CN113331739A

CN113331739A - Cleaning robot and autonomous traveling apparatus

Info

Publication number: CN113331739A
Application number: CN202110552893.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 褚小明; 王戬; 高倩; 邵长东
Original assignee: Ecovacs Robotics Suzhou Co Ltd
Current assignee: Ecovacs Robotics Suzhou Co Ltd
Priority date: 2021-05-20
Filing date: 2021-05-20
Publication date: 2021-09-03
Anticipated expiration: 2041-05-20
Also published as: CN113331739B

Abstract

The embodiment of the application provides a cleaning robot and autonomous traveling equipment. Wherein, cleaning robot includes: the sensing device is used for sensing environmental parameters of the environment where the cleaning robot is located; the interaction device is used for interacting with a user to generate a corresponding interaction instruction; the machine body is provided with a cleaning device and used for making corresponding response according to the environmental parameters and/or the interactive instructions; the sensing device is arranged on the machine body, and the interaction device is positioned above the sensing device. According to the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the application, the interaction device is arranged above the sensing device, and the position of the interaction device is more striking at first, so that the operation of a user is facilitated; furthermore, the interaction means may also function to protect the sensing means in addition to being able to interact with the user.

Description

Cleaning robot and autonomous traveling apparatus

Technical Field

The application relates to the technical field of robots, in particular to a cleaning robot and an autonomous traveling device.

Background

At present, switches and various function keys of a cleaning robot are all arranged on a shell of the robot. The user can control the robot to execute corresponding functions by touching the keys.

In order to make the robot more concise and beautiful in appearance, control keys on the robot are designed in a more concealed place, or hidden keys and the like are arranged on a shell of the robot. For the user who uses for the first time, the user is difficult to find the position of button such as switch, and the operation is inconvenient.

Disclosure of Invention

In order to solve the above problem, embodiments of the present application provide a cleaning robot and an autonomous traveling apparatus.

In one embodiment of the present application, a cleaning robot is provided. The cleaning robot includes:

the sensing device is used for sensing environmental parameters of the environment where the cleaning robot is located;

the interaction device is used for interacting with a user to generate a corresponding interaction instruction;

the machine body is provided with a cleaning device and used for making corresponding response according to the environmental parameters and/or the interactive instructions;

wherein, the sensing device is arranged on the machine body, and the interaction device is positioned above the sensing device.

In another embodiment of the present application, an autonomous traveling apparatus is provided. The autonomous traveling apparatus includes:

sensing means for sensing an environmental parameter of an environment in which the autonomous traveling apparatus is located;

the interaction component is used for interacting with a user to generate a corresponding interaction instruction;

the equipment body is used for making a corresponding response according to the environment parameters and/or the interactive instructions;

the sensing device is arranged on the machine body, a protective cover used for protecting the sensing device is further arranged on the machine body, and the interaction assembly is arranged on the protective cover.

According to the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the application, the interaction device is arranged above the sensing device, and firstly, the position of the interaction device is more striking, so that the operation of a user is facilitated; furthermore, the interaction means may, in addition to interacting with the user, also function to protect the sensing means, i.e. in case of a collision with an obstacle above, the interaction means may protect the sensing means from being affected. Therefore, the scheme provided by the embodiment of the application has the advantages of simple and compact structure, reasonable layout and convenience for user operation.

The technical scheme provided by another embodiment of the application is that an interaction component is embedded in a protective cover of a sensing device so as to interact with a user; therefore, the interaction assembly is striking, and the operation of a user is convenient; and the structure of the apparatus body of the autonomous traveling apparatus is simpler.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present application or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings needed to be used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly described below, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are some embodiments of the present application, and other drawings can be obtained by those skilled in the art without creative efforts.

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a cleaning robot according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a schematic top view of an interaction device of a cleaning robot according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an interaction device of a cleaning robot according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a schematic side view of an interaction device of a cleaning robot according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of an indicator light strip arranged on an interaction device of the cleaning robot provided in the embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. It is to be understood that the embodiments described are only a few embodiments of the present application and not all embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present application.

