KR20190003159A - Robot cleaner and robot cleaning system - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a robot cleaner and a robot cleaning system, wherein the robot cleaner is charged with driving power in a plurality of charging plates prepared in an area to be cleaned. The robot cleaner includes: a main body forming the appearance of the robot cleaner; a power unit storing the driving power of the robot cleaner; and a control unit driving the robot cleaner with the driving power to control the movement of the main body.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to a robot cleaner and a robot cleaning system,

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a robot cleaner and a robot cleaning system, and more particularly, to a robot cleaner and a robot cleaning system that travels and cleans a region to be cleaned and charges driving power in the region to be cleaned.

In general, robots have been developed for industrial use and have been part of factory automation. In recent years, medical robots, aerospace robots, and the like have been developed, and household robots that can be used in ordinary homes are being developed.

A representative example of the domestic robot is a robot cleaner, which is a type of household appliance that sucks and cleanes dust or foreign matter around the robot while traveling in a certain area by itself. Such a robot cleaner is generally equipped with a rechargeable battery and has an obstacle sensor capable of avoiding obstacles during traveling, so that it can run and clean by itself.

In order to clean the entire area while the cleaner is traveling by itself, it is necessary to recognize the position during running and to create a cleaning map based on the recognized position. However, if the driving power is insufficient during driving, You will not be able to keep up to completion. Particularly, in the case of cleaning a large-sized space, the restriction of such driving becomes larger.

That is, in order to maintain the operation of the cleaner and to clean the area to be cleaned and to accurately prepare the cleaning map, the driving power must be charged while driving. Conventionally, only one charging station is provided in the area to be cleaned, Could not be solved. If the driving power is insufficient during running of the vacuum cleaner, it is necessary to return to the position where the charging stand is located to charge the driving power. Thus, the continuity of the cleaning operation is lost, . In addition, during the return for charging the driving power, the driving power is exhausted and the driving of the vacuum cleaner itself is interrupted.

As a result, in the related art, the charging of the driving power is limited only by one charging station, and the maintenance of the driving of the vacuum cleaner is difficult due to the charging restriction of the driving power. And there was a problem that it was difficult to perform accurate, efficient, and thorough cleaning. Particularly, in a large-sized space, traveling and mapping of the cleaner itself are difficult to be performed, and there is a limit in that the utility / applicability / applicability of the robot cleaner itself is limited.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a robot cleaner and a robot cleaning system capable of improving driving power restriction of a robot cleaner.

Specifically, the present invention provides a robot cleaner and a robot cleaning system capable of increasing the driving time of the robot cleaner, thereby increasing the cleanable area and reducing the cleaning time for the area to be cleaned.

The present invention also provides a robot cleaner and a robot cleaning system that can precisely and cleanly map a cleaning area divided into a plurality of zones, and can perform accurate and efficient traveling and cleaning.

In addition, the present invention provides a robot cleaner and a robot cleaning system capable of precise cleaning map creation and maintenance in a large-sized space.

In order to solve the above-described problems, the robot cleaner and the robot cleaning system disclosed in this specification are characterized in that a plurality of charging stations are provided in a cleaning target area, and the driving power is charged in the plurality of charging stations.

In other words, the robot cleaner and the robot cleaning system disclosed in this specification have a technical feature of charging the driving power from a plurality of charging stations provided in the area to be cleaned.

The robot cleaner for cleaning the area to be cleaned described in the present specification has a main body for forming an appearance of the robot cleaner, a power source for storing driving power of the robot cleaner, And a controller for controlling the movement of the main body by driving the robot cleaner, wherein the power source is charged with the driving power from a plurality of charging stations provided in the area to be cleaned.

In one embodiment of the robot cleaner, the power source unit may be charged with the driving power from the charging base in which the main body of the plurality of charging bases is docked.

In one embodiment of the robot cleaner, the plurality of charging stations may be provided at different positions within the area to be cleaned.

In one embodiment of the robot cleaner, the plurality of charging stations may be provided in each of the plurality of zones in which the area to be cleaned is divided.

In one embodiment of the robot cleaner, the plurality of chargeable units can be prioritized according to the location thereof.

In one embodiment of the robot cleaner, the plurality of charging stations communicate with each other to transmit / receive the respective pieces of information.

In one embodiment of the robot cleaner, the controller is configured to store information on the plurality of charging stations so as to charge the driving power from one of the plurality of charging stations based on the stored charging- Movement can be controlled.

In one embodiment of the robot cleaner, the control unit may control the movement of the main body so as to charge the driving power by docking to the nearest charging base among the plurality of charging bases during traveling.

In one embodiment of the robot cleaner, the control unit further includes a communication unit for communicating with the plurality of charging stations, wherein the control unit is configured to charge the driving power from one of the plurality of charging stations based on a communication result of the communication unit The movement of the main body can be controlled.

In one embodiment of the robot cleaner, the control unit determines information of the plurality of charging units based on a communication result of the communication unit, docks the charging unit to one of the plurality of charging units based on the determined result, The movement of the main body can be controlled.

In one embodiment of the robot cleaner, the controller determines the position information of the plurality of charging units based on the communication result, determines the nearest charging unit at the current position among the plurality of charging units based on the position information And control the movement of the main body so as to charge the driving power by docking the determined charging stand.

In one embodiment of the robot cleaner, the control unit determines position information and identification information of the plurality of charging units on the basis of the communication result, and based on the positional information and the identification information, You can create a map.

In one embodiment of the robot cleaner, the controller divides the area to be cleaned into a plurality of areas based on the location information and the identification information, and performs cleaning according to a plurality of divided areas.

The robot cleaning system includes a plurality of robot cleaners for cleaning the area to be cleaned, the robot cleaner being driven based on the charged driving power and the robot cleaner for cleaning the area to be cleaned, And a plurality of charging units provided in the area to be cleaned to charge the driving power of the robot cleaner, wherein the plurality of robot cleaners communicate with the plurality of charging units during traveling, And docks the charging target charging station to charge the driving power.

In one embodiment of the robot cleaning system, the plurality of robot cleaners communicate with each other to transmit / receive the respective pieces of information.

In one embodiment of the robot cleaning system, the plurality of robot cleaners may store information on the plurality of charging stations, determine the charging target charging station based on the stored charging station information and the communication result, So that the driving power can be charged.

In one embodiment of the robot cleaning system, the plurality of robot cleaners determine location information of the plurality of charging stations based on the communication result, determine the nearest charging area at the current location based on the location information, And the driving power can be charged by docking the adjacent charging stand.

In one embodiment of the robot cleaning system, the plurality of robot cleaners determine location information and identification information of the plurality of charging units based on the communication result, and determine, based on the location information and the identification information, You can create a cleaning map for the area.

In one embodiment of the robot cleaning system, the plurality of charging stations may include at least one more than the number of the plurality of robot cleaners.

In one embodiment of the robotic cleaning system, the plurality of charging stations may communicate with the plurality of robot cleaners with signals of different sizes, respectively.

In one embodiment of the robot cleaning system, the plurality of robot cleaners can distinguish the plurality of charging units based on the size of a signal communicated with each of the plurality of charging units.

In one embodiment of the robot cleaning system, the plurality of charging stations may be provided at different positions within the area to be cleaned.

In one embodiment of the robot cleaning system, the plurality of charging stations may be provided in each of the plurality of zones in which the area to be cleaned is divided.

In one embodiment of the robotic cleaning system, the plurality of charging stations communicate with each other to transmit / receive information to / from each other.

