carpet, an obstacle floating on a certain height such as a sofa or a bed, and a high obstacle such as a wall.

In this case, the bumper 20 formed around the outside of the body 10 of the robot cleaner 100 can protect the body 10 from an external impact caused by a collision with an obstacle, and can absorb an external impact. The sensing unit 130 installed in the main body 10 can sense an impact applied to the bumper 10.

The bumper 20 includes a first bumper 21 formed on the first outer periphery of the main body 10 and a second bumper 22 formed on the second outer periphery of the main body 10 separately from the first bumper 21 can do. Here, the bumper 20 may be formed around the left and right sides of the main body 10 with respect to the direction F toward which the front surface of the robot cleaner 10 faces. 1 to 4, the first bumper 21 may be formed around the left side of the main body 10 with respect to a direction F toward the front of the robot cleaner 10, (22) may be formed around the right side of the main body (10) with respect to the direction (F) in which the front face faces.

Here, the first bumper 21 and the second bumper 22 may be physically separated into different bumpers. Accordingly, the bumpers of the robot cleaner can operate independently of each other. That is, when the first bumper 21 collides with the obstacle during traveling of the robot cleaner 100, the first bumper 21 absorbs the external impact and transmits the absorbed external impact to the first bumper 21 1 sensing unit. However, the second bumper 22 is physically separate from the first bumper 21, and the second sensing unit, which is not affected by the collision and is installed in correspondence with the second bumper 22, It may not be delivered.

1 to 4 are bumper structures according to an embodiment of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited thereto. According to another embodiment of the present invention, the first bumper 21 and the second bumper 22 can be formed around the front or rear of the main body 10 based on the running direction of the robot cleaner 100 . 5, the first bumper 21 may be formed around the front of the main body 10 with respect to the direction F toward the front of the robot cleaner 10, and the second bumper 22 May be formed around the rear of the main body 10 with respect to the direction F toward the front.

6, the first bumper 21 may be formed around the front left side of the main body 10 with respect to the direction F toward the front of the robot cleaner 10, 2 bumper 22 may be formed around the front right side of the main body 10 with respect to the direction F toward the front of the robot cleaner 10 and the third bumper 23 may be formed around the front side of the robot cleaner 10 And the fourth bumper 24 may be formed around the rear side of the main body 10 with respect to the direction F toward which the front side of the robot cleaner 10 faces, As shown in Fig. In this case, the collision position of the bumper 10 can be determined more accurately than in the case of Figs. 1 to 5 implemented with two bumpers.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the height of the upper end and the lower end of the bumper 20 is made to match a predetermined condition, so that the robot cleaner 100 can detect various obstacles encountered while driving. This will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

Referring to FIG. 4, the lower ends of the first bumper 21 and the second bumper 22 may be formed as close as possible to the surface to be cleaned. The distance between the lower ends of the first bumper 21 and the second bumper 22 and the surface to be cleaned may be the same as the thickness of the cleaners 210 and 220 or smaller than the thickness of the cleaners 210 and 220. Accordingly, the first bumper 21 and the second bumper 22 collide with low obstacles such as shallow thresholds, carpets, and the like, so that the robot cleaner 100 can detect and avoid low obstacles.

The upper ends of the first bumper 21 and the second bumper 22 may be formed to prevent the obstacle from being caught only in the main body 10 without colliding with the bumpers 21 and 22. [ Specifically, the height of the upper ends of the first bumper 21 and the second bumper 22 may be the same as the height of the main body 10 or higher than the height of the main body 10. Accordingly, the first bumper 21 and the second bumper 22 collide with obstacles floating on a predetermined height, such as a sofa or a bed, so that the bumper 21, It is possible to prevent a case where it is caught.

Meanwhile, according to one embodiment of the present invention, the robot cleaner 100 may include guide portions 113 and 123 for guiding the cleaners 210 and 220 to be fixed at optimum positions.

If the cleaners 210 and 220 are not fixed at the optimum positions, the portions of the cleaners 210 and 220 contacting the surface to be cleaned are changed by the rotation of the first and second rotating members 112 and 122, An unbalanced state is created for the pair of cleaners 210 and 220. In this case, the robot cleaner 100 may not be able to perform a desired travel. For example, the robot cleaner 100 in the straight running mode may not be able to perform a straight run, but may be curved and run.

Therefore, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the lower surface on which the cleaners 210 and 220 are fixed in the first rotating member 112 and the second rotating member 122 are protruded toward the surface to be cleaned along the rim of the lower surface, And guiding portions 113 and 123 for guiding the cleaners 210 and 220 to be fixed at optimum positions. Accordingly, the user of the robot cleaner 100 can fix the cleaners 210 and 220 at optimal positions.

On the other hand, the sensing unit 130 may sense an external impact applied to the bumper 10. Here, the sensing unit 130 may include a plurality of sensing units provided at positions corresponding to each of the plurality of bumpers. For example, when implemented with two bumpers 21 and 22, the sensing unit 130 may include at least one first sensing unit corresponding to the first bumper 21 and at least one sensing unit corresponding to the second bumper 22, And may be implemented as a touch sensor, an optical sensor, or the like. The sensing unit 130 may transmit the sensed result to the controller 170.