A cleaning robot, such as a sweeping robot, a mopping robot, a sweeping and mopping integrated robot, etc., has a sensing device, such as a laser radar, etc., disposed on the top of the robot body for sensing environmental parameters of the robot environment, map construction, obstacle detection, etc. In order to protect the sensing device from being hit by an obstacle, a sensing device protecting cover is disposed on the body. Thus, even if the robot collides with an obstacle without sensing the obstacle above, the robot collides with the protective cover, and the robot does not greatly affect the sensing device. The switch of cleaning machines people, fill the button, key such as wifi can set up on the shell of robot. Currently, most cleaning robot housings are also physical keys. However, in order to make the robot look more concise and beautiful in appearance, the keys may be designed in a more hidden place (such as the side or bottom of the robot body, etc.), or hidden keys may be provided on the outer shell of the robot, etc. The existing key design needs to occupy the internal space of the machine body, is not striking enough, and is not convenient for users to use.

Therefore, the following embodiments of the present application are provided to provide a solution for combining the interaction device with the protection cover, so as to not only protect the sensing device, but also interact with the user, which makes the structure of the robot simpler, and the position of the interaction device more conspicuous, thereby facilitating the use of the user.

Specifically, fig. 1 shows a schematic structural diagram of a cleaning robot. The cleaning robot includes: a body 1, a sensing device 3 and an interaction device 2. Wherein the sensing device 3 is used for sensing environmental parameters of the environment where the cleaning robot is located. The interaction device 2 is used for interacting with the user to generate a corresponding interaction instruction. And the machine body 1 is provided with a cleaning device and used for making corresponding response according to the environmental parameters and/or the interactive instructions. The response by the body 1 may include: start, shut down, advance, retreat, and avoid obstacle, etc., which is not limited in this embodiment.

In a particular embodiment, the body 1 may include, but is not limited to: control devices, cleaning devices, traveling devices, and the like. Wherein, the cleaning device can include: a roll brush assembly, a wipe assembly, an edge brush assembly, and the like. The sensing device 3 and the interaction device 2 are both electrically connected with the control device, and the control device controls corresponding components on the machine body 1 to respond correspondingly.

Wherein the sensing device 3 may include, but is not limited to: laser radar, ultrasonic ranging sensors, infrared ranging sensors, vision sensors, and the like.

As shown in fig. 1, the sensing device 3 is disposed on the top of the machine body 1 and is higher than the top surface of the machine body. The interaction means 2 is located above the sensing means 3. In practice, the interaction device 2 may be arranged directly above the sensing device 3.

The interaction device 2 can be arranged on the machine body 1 as a protective top cover of the sensing device 3; the outer edge of the interaction device 2 extends beyond the side elevation of the sensing device 3, forming a protective eave for the sensing device 3.

Referring to the embodiment shown in fig. 2, the cleaning robot further comprises a support frame 4. As shown in fig. 1, the supporting frame 4 is disposed on the machine body 1, and the interaction device 2 is erected above the sensing device 3 through the supporting frame 4; the support frame 4 is provided with a threading hole or a threading groove; the interaction device 2 is electrically connected with a control device (not shown in the figure) in the machine body 1 through a lead in the threading hole or the threading groove.

It is preferable that the sensing device 3 is not blocked for one circle. The sensing device 3 senses the environmental parameters of one week, so that the control device can perform corresponding control according to the environmental parameters of one week. In practice, the sensing device 3 mostly has a sensing field angle FOV, for example, some lidar has a FOV of 270 degrees. The sensing angle of view of the sensing device 3 should be towards the front of the machine body, and therefore, in order to avoid the sensing area of the sensing device 3 being blocked, the supporting frame 4 is disposed at the rear side of the sensing device 3, i.e. the side facing the backward direction of the machine body 1 is the rear side of the sensing device 3. As shown in fig. 3 and 4, the sensing device 3 (the structure indicated by the broken line circle in fig. 3) has a sensing field angle FOV; the support frame 4 comprises two support columns 41, the two support columns 41 are located outside the FOV, and the two support columns 41 are spaced apart from each other.

The interaction device in this embodiment may include, but is not limited to, at least one of the following: the device comprises a key assembly, a touch screen assembly and a voice interaction device. The key assembly can be an entity key assembly, namely, a component which is pressed by a user to generate a corresponding pressing signal; the touch key assembly can also be a touch key assembly, namely an assembly which is touched (without pressing hard) by a user to generate a corresponding touch signal; the touch screen can also be a virtual key assembly, such as a virtual key projected on the machine body in a projection mode, and an assembly generating a corresponding operation signal due to shielding caused by pressing or touching by a user; and the like, which is not limited by the present embodiment.

