CN115670314A - Cleaning robot and method for backwashing mop - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of cleaning robots, in particular to a cleaning robot and a method for backwashing mops. The method comprises the following steps: controlling the cleaning robot to move forwards along a cleaning path in a cleaning area, and judging whether the current position of the cleaning robot meets a backwashing condition or not in the forward moving process; determining a first backwashing position on the sweeping path based on the current position if the current position of the cleaning robot meets the backwashing condition; controlling the cleaning robot to return from the first backwash position to the base station to backwash mops at the base station. According to the embodiment scheme of the invention, a proper backwashing position can be determined in the cleaning process of the cleaning robot, so that the walking distance of the cleaning robot returning to the base station is shortened as much as possible, and the cleaned area is prevented from being polluted as much as possible.

Description

Cleaning robot and method for backwashing mop

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of cleaning robots, in particular to a cleaning robot and a method for backwashing mops.

Background

At present, cleaning robots are more and more commonly applied, and the functions supported by the cleaning robots are more and more comprehensive, and particularly, part of the cleaning robots support the function of automatically backwashing mops. In particular, the cleaning robot can return to the base station from the cleaning position by itself for cleaning mops while cleaning the cleaning area. However, there is no solution in the related art as to how to determine a proper backwashing position during the cleaning process of the cleaning robot. If the backwash position is determined improperly, the cleaning robot may be returned to the base station for a relatively long distance or may contaminate an already-cleaned area. Therefore, how to determine an appropriate backwashing position becomes a problem to be solved when implementing the automatic backwashing function of the cleaning robot.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of the above, embodiments of the present invention provide a cleaning robot and a method for backwashing mops, which can determine a proper backwashing position during a cleaning process of the cleaning robot, so as to shorten a travel distance of the cleaning robot returning to a base station as much as possible and avoid contamination of an already cleaned area as much as possible.

In a first aspect, embodiments of the present invention provide a method for a cleaning robot to backwash a mop, comprising:

controlling the cleaning robot to move forwards along the cleaning path in the cleaning area, and judging whether the current position of the cleaning robot meets the backwashing condition or not in the forward moving process;

determining a first backwashing position on the sweeping path based on the current position if the current position of the cleaning robot meets the backwashing condition;

controlling the cleaning robot to return from the first backwash position to the base station to backwash mops at the base station.

Optionally, the current position of the cleaning robot satisfies a backwashing condition, including:

the walking time of the cleaning robot from the second backwashing position to the current position is longer than the preset time, and the current position of the cleaning robot meets the backwashing condition; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

the walking distance from the second backwashing position to the current position of the cleaning robot is greater than the preset distance, and the current position of the cleaning robot meets the backwashing condition; alternatively, the first and second liquid crystal display panels may be,

the cleaning robot travels from the second backwashing position to the position where the area of the cleaning area covered by the current position is larger than the first area, and the current position where the cleaning robot is located meets the backwashing condition; alternatively, the first and second liquid crystal display panels may be,

the cleaning area is divided into a plurality of sub-areas, and the cleaning robot travels to the boundary position of two adjacent sub-areas along the cleaning path, so that the current position of the cleaning robot meets the backwashing condition;

wherein the second backwashing position is the position for backwashing the mop last time.

Optionally, if the current position of the cleaning robot satisfies the backwashing condition, determining a first backwashing position on the sweeping path based on the current position includes:

if the current position of the cleaning robot meets the backwashing condition, determining a path to be traveled with a first length behind the current position;

and determining the first backwashing position on the path to be walked.

Optionally, determining the first backwashing position on the path to be traveled includes:

and determining the position on the path to be traveled, which is closest to the base station, as the first backwashing position.

Optionally, determining a position on the path to be traveled closest to the base station as the first backwashing position includes:

and if the path to be traveled contains a preset backwashing position, taking a position which is closest to the base station in the path between the current position and the preset backwashing position as the first backwashing position.

Optionally, the sweeping area is divided into a plurality of sub-areas; determining a first backwashing position on the sweeping path based on the current position if the current position of the cleaning robot satisfies the backwashing condition, including:

determining a first sub-area where the current position is located;

determining a sub-area which is adjacent to the first sub-area in position and is not cleaned from the plurality of sub-areas as a second sub-area;

determining the first backwashing position from the second subregion, or the boundary position of the first subregion and the second subregion.