The control unit 170 determines the collision position where the collision with the obstacle occurs in the area of the bumper 20 using the detection result of the sensing unit 130 and controls the first driving unit 151, 2 driver 152 can be controlled.

7 is a block diagram illustrating a robot cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 7, the robot cleaner 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a sensing unit 130, a communication unit 140, a first rotary member 110, and a second rotary member 120 And may include a driving unit 150, a storage unit 160, a control unit 170, an input unit 180, an output unit 185, and a power supply unit 190.

As described above, the sensing unit 130 senses an external impact applied to the bumper 20, and transmits the sensed result to the controller 170. The sensing unit 130 may be a touch sensor, an optical sensor, or the like.

The communication unit 140 may include one or more modules for enabling wireless communication between the robot cleaner 100 and another wireless terminal or between the robot cleaner 100 and a network in which the other wireless terminal is located. For example, the communication unit 140 may communicate with a wireless terminal as a remote control device, and may include a short-range communication module or a wireless Internet module.

The robot cleaner 100 can be controlled in its operation state or operation mode by a control signal received by the communication unit 140. [ The terminal for controlling the robot cleaner 100 may include, for example, a smart phone, a tablet, a personal computer, and a remote controller (a remote controller) that can communicate with the robot cleaner 100.

The driving unit 150 may supply power to rotate the first rotating member 110 and the second rotating member 120 under the control of the controller 170. Here, the driving unit 150 may include a first driving unit 151 and a second driving unit 152, and may include a motor and / or a gear assembly.

Meanwhile, the storage unit 160 may store a program for the operation of the controller 170, and temporarily store input / output data. The storage unit 160 may be a flash memory type, a hard disk type, a multimedia card micro type, a card type memory (for example, SD or XD memory) (Random Access Memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM) A magnetic disk, and / or an optical disk.

The input unit 180 may receive a user input for operating the robot cleaner 100. In particular, the input unit 180 may receive a user input for setting the power on / off of the robot cleaner 100. The input unit 180 may include a key pad dome switch, a touch pad (static / static), a jog wheel, a jog switch, and the like.

The output unit 185 is for generating an output related to visual, auditory, etc., and may include a display unit, an audio output module, an alarm unit, and the like although not shown in the figure.

The display unit displays (outputs) information processed by the robot cleaner 100. For example, when the robot cleaner is being cleaned, a UI (User Interface) or a GUI (Graphic User Interface) indicating a cleaning time, a cleaning method, a cleaning area, and the like related to the cleaning mode can be displayed.

The power supply unit 190 supplies power to the robot cleaner 100. Specifically, the power supply unit 190 supplies power to the respective functional units of the robot cleaner 100, and when the remaining power is insufficient, the power supply unit 190 can receive the charging current and be charged. Here, the power supply unit 190 may be implemented as a rechargeable battery.

The control unit 170 typically controls the overall operation of the robot cleaner 100. The control unit 170 may control at least one of the first rotating member 110 and the second rotating member 120 to control the driving unit 150 so that the robot cleaner 100 travels in a specific traveling direction .

For example, if the first rotating member 110 and the second rotating member 120 are rotated at the same speed in the same direction, the robot cleaner 100 can perform the rotating motion in place. The robot cleaner 100 can rotate in place according to the rotating speed of the first rotating member 110 and the second rotating member 120.

More specifically, when the first rotating member 110 and the second rotating member 120 are rotated at the same speed in the same direction, they are relatively moved on the opposite sides with respect to the center of the main body 10 of the robot cleaner 100 And the direction in which the one end and the other end, which are located opposite to each other, move relative to the surface to be cleaned are opposite to each other. That is, the direction in which one end of the robot cleaner 100 positioned opposite to the first rotary member 110 moves with respect to the surface to be cleaned by the rotation of the first rotary member 110, The direction in which the other end of the robot cleaner 100 located opposite to the second rotary member 120 moves relative to the surface to be cleaned is opposite to each other.

Therefore, the resultant force of the frictional force acting on the robot cleaner 100 may be opposite to each other and serve as a rotational force for the robot cleaner 100.

As another example, the control unit 170 may control the first rotating member 110 and the second rotating member 120 to rotate in different directions and at the same speed. In this case, the direction in which one end moves with respect to the surface to be cleaned by the frictional force of the first rotating member 110 with respect to the body 10 of the robot cleaner 100 is determined by the frictional force of the second rotating member 110, And the other end may move in the same direction. Accordingly, the robot cleaner 100 can perform straight running in a specific direction. This will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9. FIG.

8 and 9 are views for explaining a traveling operation of the robot cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 shows a rotation control table for implementing the straight running of the robot cleaner according to one embodiment of the present invention. The control unit 170 may control the driving unit 150 based on the rotation control table values stored in the storage unit 160 to control rotation of the respective rotation members 110 and 120. [ The rotation control table may include at least one of a direction value, a velocity value, and a time value assigned to each of the rotary members 110 and 120 for each movement mode. 8, the rotating direction of the first rotating member 110 and the rotating direction of the second rotating member 120 may be different from each other. Further, the rotational speed and time of each of the rotating members 110 and 120 may have the same value.