In a specific implementable technical solution, the key assembly is a touch key assembly. As shown in fig. 2, the touch key assembly includes: the touch panel 22, the back shell 24, the touch key circuit board 27 and the reflective layer 25. At least one touch key is displayed on the touch panel 22. The rear case 24 is coupled to the touch panel 22 to form a hollow cavity 28. A touch film (not shown) is disposed on an inner side surface of the touch panel 22, i.e., a surface of the touch panel 22 located in the hollow cavity 28. The touch key circuit board 27 is disposed in the hollow cavity 28 and has a first gap H with the touch panel₁. The reflective layer 25 is disposed on the inner side surface of the rear case 24 and faces the touch key circuit board 27. The light reflecting layer 25 reflects light emitted from the light emitting device on the touch key circuit board 27 to the touch panel 22, and then the light is reflected from the touch panel22 to illuminate the at least one touch key. The reflective layer 25 and the touch key circuit board 27 have a second gap H₂. The first gap H₁And the second gap H₂In relation to the uniformity of the light projected onto the touch panel 22, the first gap H can be determined according to the brightness requirement of the touch key, the shape and size of the touch key, the size of the touch key assembly, etc₁And the second gap H₂This embodiment is not particularly limited to this. For example, in one embodiment, the first gap H₁Any value between 3mm and 6mm can be selected, including 3mm and 6 mm; the second gap H₂Any value between 5mm and 8mm may be selected, including 5mm and 8 mm.

One or more touch keys may be presented on the touch panel 22. When the touch panel 22 has a plurality of touch keys, as shown in fig. 2, the touch key assembly further includes a light shielding layer 23; the light shielding layer 23 is disposed between the touch film (not shown) and the touch key circuit board 27; the light shielding layer 23 isolates light projected to each touch key.

Further, as shown in fig. 2, a key coating 21 is provided on an outer surface of the touch panel 22. Specifically, a groove is formed in the touch panel 22, and a key cover film 21 is embedded in the groove. In addition, the touch panel 22 is an opaque panel, or an opaque layer covering the entire inner side surface is provided on the inner side surface of the touch panel to shield components inside the touch panel. The inner side of the touch panel 22 may also be provided with an opaque layer covering the key touch area, and the opaque layer has a transparent area matching with the touch key pattern and/or text.

Still further, the interaction device may be further provided with an indicator light for indicating different working states of the cleaning robot. The indicating lamp can be a lamp strip consisting of a plurality of lamp beads, and can indicate that the cleaning robot is in different working states by displaying different colors and/or flashing frequencies. More specifically, as shown in fig. 5, an indicator light strip 29 is disposed around an edge of the key assembly (e.g., a touch key assembly). For example, the indicator light strip 29 displays green indicating that the cleaning robot is in a cleaning state; the indicator light strip 29 displays red to indicate that the cleaning robot is in a low-power state and needs to be charged; and so on.

Taking a cleaning robot as an example, as shown in fig. 1 and 3, the interaction device 2 is a key assembly, and an outer edge of the key assembly extends beyond a side elevation of the sensing device 3 to form a protective ledge of the sensing device 3. And the key assembly is a touch key assembly. The touch panel 22 of the touch key assembly is provided with a power key, a recharge key, a wifi key and three keys. The touch key assembly is further provided with an annular interactive lamp strip, as shown in fig. 5, the annular interactive lamp strip surrounds the edge of the touch panel of the touch key assembly for a circle. The touch key assembly includes: a touch panel 22, and a back case 24. The touch panel 22 is snapped into the rear housing 24 to form a closed hollow cavity 28, and then connected thereto by fasteners 26 (e.g., screws in fig. 2). Specifically, as shown in fig. 2, the orientation of the touch panel 22 is provided with an insertion portion on the inner side surface of the rear shell 24, the orientation of the rear shell 24 is provided with a protrusion on the inner side surface of the touch panel 22, the protrusion is provided with a slot, and a corresponding protruding position of the rear shell 24 is provided with a jack penetrating through the slot. The insertion portion of the touch panel 22 is inserted into the raised slot, and the fastening member 26 (e.g., a screw) is screwed into the threaded hole of the insertion portion from the insertion hole of the rear case 24, thereby completing the connection. Fig. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view, which only shows a connection structure of a group of insertion portions, protrusions, and screws, and actually, two, three, or more groups may be disposed on the touch key assembly, and the connection structure is determined according to an actual size of the touch key assembly, which is not limited in this embodiment.