The robot cleaner and the robot cleaning system disclosed in the present specification have an effect that the driving power can be charged easily and quickly during traveling of the cleaner by charging the driving power in a plurality of charging stations.

Accordingly, the robot cleaner and the robot cleaning system disclosed in this specification increase the driving time of the cleaner, and the cleaning operation and the map creation can be continuously performed.

Accordingly, the robot cleaner and the robotic cleaning system disclosed in this specification have an effect that an accurate and efficient traveling / cleaning operation and mapping can be performed.

That is, the robot cleaner and the robot cleaning system disclosed in the present specification can easily and quickly charge the driving power during running of the vacuum cleaner, thereby improving the limit of the conventional driving power charging limitation.

In addition, the robot cleaner and the robot cleaning system disclosed in this specification charge the driving power in a plurality of charging stations to increase the cleaning time of the cleaner, thereby reducing the cleaning time for the cleaning target area There is an effect that can be made.

Accordingly, the robot cleaner and the robot cleaning system disclosed in this specification can perform accurate and efficient traveling / cleaning in a large-sized space, as well as making a cleaning map and driving maintenance.

Accordingly, the robot cleaner and the robot cleaning system disclosed in this specification can increase the utilization / utility / efficiency / applicability of the robot cleaner in a large area to be cleaned.

In addition, the robot cleaner and the robot cleaning system disclosed in this specification perform cleaning and charging using a plurality of charging bands and a result of communication with the plurality of charging bands, so that appropriate cleaning / charging There is an effect that can be achieved.

Further, in the robot cleaner and the robot cleaning system disclosed in this specification, the zones are divided based on the positions where the plurality of charging bars are provided, and cleaning / mapping / charging is performed according to the divided zones, Efficient and effective cleaning / mapping / charging can be achieved.

As a result, the robot cleaner and the robot cleaning system disclosed in the present specification not only improve the limitations of the prior art, but also offer the development direction of the related art through the above-mentioned effects and promote the development.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a configuration of a robot cleaner disclosed in this specification; Fig.
2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the robot cleaner disclosed in this specification.
3 is an exemplary view showing a charging concept of the robot cleaner disclosed in this specification;
4 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a charging stand of the robot cleaner disclosed in this specification;
5 is a block diagram showing a configuration according to an embodiment of the robot cleaner disclosed in this specification;
6 illustrates an example of charging and moving according to an embodiment of the robot cleaner disclosed herein;
FIG. 7 illustrates an example of charging and moving according to an embodiment of the robot cleaner disclosed herein; FIG.
8 is an exemplary view showing the configuration and charging concept of the robot cleaning system disclosed in this specification;
Figure 9 is an illustration of an example of charging and moving according to an embodiment of the robotic cleaning system disclosed herein;
Figure 10 illustrates an example of charging and moving according to an embodiment of the robotic cleaning system disclosed herein;

The techniques disclosed herein can be applied to a robot cleaner and a robot cleaning system. However, the technology disclosed in this specification is not limited thereto, and can be applied to all the cleaning robots, the automatic cleaner, and the control system thereof to which the technical idea of the present invention can be applied.

It is noted that the technical terms used herein are used only to describe specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the scope of the technology disclosed herein. Also, the technical terms used herein should be interpreted as being generally understood by those skilled in the art to which the presently disclosed subject matter belongs, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise in this specification, Should not be construed in a broader sense, or interpreted in an oversimplified sense. In addition, when a technical term used in this specification is an erroneous technical term that does not accurately express the concept of the technology disclosed in this specification, it should be understood that technical terms which can be understood by a person skilled in the art are replaced. Also, the general terms used in the present specification should be interpreted in accordance with the predefined or prior context, and should not be construed as being excessively reduced in meaning.

Also, the singular forms "as used herein include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In this specification, the terms "comprising ", or" comprising "and the like should not be construed as necessarily including the various elements or steps described in the specification, Or may be further comprised of additional components or steps.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to designate identical or similar elements, and redundant description thereof will be omitted.

Further, in the description of the technology disclosed in this specification, a detailed description of related arts will be omitted if it is determined that the gist of the technology disclosed in this specification may be obscured. It is to be noted that the attached drawings are only for the purpose of easily understanding the concept of the technology disclosed in the present specification, and should not be construed as limiting the spirit of the technology by the attached drawings.

Hereinafter, the robot cleaner and the robot cleaning system disclosed in this specification will be described with reference to Figs. 1 to 10, respectively.

1 is a configuration diagram 1 showing the configuration of the robot cleaner disclosed in this specification.

2 is a configuration diagram 2 showing the configuration of the robot cleaner disclosed in this specification.

3 is an exemplary view showing a charging concept of the robot cleaner disclosed in the present specification.

4 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a charging stand of the robot cleaner disclosed in this specification.

5 is a block diagram showing a configuration according to an embodiment of the robot cleaner disclosed in this specification.

FIG. 6 is an exemplary view 1 of a charging and moving example according to an embodiment of the robot cleaner disclosed herein.

FIG. 7 is an exemplary view 2 of a charging and moving example according to an embodiment of the robot cleaner disclosed herein.

8 is an exemplary view showing the configuration and charging concept of the robot cleaning system disclosed in this specification.

9 is an exemplary view 1 of a charging and moving example according to an embodiment of the robotic cleaning system disclosed herein.

FIG. 10 is an exemplary view 2 of a charging and moving example according to an embodiment of the robotic cleaning system disclosed herein.

<Robot cleaner>

First, an embodiment of a robot cleaner (hereinafter referred to as a cleaner) disclosed in this specification will be described with reference to Figs. 1 to 7. Fig.

The robot cleaner disclosed in this specification can be implemented as a part or a combination of the constituent elements or steps included in the embodiments described below, or can be implemented as a combination of embodiments, and the technical terms used are only used to describe a specific embodiment And is not intended to limit the scope of the technology disclosed herein.

The cleaner may be a cleaning robot for cleaning the area to be cleaned

Here, the area to be cleaned may mean an indoor environment having one or more zones.

For example, it may mean an indoor space, i.e., a home space, having a structure including at least one room.

The cleaner may be a cleaning robot installed in the area to be cleaned and running on the area to be cleaned and performing cleaning.

The cleaner may be a cleaning robot that performs running and cleaning automatically or by user's operation.

The cleaner may be a cleaning robot that travels through the area to be cleaned and recognizes the position.

The cleaner may be a cleaning robot that recognizes a position during traveling and creates a map of the area to be cleaned.

The cleaner may have a plurality of configurations for traveling and cleaning.

1, the vacuum cleaner 100 includes a main body 10 forming an outer appearance of the vacuum cleaner 100, a power source 11 for storing driving power of the vacuum cleaner 100, And a controller 20 for controlling the movement of the main body 10 by driving the vacuum cleaner 100.

The cleaner 100 may be in the form as shown in FIG. 1, or as shown in FIG.

2, the vacuum cleaner 100 includes a sensing unit 110, a suction unit 120, and a dust box 130 in the main body 10. The vacuum cleaner 100 includes a vacuum cleaner 100, can do.

The sensing unit 110 may be disposed at one side of the main body 10 where the suction unit 120 is located, that is, at a front side of the main body 10.

The sensing unit 110 may protrude from the upper surface and the side surface of the main body 10 and the upper end may protrude upward from the upper surface of the main body 10. [

The sensing unit 110 may be arranged to overlap the suction unit 120 in the vertical direction of the main body 100.