The rotation direction of the rotary member according to the embodiment of the present invention may be described based on a direction from the upper end of the robot cleaner 100. For example, the first direction may be a direction in which the robot cleaner 100 rotates in the counterclockwise direction while the robot 300 is lowered from the upper side with the advancing direction 300 at 12 o'clock. In addition, the second direction may be a direction different from the first direction, and may be a direction in which the advancing direction 300 is rotated clockwise by 12 o'clock.

In this case, the robot cleaner 100 can perform straight running as shown in FIG. Referring to FIG. 9, the robot cleaner 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention rotates the first rotating member 110 in the first direction and rotates the second rotating member 120 in the first direction, By rotating in two directions, it is possible to generate a relative movement force in accordance with the frictional force and perform the straight running in the traveling direction.

The control unit 170 determines a collision position in the bumper 10 based on the detection result of the sensing unit 130 and determines the collision position based on the detected collision position using the first driving unit 151 and the second driving unit 152 Can be controlled. For example, when the front obstacle is detected during the straight running of the robot cleaner 100, the controller 170 controls the first and second driving units 151 and 152 to rotate in the direction opposite to the previous rotational direction, The robot cleaner 100 may be driven backward to avoid a front obstacle.

10 is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling the robot cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention. 10, the robot cleaner 100 may rotate at least one of the first rotating member 110 and the second rotating member 120 according to the traveling mode to travel in a specific traveling direction (S101). Here, the traveling mode may include various modes such as a straight traveling mode, a backward traveling mode, an intensive cleaning mode, and an S-shaped traveling mode.

If the bumper 20 collides with an obstacle during traveling of the robot cleaner 100, the controller 170 determines a bumper of the plurality of bumper 20 that collided with the obstacle based on the detection result of the sensing unit 130 (S102).

Then, the controller 170 can determine the collision position corresponding to the collision area in the bumper colliding with the obstacle (S103).

In this case, the control unit 170 of the robot cleaner 100 may control at least one of the first driving unit 151 and the second driving unit 152 to avoid the obstacle based on the collision position (S104).

Meanwhile, the control method according to various embodiments of the present invention described above may be implemented in a program code and provided to each server or devices in a state stored in various non-transitory computer readable media.

A non-transitory readable medium is a medium that stores data for a short period of time, such as a register, cache, memory, etc., but semi-permanently stores data and is readable by the apparatus. In particular, the various applications or programs described above may be stored on non-volatile readable media such as CD, DVD, hard disk, Blu-ray disk, USB, memory card, ROM,

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments, but, on the contrary, It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

100: robot cleaner 10: main body
20: bumper 110: first rotating member
120: second rotating member 130:
140: communication unit 150:
160: Storage unit 170: Control unit
180: input unit 185: output unit
190: Power supply

Claims

In the robot cleaner,
main body;
A driving unit provided in the main body to supply power for driving the robot cleaner;
First and second rotatable members rotatable about a first rotation axis and a second rotation axis by the power of the driving unit to provide a movement source for traveling of the robot cleaner and each having a cleaner for wet cleaning;
A bumper formed around an outer periphery of the main body to protect the main body from an external impact; And
And a sensing unit for sensing an external impact applied to the bumper,
The robot cleaner includes:
When the cleaner for wet cleaning is fixed to the first rotating member and the second rotating member, the frictional force of each of the cleaned surface and the attached cleaner, which is generated in accordance with the rotational motion of each of the fixed cleaners, However,
The bumper includes:
A first bumper formed around a first outer periphery of the body; And
And a second bumper formed on a second outer periphery of the body separate from the first bumper,
The distance between the lower end of the first and second bumpers and the surface to be cleaned is equal to or less than the thickness of the cleaner,
Wherein a guide member for guiding the fixing position of the cleaner is formed on a lower surface of each of the first rotating member and the second rotating member.

The method according to claim 1,
The robot cleaner includes:
When the cleaner for wet cleaning is respectively fixed to the first and second rotary members, the cleaner is able to travel according to the frictional force of the cleaner surface and the attached cleaner, which are generated according to the rotational motion of the fixed cleaners, respectively robotic vacuum.

The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the first and second bumpers comprise:
Wherein the robot cleaner is formed around the left and right sides of the main body with respect to the running direction of the robot cleaner, or is formed around the front or rear side respectively.

The method according to claim 1,
The bumper includes:
A third bumper formed on a third outer periphery of the body separately from the first and second bumper; And
And a fourth bumper formed on a fourth outer periphery of the main body separately from the first, second, and third bumpers.

The method according to claim 1,
The driving unit includes:
A first driving unit corresponding to the first rotation axis, and a second driving unit corresponding to the second rotation axis,
And a control unit for controlling the first and second driving units to avoid the obstacle according to the detection result of the sensing unit.

The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the height of the upper ends of the first and second bumpers is equal to or higher than the height of the main body.

delete

The method according to claim 1,
The guide member
Wherein the cleaner protrudes from the lower surface toward the surface to be cleaned to guide the cleaner to be fixed.