The hollow cavity 28 is internally provided with the following components in sequence: the touch key circuit board 27, the shading layer 23, the touch control film. Due to the existence of the light shielding layer, the touch key circuit board 27 and the touch panel 22 form a first gap H₁. Referring to fig. 2, the end surface of the protrusion 241 of the rear case 24 serves to support the touch key circuit board 27, and the height of the protrusion 241 defines the touch key circuit board 27 and the touch key circuit board 27Second gaps H between the light-reflecting layers 25₁. After the insertion portion of the touch panel 22 is inserted into the protrusion of the rear case 24 and locked by a screw, the positions of the touch key circuit board 27, the light shielding layer 23, and the touch film supported by the end portion of the protrusion are fixed.

The touch film can be a transparent ITO touch film. Among them, ITO is an abbreviation of Indium Tin Oxides, which is an N-type oxide semiconductor, Indium Tin oxide, and an ITO thin film, i.e., an Indium Tin oxide semiconductor transparent conductive film, has excellent conductivity and transparency, and can cut off electron radiation, ultraviolet rays and far infrared rays harmful to a human body. The light shielding layer can be light shielding EVA (Ethylene Vinyl Acetate Copolymer, Chinese culture name) layer.

A groove is further formed on the outer end surface (i.e., the end surface exposed outside) of the touch panel 22, and a key cover film 21 is embedded in the groove. Further, the bottom of the key assembly, such as the bottom of the rear case 24 of the touch key assembly (i.e. the end surface of the side facing away from the touch panel), is provided with a mounting groove 242 (as shown in fig. 5) adapted to the top of the sensing device 3, and the top of the sensing device 3 is located in the mounting groove 242. In the structure shown in fig. 5, the key assembly is supported by the supporting frame on the rear side, and the other end of the key assembly is suspended, so that the user can touch the key assembly lightly without any problem. But do not exclude the action that the user pressed down when touching, through setting up the assembly groove, sensing device 3's top is located the assembly groove, and the unsettled part of button subassembly has just so supported, can not have the unstable condition of rocking on time under the user. It can be seen that the structure of the assembly groove 242 makes the structure of the key assembly more stable.

The touch key assembly is selected to replace an entity key, and water can be prevented from entering the assembly for a robot which needs to work in a water environment or needs water to participate in cleaning. In addition, the touch key assembly is arranged above the sensing device, so that the operation of an operator is more convenient, and the recognition degree is higher.

The technical scheme provided by the application can be applied to cleaning robots and other types of equipment, such as cargo handling robots, distribution robots and the like, and can be collectively called as autonomous traveling equipment as follows. The robot corresponding to different functions may have different external shapes and internal functional components of the device body, and this embodiment is not particularly limited thereto. Specifically, the autonomous traveling apparatus includes: the device comprises a device body, a sensing device and an interaction assembly. Wherein the sensing means is for sensing an environmental parameter of an environment in which the autonomous travelling device is located; the interaction component is used for interacting with a user to generate a corresponding interaction instruction; the device body is used for making corresponding response according to the environment parameters and/or the interaction instructions. The sensing device is arranged on the equipment body, a protective cover used for protecting the sensing device is further arranged on the equipment body, and the interaction assembly is arranged on the protective cover.

Specifically, the interaction device in the cleaning robot may include the interaction component and the protection cover in this embodiment. That is, the protective cover in the present embodiment includes the following in the above-described embodiment: touch panel, backshell and support frame. The interaction assembly is arranged in a hollow cavity formed by the touch panel and the rear shell: the touch key circuit board comprises a reflecting layer, a touch key circuit board, a shading layer and a touch film. For related contents, reference is made to the contents above, which are not described herein again.

The technical solution provided by the embodiment of the present application is briefly described below with reference to some application scenarios.

Scene one

The user wants to turn on the indoor cleaning robot to work to clean the floor at home. Users can see the interaction devices on the top of the robot and above the laser radar without finding the on-off key back and forth like the old robot. The user can start the indoor cleaning robot by touching or pressing a switch key on the interactive device.

The user sitting at home watching television suddenly sees the interactive device's indicator light on top of the robot, above the lidar, as red. The user realizes that the robot is in a low-power working state at present, and the user stands up or touches a recharging key on the interaction device after the robot cleans an area near the user so as to enable the robot to travel to the base for charging.