That is, the sensing unit 110 is disposed at an upper portion of the suction unit 120, so that the suction unit 120 located at the forefront of the vacuum cleaner 100 does not obstruct the obstacle, And so on.

The sensing unit 110 may further be configured to perform a sensing function other than the sensing function.

The suction unit 120 may be arranged to protrude from one side of the main body 10 to suck air containing dust.

Here, the one side may be the side on which the main body 10 travels in the forward direction F, that is, the front side of the main body 10.

The suction unit 120 may be detachably coupled to the main body 10.

When the suction unit 120 is detached from the main body 10, a mop module (not shown) may be detachably coupled to the main body 10 in place of the separated suction unit 120.

The dust-containing air introduced through the suction unit 120 may be introduced into the dust container 130 via the intake air passage in the main body 10. [

The cleaner 100 may have a shape as shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. 2, and may have various forms that can perform traveling and cleaning in addition to the shape shown in FIG. 1 or FIG.

In the cleaner 100, as shown in FIG. 3, the power supply unit 11 is charged with the driving power from a plurality of charging units 200 provided in the area to be cleaned.

That is, the cleaner 100 may be driven by being charged with the driving power from the plurality of charging units 200 provided in the area to be cleaned.

The charging unit 200 refers to a charging station in which the vacuum cleaner 100 docks and automatically charges the driving power.

The charging stand 200 may be in the form as shown in FIG.

Since the vacuum cleaner 100 is driven wirelessly, the driving power must be charged before the driving power is exhausted for continuous operation. In particular, it is desirable that the robot cleaner is automatically (or autonomously) charged as well as cleaned for the convenience of the user.

The appearance of the charging stand 200 is formed by the housing 210. The housing 210 is made of a transparent or translucent material. Accordingly, the structures inside the housing 210 can be visually exposed to the outside through the housing 210. In FIG. 4, the light emitting element fixing member 240 and the absorption pattern 231 are shown to be visually exposed through the housing 210.

The housing 210 has a bottom 210a and a wall 210b. In FIG. 4, the direction in which the bottom 210a is formed with respect to the wall 210b corresponds to the front of the charging stand 200, and the opposite side corresponds to the rear.

The charging terminal 220 is exposed to the outside of the housing 210 and connected to the charging terminal of the vacuum cleaner 100. Since the charging terminal of the vacuum cleaner 100 is installed in the suction unit 120, the charging terminal 220 of the charging base 200 should be installed at a position corresponding to the charging terminal of the vacuum cleaner 100. The charging terminal 220 may be exposed through the bottom 210a of the housing 210 or may be exposed through the boundary between the bottom 210a and the wall 210b.

The charging stand 200 is connected to a power cable (not shown). When the plug of the power cable is plugged into the outlet, the charging stand 200 is in a state where it can charge the vacuum cleaner 100.

The preparation process for charging the cleaner 100 by the charging stand 200 may be divided into homing and docking. Homing refers to the approach of the vacuum cleaner 100 to the charging stand 200. The docking means that the charging terminal of the cleaner 100, which is approached to the charging stand 200, contacts the charging terminal 220 of the charging stand 200. Therefore, docking is performed after homing in time.

After the docking of the vacuum cleaner 100 is completed, the charging terminal 200 of the charging base 200 and the charging terminal of the vacuum cleaner 100 are electrically connected to the power source unit 11 ) Is automatically charged. Homing, docking, and charging processes can be combined to form automatic charging or autonomous charging.

The charging unit 200 having the above-described structure may be provided in the cleaning area 1 in plurality so that the driving power of the cleaner 100 can be charged in each of the charging units 200.

The main body 10 of the vacuum cleaner 100 may be a body that forms an outer appearance of the vacuum cleaner 100 to perform traveling and cleaning.

The main body 10 may have a configuration for traveling and cleaning the cleaner 100.

The main body 10 has a shape that facilitates traveling and cleaning, thereby forming an appearance of the vacuum cleaner 100.

For example, it may be formed in a circular shape, and may also be a square in which edges are rounded.

The main body 10 may have a structure for driving and cleaning the cleaner 100 inside or outside.

For example, a configuration in which a traveling operation, a cleaning operation, or a sensing operation is performed may be provided outside, and a configuration in which the vacuum cleaner 100 is controlled may be provided inside.

In the vacuum cleaner 100, the power supply unit 11 stores the driving power as a basis for driving the vacuum cleaner 100, and the control unit 20 drives the vacuum cleaner 100 with the driving power, And may be included in the main body 10.

The power supply unit 11 may be means for storing and supplying the driving power.

That is, the power supply unit 11 may be a battery of the vacuum cleaner 100.

The power supply unit 11 can charge the driving power from the plurality of charging units 200 and store the driving power.

The power supply unit 11 may be a battery that stores the driving power charged in the plurality of charging units 200 and supplies the driving power to one or more configurations included in the main body 10. [

The power supply unit 11 may be charged with the driving power from the charging stand where the main body 10 of the plurality of charging stands 200 is docked.

The power supply unit 11 may charge the driving power by receiving the driving power from the docked charging base by docking the main body 10 to any one of the plurality of charging cells 200. [

In this case, the main body 10 is docked to the docked charging stand so that the charging terminal provided in the outer case is electrically connected to the charging terminal provided in the docked charging stand, and receives the driving power through the connected charging terminal So that the power source unit 11 can be charged.

The power supply unit 11 may be controlled by the control unit 20 to supply the driving power to one or more configurations included in the main body 10. [

That is, the charging and supplying of the driving power of the power supply unit 11 can be controlled by the control unit 20. [

The power supply unit 11 may transmit the status information of the power supply unit 11 to the control unit 20 so that the control unit 20 controls the power supply unit 11 based on the status information.

For example, the control unit 20 transmits the status information of the charging status of the power unit 11, the consumption of the driving power, and the supply status of the power unit 11 to the controller 20 so that the controller 20 can charge the driving power based on the status information And to control the supply.

The controller 20 may be a central processing unit of the vacuum cleaner 100.

The control unit 20 may include a plurality of circuit configurations for arithmetic processing.

The control unit 20 may be connected to other components included in the main body 10 to control various functions of the main body 10 to be performed.

The control unit 20 may drive and control one or more other components included in the main body 10 by the driving power stored in the power supply unit 11 so that various functions of the main body 10 are performed .

For example, it is possible to drive and control other components included in the main body 10 to control the movement operation including the driving and cleaning of the main body 10. [

A specific example of the control unit 20 for controlling the configuration of the main body 10 and the configurations included in the main body 10 is as shown in FIG.

5, the main body 10 includes a communication unit 12, a photographing unit 13, an input unit 14, a detection unit 15, a cleaning unit 16, an output unit 17, a storage unit (not shown) 18 and a driving unit 19. The control unit 20 may be connected to each of the components included in the inside and the outside of the main body 10 to control each of the connected components.

The control unit 20 controls driving and cleaning of the main body 10 through the control of the above-described configurations, and controls the driving of the main body 10, data processing, communication with an external device, Can be controlled.

The communication unit 12 may be means for communicating with external communication means.

The communication unit 12 may transmit at least one of cleaning map, time information, status information, and obstacle location information of the cleaner 100 to an external communication unit and receive control signals from the external communication unit have.

Here, the external communication means includes all the wired / wireless communication devices capable of mutual communication with the communication unit 12, and may be, for example, a server, a computer, a mobile phone, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistants) An information communication terminal or the like, or a home appliance provided in the area to be cleaned.

The communication unit 12 is controlled by the control unit 20 to transmit information on the operation of the vacuum cleaner 100 to the external communication means or to control the operation of the vacuum cleaner 100 A control signal for control may be received.

The communication unit 12 may also communicate with the plurality of charging units 200 to exchange information for charging the plurality of charging units 200 with the driving power.

For example, the location information may be received from the plurality of charging devices 200 and may be moved to the plurality of charging devices 200 based on the received location information.

The photographing unit 13 may be a means for photographing a surrounding image while the cleaner 100 is running.

The photographing unit 13 may be a camera that photographs the surroundings of the cleaner 100 while driving.

The photographing unit 13 may be controlled by the control unit 20 to photograph a surrounding image.

The photographing unit 13 also transmits image information photographed while driving to the control unit 20 so that the control unit 20 controls the traveling and position recognition operation of the main body 10 based on the information .

The input unit 14 may be means for the user's operation or command input to the cleaner 100.

The input unit 14 may include a plurality of buttons for operating the operation of the vacuum cleaner 100.

The input unit 14 includes an OK button for inputting a command for confirming the pre-cleaning area and a non-cleaning area, a setting button for inputting a command to be set, a reset button for inputting a command for resetting, A cleaning start button for inputting a command for performing a cleaning operation based on the set areas, and a stop button for inputting a command for stopping the cleaning operation.

Here, when the output unit 17 has a form of a touch screen capable of both inputting and outputting, the function of the input unit 14 may be included in the output unit 17.

The input unit 14 may be operated by a user to transmit a signal to the control unit 20 so that the control unit 20 controls the operation of the vacuum cleaner 100 based on the signal.

The detection unit 15 may be means for detecting environmental information around the main body 10 or information about a cleaning operation of the vacuum cleaner 100. [

The detection unit 15 may include an obstacle detection sensor that detects an obstacle around the main body 10. [

The detection unit 15 transmits a signal such as a supersonic sensor, an infrared sensor, and an RF sensor to detect the position of the obstacle and the distance to the obstacle through the received signal A collision sensor that detects an obstacle by collision with an obstacle, and the like can be used.

The detection unit 15 may be controlled by the control unit 20 to detect an obstacle around the main body 10. [

The detection unit 15 may also transmit the detected information to the control unit 20 so that the control unit 20 controls the position recognition and mapping operation based on the detected information.

The cleaning unit 16 may be a means for cleaning the foreign substance during traveling of the cleaner 100.

The cleaning unit 16 may absorb foreign substances under the main body 10 during movement or stop, thereby performing a cleaning operation.

The cleaning unit 16 may include an air purification unit for purifying contaminants in the air.

The cleaning unit 16 may be controlled by the control unit 20 to perform a cleaning operation while driving.

The output unit 17 may be provided on the upper surface or the side surface of the main body 10 and may be a means for displaying the operation of the vacuum cleaner 100 on the outside.

The output unit 17 may display the operation status of the main body 10 controlled by the control unit 20, such as a cleaning map generated by the control unit 20.

The output unit 17 may further display one or more pieces of time information among a cleaning start time, a required time, an end time, a remaining time, an expected time, and a current time.

The output unit 17 may further display status information such as the current status of the components included in the main body 10 or the current cleaning status.

The output unit 17 may be a light emitting diode (LED), a liquid crystal display (LCD), a plasma display panel, an organic light emitting diode (OLED) It may be formed of any one of the elements.

Here, the output unit 17 may have a form of a touch screen capable of both inputting and outputting.

The output unit 17 may be controlled by the control unit 20 to display the operation of the vacuum cleaner 100 on the outside.

The storage unit 18 may be a means for storing information on the traveling of the cleaner 100. [

The storage unit 18 may be various types of memories such as a RAM (Random Access Memory) and a ROM (Read Only Memory).

The storage unit 18 may store data generated and processed by the controller 20 such as a cleaning history of the cleaner 100, a cleaning map, cleaning time information, status information, and obstacle information.

The storage unit 18 may be controlled by the control unit 20 to store data generated and processed by the control unit 20.

The storage unit 18 may also transmit the stored data to the control unit 20 so that the control unit 20 controls the operation of the cleaner 100 based on the stored data.

The driving unit 19 may be a wheel for moving the main body 10.

The driving unit 19 can move the main body 10 to travel the main body 10.

The driving unit 19 may be controlled by the control unit 20 to drive the main body 10.

That is, the main body 10 may be driven by the control unit 20 controlling the driving unit 19.

The driving unit 19 may be provided on each of the left and right sides of the lower surface of the main body 10 in a pair.

The driving unit 19 is provided on each of the left and right sides of the lower portion of the main body 10 and is provided at a position where the center of gravity can be maintained when the main body 10 is in a stopped state or running .

That is, the driving unit 19 is provided at each of left and right sides of the lower portion of the main body 10, and may be provided at a position where the main body 10 can be easily moved.

For example, on the left and right sides of the central portion of the main body 10, respectively.

The control unit 20 controls the functions of the main body 10 such as a moving operation including traveling and cleaning of the vacuum cleaner 100, To be performed.

The cleaner 100 including the main body 10, the power source unit 11 and the control unit 20 may be configured such that the power source unit 11 includes a plurality of charging units 200 The driving power is charged in the charging stand where the main body 10 is docked, and the driving power is charged at a plurality of points in the area to be cleaned.

Hereinafter, a concrete driving power charging embodiment of the vacuum cleaner 100 will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7 as an example.

The plurality of charging units 200 for charging the power source unit 11 with the driving power may be provided at different positions in the cleaning target region 1 as shown in FIG.

That is, the plurality of charging units 200 may be dispersed in the area to be cleaned 1.

Here, any one of the plurality of charging units 200 may be a charging unit 200a configured as a set with the vacuum cleaner 100.

That is, the plurality of charging units 200 may include at least one charging unit 200a and at least one charging unit 200b or 200c, which are in a set with the vacuum cleaner 100.

In this case, the charging unit 200a, which is a set with the vacuum cleaner 100, may correspond to a master charging unit, and one or more charging units 200b or 200c may correspond to a slave charging unit.

The plurality of charging stations 200 may also be provided in each of a plurality of zones in which the area to be cleaned 1 is divided.

For example, when the area to be cleaned 1 is divided into the first area 1a, the second area 1b and the third area 1c, the first charging part 200a of the plurality of charging devices 200 May be provided in the first zone 1a and the second charging station 200b may be provided in the second zone 1b.

When the plurality of charging stations 200 are three, the third charging station 200c is provided in the third zone 1c, and the charging stations 200a and 200b are provided for each of the plurality of zones 1a, 1b and 1c, And 200c.

That is, the plurality of charging stations 200 may be provided for each of the plurality of zones 1a, 1b, and 1c.

The plurality of charging units 200 can be set in priority order according to the locations.

The priority order may mean a charge priority order set in the cleaner 100.

For example, the first charging base 200a, which is a set with the vacuum cleaner 100, may be installed in a first position (master), a second position in which the first charging base 200a is provided, 2 charging base station 200b and the third charging base station 200c can be set to the second rank and the third rank (slave).

The priority may be previously set in the control unit 20. [

At this time, the controller 20 may control the movement of the main body 10 and the charging of the driving power according to a preset priority.

The plurality of charging devices 200 may communicate with each other to transmit / receive information to / from each other.

The plurality of charging units 200 can communicate with each other through a wireless communication method including Bluetooth or Wi-Fi communication.