Scene two

Robot designer need not consider that the mutual device sets up just not influence the problem of aesthetic property in which position of fuselage with the top of mutual device design at robot top, laser radar, also need not consider how make full use of fuselage inner space so that mutual device can set up the problem wherein, still need not consider the design of laser radar safety cover. Therefore, after the design of the interaction device is completed, the design of the interaction function and the laser radar protection function is completed by designers, the structure is simpler, and the appearance of the robot body is simpler.

Scene three

The cleaning robot provided by the embodiment can be a household cleaning robot or a commercial cleaning robot. The above scenario exemplifies the case of a home robot. In this scenario, a commercial cleaning robot will be taken as an example. The commercial cleaning robot may be a floor cleaning application in a mall, a bank, a hospital, an office building, a subway station, a hotel, etc.

For example, a sweeping and mopping integrated cleaning robot works in a shopping mall to clean the floor of the shopping mall. A staff of a department of cleaning in a market can start the cleaning robot by touching a starting control key which is arranged at the top of the robot and is positioned above a sensing device (such as a laser radar), and the started cleaning robot can move along a preset cleaning path and clean and mop the ground in the moving process. The cleaning robot has no need for following during cleaning.

The volume of a commercial cleaning robot is somewhat larger than that of a household cleaning robot. If the key is arranged to be more hidden for attractive appearance, the difficulty of searching the key for the user is increased invisibly; therefore, the interaction device (including the start control key, the recharge key, the wifi key and the like) is arranged above the sensing device of the commercial cleaning robot, and the using convenience effect is very obvious.

The user may be able to easily operate the interaction means at the top of the cleaning robot without bending over or bending over a substantial amount.

Finally, it should be noted that: the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present application, and not to limit the same; although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, it should be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that: the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments may still be modified, or some technical features may be equivalently replaced; and such modifications or substitutions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the corresponding technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application.

Claims

1. A cleaning robot, characterized by comprising:

2. A cleaning robot as claimed in claim 1, wherein the interaction device is provided on the body as a protective top cover for the sensing device;

the outer edge of the interaction device exceeds the side elevation of the sensing device to form a protective eave of the sensing device.

3. The cleaning robot of claim 1, further comprising a support frame;

the supporting frame is arranged on the machine body, and the interaction device is erected above the sensing device through the supporting frame;

the support frame is provided with a threading hole or a threading groove;

the interaction device is electrically connected with the control device on the machine body through the lead in the threading hole or the threading groove.

4. The cleaning robot of claim 3, wherein the support bracket is located at a rear side of the sensing device; wherein the content of the first and second substances,

one side facing the backward direction of the machine body is the rear side of the sensing device.

5. The cleaning robot of claim 4, wherein the sensing device has a sensing field angle;

the support frame comprises two support columns, the two support columns are located outside the sensing field angle, and the two support columns are arranged at intervals.

6. A cleaning robot as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the interaction means comprise at least one of: the device comprises a key assembly, a touch screen assembly and a voice interaction device.

7. The cleaning robot of claim 6, wherein the key assembly is a touch key assembly; wherein the touch key assembly includes:

the touch panel is used for displaying at least one touch key;

the rear shell is connected with the touch panel to form a hollow cavity;

the touch control film is arranged on the inner side surface of the touch panel;

the touch key circuit board is arranged in the hollow cavity and has a first gap with the touch panel;

the reflecting layer is arranged on the inner side surface of the rear shell and faces the touch key circuit board;

the light reflecting layer reflects light rays emitted by the light emitting device on the touch key circuit board to the touch panel, and the light rays are transmitted out of the light transmitting area of the touch panel to light the at least one touch key.

8. The cleaning robot as claimed in claim 7, wherein when the touch panel is provided with a plurality of touch keys, the touch key assembly further includes a light shielding layer;

the shading layer is arranged between the touch film and the touch key circuit board;

the light shielding layer isolates light projected to each touch key.

9. The cleaning robot as claimed in claim 8, wherein a key coating film is provided on the touch panel;

the inner side surface of the touch panel is provided with a light-tight layer covering the key touch area, and the light-tight layer is provided with a light-transmitting area matched with the touch key pattern and/or the characters.

10. An autonomous traveling apparatus, characterized by comprising:

the sensing device is arranged on the equipment body, a protective cover used for protecting the sensing device is further arranged on the equipment body, and the interaction assembly is arranged on the protective cover.