The plurality of charging devices 200 transmit and receive status information including a location and a status or information received from the cleaner 100 to share the status information or the information received from the cleaner 100 .

For example, the position of each of the cleaners 100, the cleaning map for the area to be cleaned 1 created by the cleaner 100, the docking state of the cleaner 100, the charging status of the cleaner 100, Information about the moving state of the charging devices 200 may be shared among the plurality of charging devices 200.

The control unit 20 can drive and control the cleaner 100 with the driving power stored in the power source unit 11 after being charged in the plurality of charging units 200. [

The control unit 20 drives the cleaner 100 with the driving power to control the movement including the running and cleaning operations of the main body 10. [

That is, the control unit 20 may control the main body 10 to travel and clean the area to be cleaned 1.

The control unit 20 can create a cleaning map for the area to be cleaned 1 and control the movement of the main body 10 based on the cleaning map.

In this case, the control unit 20 divides the area to be cleaned 1 into the plurality of zones 1a, 1b, and 1c to create the cleaning map, and the plurality of zones 1a, 1b, The movement of the main body 10 can be controlled according to the position of the main body 1c.

For example, when the cleaner 100 is initially driven by the first charging station 200a provided in the first zone 1a of the plurality of charging stations 200, The first charging station 200a is driven and cleaned in the order of the first zone 1a, the second zone 1b and the third zone 1c in accordance with the zones 1a, 1b, The movement of the main body 10 can be controlled.

The control unit 20 can create the cleaning map based on information obtained during travel of the main body 10 and while driving the main body 10 while controlling the movement of the main body 10. [

The control unit 20 may also update the previously generated cleaning map while the movement of the main body 10 is being controlled.

The control unit 20 may control the movement of the main body 10 so as to charge the driving power by docking to one of the plurality of charging stations 200 during traveling of the main body 10. [

The control unit 20 docks the battery pack to any one of the plurality of charging units 200 according to the storage state of the driving power stored in the power unit 11 during traveling of the main body 10, It is possible to control the movement of the main body 10 to charge.

For example, when the driving power stored in the power supply unit 11 becomes less than the reference value, the main body 10 is moved to any one of the plurality of charging units 200 for charging the driving power, It can be controlled to be docked to one charging base.

The control unit 20 may store information on the plurality of charging units 200 and may charge the charging unit 200 so that the charging power of the plurality of charging units 200 is charged by the charging unit 200, 10 can be controlled.

The pre-stored charging unit information may indicate the status and status of each of the plurality of charging units 200 provided in the area to be cleaned 1.

For example, the position and status of each of the first charging base 200a, the second charging base 200b, and the third area 1c provided in the second area 1b provided in the area to be cleaned 1, The first charging station 200a may be a master charging station provided in the first zone 1a and the second charging station 200b may be provided in the second zone 1b The slave charging station and the third charging station 200c can store information according to slave charging in the third zone 1c.

The pre-stored charging unit information may be information generated and stored by the control unit 20 based on the cleaning map while the main body 10 is running.

The control unit 20 can determine the charging target charging station among the plurality of charging apparatuses 200 by matching the cleaning map and the stored charging unit information during running of the main body 10. [

For example, the cleaning map and the previously stored charging unit information may be matched to determine the charging target charging station according to the current position of the cleaner 100 and the positions of the plurality of charging units 200.

That is, the control unit 20 may determine the charging target charging station according to the current position of the cleaner 100, and control the charging unit to charge the driving power.

The control unit 20 may control the movement of the main body 10 so as to charge the driving power by docking to the nearest charging station among the plurality of charging stations 200 during traveling.

For example, when the vacuum cleaner 100 is traveling in the first zone 1a, the first charging zone 200a closest to the first zone 1a controls the charging of the driving power, When driving in the third zone 1c, the third charging zone 200c closest to the third zone 3c may be controlled to charge the driving power.

As described above, the vacuum cleaner 100, which receives the driving power from the plurality of charging devices 200, further includes the communication unit 12 that communicates with the plurality of charging devices 200, , And control the movement of the main body (10) so as to charge the driving power by any of the plurality of charging stations (200) based on the communication result of the communication unit (12) during traveling.

The communication unit 12 can communicate with the plurality of charging units 200 through a wireless communication method.

The communication unit 12 communicates with the plurality of charging units 200 via a wireless communication system including Bluetooth or Wi-Fi to transmit information of the vacuum cleaner 100 to the plurality of charging units 200, Status information can be received from the plurality of charging units 200. [

The information transmitted from the communication unit 12 to the plurality of charging units 200 may include at least one of a cleaning map of the cleaner 100, a state of the cleaner 100, or command information transmitted from the cleaner 100 Information received from the plurality of charging stations 200 to the communication unit 12 includes status information on the positions and current statuses of the plurality of charging stations 200 and identification information of the plurality of charging stations 200 Information.

The communication unit 12 can communicate with each of the plurality of charging units 200.

The communication unit 12 can communicate with each of the plurality of charging units 200 simultaneously or individually.

The communication unit 12 can preferably communicate with each of the plurality of charging units 200 in real time.

The control unit 20 determines information of the plurality of charging units 200 based on the communication result of the communication unit 12 and docks the charging unit 200 to one of the plurality of charging units 200 based on the determined result It is possible to control the movement of the main body 10 to charge the driving power.

That is, the control unit 20 may determine the charging target charging target among the plurality of charging devices 200 based on the communication result, and control the charging power source to charge the determined charging target.

The control unit 20 determines the position information of the plurality of charging units 200 based on the communication result and determines the nearest charging unit at the current position among the plurality of charging units 200 based on the position information , And controls the movement of the main body 10 so as to charge the driving power by docking to the determined adjacent charging stand.

That is, the control unit 20 determines the position information of the plurality of charging units 200 based on the communication result, determines the nearest charging unit at the current position of the cleaner 100 as the charging object charging, And to charge the driving power in the charging stand.

7, for example, when the cleaner 100 starts the initial traveling in the first charging station 200a and moves from one point P1 of the first zone 1a to the second zone Based on a result of communication with each of the first charging base 200b, the second charging base 200b and the third charging base 200c while the vehicle is traveling at a certain point P2 of the first charging base 1b, The position of each of the charging units 200 is determined and the second charging unit 200b closest to the current point P2 is determined as the charging target charging unit so that the driving power is charged in the second charging unit 200b Or when moving from one point P1 of the first zone 1a to one point P3 of the third zone 1c, the most adjacent point P3 at the current point P3, It is determined that the third charging base 200c is the charging target charging object, and the third charging base 200c So as to charge the driving power.

That is, the control unit 20 communicates with each of the plurality of charging units 200 during traveling to determine the positions of the plurality of charging units 200, determines the nearest charging unit at the current position of the cleaner 100 , And controls the movement of the main body 10 so as to receive the driving power by docking the charged charging stand.

As described above, the vacuum cleaner 100 is adapted to charge the driving power in a charging station provided in a zone where the vehicle is running, and when the driving power needs to be charged during driving, the vacuum cleaner 100 does not return to the initial charging It is possible to charge the driving power in the charging station adjacent to the zone in which the vehicle is traveling, and to maintain the cleaning performance for the zone in operation.

The control unit 20 determines the position information and identification information of the plurality of charging units 200 based on the communication result and performs a cleaning operation on the cleaning target area 1 based on the position information and the identification information, You can create a map.

The control unit 20 determines the communication result of the communication unit 12, that is, the positional information and the identification information received from each of the plurality of charging units 200, creates the cleaning map based on the result, The movement of the main body 10 can be controlled according to the cleaning map.

For example, based on the positional information and the identification information, the control unit 110 creates the cleaning map based on the position of the plurality of charging units 200, controls the movement of the main body 10 according to the prepared cleaning map, And to perform cleaning.

The identification information may be identification information given to each of the plurality of charging units 200 and may be information on which the control unit 20 divides the plurality of charging units 200. [

For example, it may be the ID information assigned to each of the plurality of charging units 200, or the product number.

The control unit 20 determines the position of each of the plurality of charging units 200 based on the position information, identifies each of the plurality of charging units 200 based on the identification information, The cleaning map can be created based on the cleaning map.

The control unit 20 may divide the area to be cleaned 1 into a plurality of areas based on the location information and the identification information, and control the traveling and cleaning according to a plurality of divided areas.

That is, the control unit 20 divides the area to be cleaned (1) into the plurality of areas based on the location information and the identification information received from the plurality of charging units (200) and creates the cleaning map , And controls the main body 10 to perform traveling and cleaning in units of the plurality of zones in accordance with the cleaning map.

Accordingly, the cleaner 100 divides the area to be cleaned 1 into the plurality of areas based on the positions of the plurality of charging devices 200, And the driving power is charged in the zone in which the vehicle is running, so that the zone-by-zone cleaning of the area to be cleaned 1 can be performed.

<Robot Cleaning System>

Hereinafter, embodiments of the robot cleaning system (hereinafter, referred to as a system) disclosed in this specification will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 to 10, and the parts common to and / or common to those described in the robot cleaner described above will be omitted as much as possible, Will be described.

The robotic cleaning system disclosed herein may be implemented as a part or a combination of elements or steps that the above-described or later embodiments include, or may be implemented as a combination of embodiments, and the technical terms used are only specific examples And is not intended to limit the scope of the technology disclosed herein.

The system may be a cleaning system of a robot cleaner that carries out cleaning simultaneously with driving.

The system may be a cleaning system of the robot cleaner for the area to be cleaned.

That is, the system may be a system in which cleaning is performed in the area to be cleaned by the cleaner.

The system may be a cleaning system for a cleaning target area of a robot cleaner that performs running and cleaning automatically or by user's operation.

The system may be a method of controlling the robot cleaner to recognize the position during traveling and to create a map of the area to be cleaned.

The system may be a system for cleaning the cleaner as described above. Specifically, the system may be a system for cleaning the cleaner in a cleaning area provided with a plurality of charging bars.

That is, the system may be a system to which the vacuum cleaner described above is applied or applied to the vacuum cleaner.

As shown in FIG. 8, the system 1000 includes a plurality of robot cleaners 100 that are driven based on charged driving power to clean a region to be cleaned, and a plurality of robot cleaners 100, (200) for charging the driving power of the battery (100).

That is, the system 1000 may be applied to a cleaning target area including the plurality of robot cleaners 100 and the plurality of charging units 200.

Here, the plurality of robot cleaners 100 communicate with the plurality of charging units 200 during traveling, and charge the driving power by docking the plurality of charging units 200 among the plurality of charging units 200 based on the communication result .

The plurality of robot cleaners 100 may be the vacuum cleaner 100 described above and the plurality of charge bags 200 may be the same as the number of the plurality of charge bags 200 described in the embodiment of the cleaner 100 have.

The plurality of robot cleaners 100 may be driven by the driving power charged in the plurality of charging stands 200. [

The plurality of robot cleaners 100 can charge the driving power from any one of the plurality of charging stands 200 during traveling.

That is, as shown in FIG. 8, the first cleaner 100a can charge the driving power in both the first charging base 200a, the second charging base 200b, and the third charging base 200c, The cleaner 100b may also charge the driving power in both the first charging stand 200a, the second charging stand 200b, and the third charging stand 200c.

The plurality of robot cleaners 100 may be docked at any one of the plurality of charging stands 200 during traveling to charge the driving power from the docked charging stand.

As shown in FIG. 9, the plurality of robot cleaners 100 and the plurality of charging units 200 may be provided at different positions in the area 1 to be cleaned.

That is, the plurality of robot cleaners 100 and the plurality of charging units 200 may be dispersed in the area to be cleaned 1.

Here, the plurality of robot cleaners 100 and the plurality of charging units 200 may be formed of a plurality of pairs, each of which is a pair, and at least one of the plurality of charging units 200 is connected to the plurality of robot cleaners 100. [ (100).

Here, the plurality of robot cleaners 100 may be at least two or more, and the plurality of charging stands 200 may preferably be at least one more than the plurality of robot cleaners 100.

The area to be cleaned 1 may be divided into a plurality of zones 1a, 1b and 1c.

Here, the plurality of zones 1a, 1b, and 1c may be classified according to the spatial structure of the area to be cleaned 1, and each of the plurality of charging units 200a, 200b, and 200c, The robot cleaners 100a and 100b may be provided.

For example, as shown in FIG. 8, the cleaning zone 1 is divided into a first zone 1a, a second zone 1b and a third zone 1c. In the first zone 1a, The first vacuum cleaner 100a and the first vacuum cleaner 100a are provided in the second zone 1b and the second vacuum cleaner 100b and the second vacuum cleaner 100b are provided in the second zone 1b. And a third charging cradle 200c which is not provided with the plurality of robot cleaners 100 may be provided in the third area 1c.

Each of the plurality of robot cleaners 100 set with the plurality of charging units 200 can set the priority of the plurality of charging units 200 according to the set configuration.

For example, the first charging base 200a, which is set with the first vacuum cleaner 100a, becomes the main charging base of the first vacuum cleaner 100a and the second charging base 200b and the third charging base 200c, The second charging base 200b that is set with the second vacuum cleaner 100b becomes the main charging base of the second vacuum cleaner 100b and the second charging base 200b that is set with the second vacuum cleaner 100b becomes the main charging base of the second vacuum cleaner 100b, The first charging unit 200a and the third charging unit 200c may be sub-charging units of the second vacuum cleaner 100b.

Here, the main charging unit may mean a main starting / returning point of the vacuum cleaner, or a main docking charging station. The sub charging unit may be configured to charge the driving power in the cleaning area 1 It can mean a charging station that goes through the middle.

In this case, the plurality of robot cleaners 100 may be returned to the main charge after completion of the traveling and cleaning operations with respect to the area to be cleaned 1, and before completion of the traveling and cleaning operations, Or may be docked to the sub charging stand to charge the driving power.

As described above, the plurality of robot cleaners 100 can run and clean the area to be cleaned 1 according to the priority order, and charge the driving power from the plurality of charging devices 200.

The plurality of robot cleaners 100 can create a cleaning map for the area to be cleaned 1 and clean the area to be cleaned 1 based on the cleaning map.

In this case, the plurality of robot cleaners 100 divides the area to be cleaned 1 into the plurality of zones 1a, 1b, and 1c to create the cleaning map, , 1b, and 1c) of the cleaning target area (1).

For example, when the first cleaner 100a is initially driven in the first charging station 200a provided in the first zone 1a, the plurality of zones 1a and 1b The first zone 1a and the third zone 1c except for the second zone 1b in which the second vacuum cleaner 100b is provided are started from the first charging zone 200a according to And when the second vacuum cleaner 100b is initially driven by the second charging base 200b provided in the second zone 1b, The second zone 1b except for the first zone 1a in which the first vacuum cleaner 100a is provided starts from the second charging zone 200b according to the plurality of zones 1a, And the third zone (1c) in that order.

When performing the cleaning with the plurality of robot cleaners 100, the third zone 1c may be cleaned by the first vacuum cleaner 100a and the second vacuum cleaner 100b.

The plurality of robot cleaners 100 can create the cleaning map on the basis of the information obtained during traveling and traveling.

The plurality of robot cleaners 100 may also update the cleaning map prepared on the basis of the information obtained during traveling and traveling.

The plurality of robot cleaners 100 can communicate with each other to transmit / receive information to / from each other.

The plurality of robot cleaners 100 may communicate with each other using a wireless communication method including Bluetooth, Wi-Fi-communication, and the like during traveling, and may exchange information with each other to share information.

The information transmitted and received between the plurality of robot cleaners 100 may be information on the cleaning map stored in each of the plurality of robot cleaners 100, or information on the respective operation states.

The plurality of robot cleaners 100 can update the cleaning map based on information transmitted and received between the robot cleaners 100. [

For example, if the cleaning map created by the first cleaner 100a does not reflect the second zone 1b and the third zone 1c, and the cleaning map created by the second cleaner 100b includes the first zone When the first cleaner 100a reflects both the first area 1a, the second area 1b and the third area 1c, the first cleaner 100a cleans the first cleaner 100a based on the cleaning map received from the second cleaner 100b, It may be updated on the map by reflecting the second zone 1b and the third zone 1c.

As such, sharing the cleaning map between the plurality of robot cleaners 100 allows the cleaning map of the first cleaner 100a and the cleaning area corresponding thereto to be expanded.

The plurality of robot cleaners 100 may also clean the area to be cleaned 1 based on information transmitted and received between them.

For example, the first vacuum cleaner 100a operates to clean the first zone 1a and the third zone 1c, and the second vacuum cleaner 100b operates to clean the second zone 1b and the third zone 1c, When the first cleaner 100a is operated to clean the zone 1c, the third zone 1c is opened according to the cleaning information about the third zone 1c received from the second vacuum cleaner 100b, May be removed from the cleaning object, or may be cleaned in cooperation with the second cleaner 100b.

When the plurality of robot cleaners 100 cooperate with each other to clean the area, the area to be cleaned is divided into sub-areas based on the information transmitted and received between the sub-areas, have.

The plurality of robot cleaners 100 may also charge the driving power based on information transmitted and received between them.

For example, while the first vacuum cleaner 100a is docked to the third charging cradle 200c provided in the third zone 1c to charge the driving power, the second vacuum cleaner 100b may be connected to the third zone 1c, The second vacuum cleaner 100b may dock or move the third charging base 200c according to the charging information of the third charging base 200c received from the first vacuum cleaner 100a, It may be excluded from the charging object and may be moved to the second charging base 200b or the first charging base 200a to charge the driving power.

The plurality of robot cleaners 100 may store information on the plurality of charging devices 200 and store the stored charging device information and the communication result communicated with each of the plurality of charging devices 200, It is possible to judge the charging station, and charge the driving power by docking the charging station.

The plurality of robot cleaners 100 can communicate with each of the plurality of charging units 200 in a wireless communication manner.

The plurality of robot cleaners 100 communicate with each of the plurality of charging units 200 via a wireless communication method including Bluetooth or Wi-Fi to transmit information about each of the plurality of robot cleaners 100 to the plurality of charging units (200), and receive status information from each of the plurality of charging units (200).

The information transmitted from the plurality of robot cleaners 100 to the plurality of charging units 200 may include at least one of a cleaning map of the cleaner 100 and a state of the cleaner 100, The information received by the plurality of robot cleaners 100 in the plurality of charging stations 200 may include at least one of status information on the positions and statuses of the plurality of charging stations 200, ), Respectively.

The plurality of robot cleaners 100 may determine a chargeable chargeable unit among the plurality of chargeable units 200 based on the stored chargeable unit information and the communication result and determine whether each chargeable chargeable chargeable unit can be charged, The charging target charging station can be determined according to the determination result, and the charging power can be charged by docking the charging charging target.

The pre-stored charging unit information may be information generated and stored based on the cleaning map while each of the plurality of robot cleaners 100 is running.

The pre-stored charging unit information may indicate the status and status of each of the plurality of charging units 200 provided in the area to be cleaned 1.

The pre-stored charging unit information may include information on the priorities of the plurality of charging units 200.

The plurality of robot cleaners 100 may determine the chargeable chargeable area among the plurality of chargeable devices 200 by matching the previously stored chargeable device information with the communication result and determine whether each of the chargeable chargeable chargeable areas is chargeable , The charging object charging station can be determined according to the determination result, and the charging power can be charged by docking the charging object.

The plurality of robot cleaners 100 may determine the position information of the plurality of charging units 200 based on the communication result, determine the nearest charging unit at the current position based on the position information, The driving power can be charged by docking.

That is, the plurality of robot cleaners 100 determine the position information of the plurality of charging units 200 based on the communication result, determine the nearest charging unit at the current position as the charging object charging, Thereby charging the driving power.

For example, when the first vacuum cleaner 100a is running in the first zone 1a, the first vacuum cleaner 100a is docked to the first charging band 200a closest to the first zone 1a to charge the driving power If the third zone 1c is running, the driving power may be charged by docking the third charging band 200c nearest to the third zone 3c.

10, for example, the first cleaner 100a starts the initial traveling in the first charging station 200a, and the first cleaner 100a moves from one point P1 of the first zone 1a to the second cleaner 100a, The first charging station 200b, the second charging station 200b, and the third charging station 200c, respectively, based on the results of communication with the first charging station 200b, the second charging station 200b, and the third charging station 200c, The position of each of the plurality of charging units 200 is determined and the second charging unit 200b closest to the current point P2 is determined to be the charging target charging object and docked to the determined second charging unit 200b, Or the second vacuum cleaner 100b may start an initial run in the second charging station 200b to start charging at any one point P3 of the second zone 1b to the third zone 1c, the first charging base 200b, the second charging base 20b, The position of each of the plurality of charging units 200 is determined based on a result of the communication with each of the first charging units 200a and 0b and the third charging units 200c, It may be determined that the battery is charged, and the battery may be charged with the driving power by docking the second charging base 200b.

The plurality of robot cleaners 100 judge the positional information and the identification information of the plurality of charging units 200 based on the communication result and determine the position of the cleaning target area 1 based on the positional information and the identification information, You can create a cleaning map for.

The plurality of robot cleaners 100 determine the communication result, that is, the positional information received from each of the plurality of charging devices 200 and the identification information, create the cleaning map on the basis of the positional information and the identification information, Driving and cleaning can be carried out according to the map.

For example, based on the location information and the identification information, the user can create the cleaning map based on the positions of the plurality of charging devices 200, and perform traveling and cleaning according to the cleaning map.

The identification information may be identification information given to each of the plurality of charging units 200 and may be information on which the plurality of robot cleaners 100 divides the plurality of charging units 200. [

For example, it may be the ID information assigned to each of the plurality of charging units 200, or the product number.

The plurality of robot cleaners 100 may determine the position of each of the plurality of charging units 200 based on the positional information, identify each of the plurality of charging units 200 based on the identification information, And the cleaning map can be created based on the identification result.

The plurality of robot cleaners 100 may divide the area to be cleaned 1 into a plurality of areas based on the positional information and the identification information, and may perform traveling and cleaning according to a plurality of divided areas .

That is, the plurality of robot cleaners 100 divides the area to be cleaned (1) into the plurality of areas based on the positional information and the identification information received from the plurality of charging devices (200) And may perform traveling and cleaning in the plurality of zone units according to the cleaning map.

As described above, in the system 1000 in which the plurality of robot cleaners 100 communicate with the plurality of charging devices 200 to perform docking, charging, traveling, and cleaning, the plurality of charging devices 200 are connected to each other And can communicate with the plurality of robot cleaners 100 with signals of different sizes.

For example, each of the plurality of charging devices 200 may communicate with the plurality of robot cleaners 100 with signals of different frequencies.

For example, the first charging base 200a may be a frequency signal of a size, the second charging base 200b may be a frequency signal of b size, and the third charging base 200c may be a c- And can communicate with a plurality of robot cleaners 100.

In this case, the plurality of robot cleaners 100 can distinguish the plurality of charging units 200 based on the size of a signal communicated with each of the plurality of charging units 200.

For example, when the signal received from the plurality of charging devices 200 is a frequency signal of a size, the signal transmitter determines that the signal is the first charging device 200a and distinguishes the signal from the plurality of charging devices 200 If the signal received from the plurality of charging units 200 is a c-sized frequency signal, it is determined that the signal is the second charging band 200b when the signal is a frequency signal of the b- It can be determined that the transmitter 300 is the third charging base 200c.

That is, the plurality of robot cleaners 100 receive signals transmitted in signals of different sizes in each of the plurality of charging units 200, and discriminate the plurality of charging units 200 according to the size of the received signals .

More preferably, the plurality of charging units 200 may add identification information, such as an identification tag, which identifies the plurality of charging units 200 to signals transmitted to the plurality of robot cleaners 100, To the plurality of robot cleaners (100), and the plurality of robot cleaners (100) can distinguish the plurality of charging stands (200) based on the identification tags.

The plurality of charging devices 200 may also communicate with each other to transmit / receive information to / from each other.

The plurality of charging units 200 can communicate with each other through a wireless communication method including Bluetooth or Wi-Fi communication.

The plurality of charging stations 200 transmit and receive status information including a location and a current state or information received from the plurality of robot cleaners 100 to each other and transmit the state information or the information received from the plurality of robot cleaners 100 You can share the information you receive.

For example, the position of each of the plurality of robot cleaners 100, the cleaning map for the area to be cleaned 1 created by the plurality of robot cleaners 100, the docking state of the plurality of robot cleaners 100, The information on the state of charge of the robot cleaner 100 or the information on the moving state of the plurality of robot cleaners 100 may be shared among the plurality of charging units 200.

As described above, the system 1000 can communicate with the plurality of robot cleaners 100, between the plurality of charging devices 200, and between the plurality of robot cleaners 100 and the plurality of charging devices 200 Information about the area to be cleaned (1) can be shared by the entire configuration of the system (1000), thereby forming a cleaning network. As a result, / Separation cleaning can be done.

Embodiments of the robot cleaner and the robot cleaner system as described above can be applied to all the cleaning robots, the automatic cleaner, the system including the robot cleaner, and the control method thereof, to which the technical idea of the above technology can be applied.

While the present invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be practical exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the described embodiments, but should be determined by the scope of the appended claims and equivalents thereof.

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, Modification is possible. Accordingly, the spirit of the present invention should be understood only in accordance with the following claims, and all equivalents or equivalent variations thereof are included in the scope of the present invention.

10: main body 11: power supply unit 12: communication unit
13: photographing section 14: input section 15:
16: cleaning unit 17: output unit 18: storage unit
19: driving part 20: control part 100: robot cleaner
200: Charging base 1000: Robot cleaning system

Claims (20)

1. A robot cleaner for cleaning a cleaning target area,
A main body forming an outer appearance of the robot cleaner;
A power supply for storing driving power of the robot cleaner; And
And a control unit driving the robot cleaner with the driving power to control movement of the main body,
The power supply unit,
Wherein the driving power is charged by a plurality of charging stations provided in the area to be cleaned. The method according to claim 1,
The power supply unit,
Wherein the main body of the plurality of charging stations is charged with the driving power in a charging station in which the main body is docked. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the plurality of charging units include:
Wherein the robot cleaner is provided at different positions within the area to be cleaned. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the plurality of charging units include:
Wherein the robot cleaner is provided in each of a plurality of zones in which the area to be cleaned is divided. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the plurality of charging units include:
And a priority is set according to a position of the robot cleaner. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the plurality of charging units include:
And communicates with each other to transmit / receive the information to / from each other. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein,
Wherein information on the plurality of charging stations is stored in advance so as to control the movement of the main body to charge the driving power from one of the plurality of charging bases based on the stored charging base information. The method according to claim 1,
And a communication unit for communicating with the plurality of charging units,
Wherein,
And controls the movement of the main body so as to charge the driving power by one of the plurality of charging bands based on the communication result of the communication unit. 9. The method of claim 8,
Wherein,
The information of the plurality of charging stations is determined based on the communication result of the communication unit, and the movement of the main body is controlled so as to charge the driving power by docking to one of the plurality of charging stations based on the determined result. Robot cleaner. 10. The method of claim 9,
Wherein,
Determines the position information of the plurality of charging units based on the communication result, determines the nearest charging unit at the current position among the plurality of charging units based on the determined position information, docks the determined charging unit to the adjacent charging unit, And controls the movement of the main body to charge the robot. 10. The method of claim 9,
Wherein,
Determines the location information and identification information of the plurality of charging units based on the communication result, and creates a cleaning map for the area to be cleaned based on the location information and the identification information. 12. The method of claim 11,
Wherein,
Wherein the cleaning unit divides the area to be cleaned into a plurality of areas based on the location information and the identification information, and performs cleaning according to a plurality of divided areas. A plurality of robot cleaners driven based on the charged driving power to clean the area to be cleaned; And
And a plurality of charging units provided in the area to be cleaned to charge the driving power of the robot cleaner,
Wherein the plurality of robot cleaners comprise:
And communicates with the plurality of charging stations during traveling to dock the charging target charging base among the plurality of charging bases based on the communication result to charge the driving power. 14. The method of claim 13,
Wherein the plurality of robot cleaners comprise:
And communicates with each other to transmit / receive the information to / from each other. 14. The method of claim 13,
Wherein the plurality of robot cleaners comprise:
Information on the plurality of charging stations is stored, and the charging target charging station is determined on the basis of the stored charging station information and the communication result, and the driving power is charged by docking the charging target. 14. The method of claim 13,
Wherein the plurality of robot cleaners comprise:
Determines the position information of the plurality of charging stations based on the communication result, determines the nearest charging station at the current position based on the position information, and docks the adjacent charging station to charge the driving power. Cleaning system. 14. The method of claim 13,
Wherein the plurality of robot cleaners comprise:
Wherein the location information and the identification information of the plurality of charging stations are determined based on the communication result, and the cleaning map is created for the area to be cleaned based on the location information and the identification information. 14. The method of claim 13,
Wherein the plurality of charging units include:
Wherein at least one of the plurality of robot cleaners is further provided. 14. The method of claim 13,
Wherein the plurality of charging units include:
Communicating with the plurality of robot cleaners in signals of different sizes,
Wherein the plurality of robot cleaners comprise:
Wherein the plurality of charge bands are divided based on a size of a signal communicated with each of the plurality of charge bands. 14. The method of claim 13,
Wherein the plurality of charging units include:
And communicates with each other to transmit / receive the information to / from each other.

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