Optionally, the cleaning path is a zigzag path, and the cleaning direction of the zigzag path is determined according to the position of the base station.

Optionally, determining the zigzag path in the sweeping area includes:

determining a side edge, which is closest to the base station, among all side edges included in the cleaning area as a reference edge;

determining the arcuate path in the cleaning area based on the reference edge, wherein the arcuate path includes an arcuate long edge that is perpendicular to the reference edge.

Optionally, the zigzag path includes preset backwashing positions, and an area of a cleaning region included between two adjacent preset backwashing positions is larger than a second area.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a cleaning robot, including:

a traveling unit for controlling the cleaning robot to travel along the cleaning path in the cleaning region;

the processing unit is used for judging whether the current position of the cleaning robot meets the backwashing condition or not in the forward process of the cleaning robot; determining a first backwashing position on the sweeping path based on the current position if the current position of the cleaning robot meets the backwashing condition;

the walking unit is also used for controlling the cleaning robot to return to the base station from the first backwashing position so as to backwash the mops at the base station.

In the embodiment of the invention, when the cleaning robot is determined to meet the backwashing condition, the cleaning robot does not directly return to the base station to backwash the mop, but determines a proper backwashing position based on the current position of the cleaning robot, and controls the cleaning robot to return to the base station from the backwashing position. According to the embodiment of the invention, the return path of the cleaning robot to the base station can be shortened as much as possible and the cleaned area can be prevented from being polluted as much as possible by selecting the backwashing position when the cleaning robot is determined to meet the backwashing condition.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings 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 invention, and those skilled in the art can also obtain other drawings according to the drawings without creative efforts.

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a system supporting automatic robot backwashing according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a base station according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of a cleaning robot according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4-a is a schematic view of a cleaning path provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4-b is a schematic view of a cleaning path provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5-a is a schematic view of a cleaning path provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5-b is a schematic view of a cleaning path provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6-a is a schematic view of a cleaning path according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6-b is a schematic view of a cleaning path according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of a cleaning path according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a schematic view of a cleaning path provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a flow chart of a method for a cleaning robot to backwash mops according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a schematic view of a cleaning path provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of a cleaning robot according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of another cleaning robot according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are some, but not all, embodiments of the present invention. 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 invention.

Referring to fig. 1, a schematic structural diagram of a system supporting automatic robot backwashing according to an embodiment of the present invention is provided. As shown in fig. 1, the system includes: a base station 100 and a cleaning robot 200. The base station 100 is usually installed at a fixed position in the cleaning area. The cleaning robot 200 can clean the cleaning area while traveling from the base station 100. When the cleaning robot 200 needs to backwash the mops, the cleaning robot 200 may return to the base station 100.

Referring to fig. 2, a schematic structural diagram of a base station 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. As shown in fig. 2, the base station 100 includes a base 101, and a backwashing space 102 is provided on the base 101. Optionally, a sensing element is provided on the base 101, and the sensing element can guide the cleaning robot 200 into the backwashing space 102 of the base 101.

Referring to fig. 3, a schematic structural diagram of a cleaning robot 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention is provided. As shown in fig. 3, the cleaning robot 200 includes a driving wheel 201, a cleaning part, a sensing element, and an environmental information collecting element 202. Wherein the driving wheels 201 are used for driving the cleaning robot 200 to travel. The cleaning member is used to clean the cleaning area during the travel of the cleaning robot 200. Alternatively, the cleaning part may include a wiper, by which the cleaning robot 200 wipes the cleaning region during the traveling. The sensing elements are used for sensing inductive elements on the base station 100. The environment information collecting element 202 is used for collecting environment information, and the cleaning robot 200 can determine the current position according to the environment information.

In some embodiments, the cleaning robot 200 may support multiple modes such as a wall-following mode and a backwash mode. Wherein, in the wall-following mode, the cleaning robot 200 can walk along the edge of the cleaning region. The cleaning robot 200 may collect environmental information through the environmental information collecting element 202 while the cleaning robot 200 walks along the edge of the cleaning area. Thereafter, it is possible to determine the position of the cleaning robot 200 from the environmental information and construct a boundary map of the cleaning area from the position of the cleaning robot 200. Alternatively, the position of the base station 100 may be marked on a boundary map of the cleaning area, and the cleaning robot 200 may plan a walking path returning to the base station 100 according to the position of the base station 100.

In some embodiments, after determining the boundary map of the cleaning area, a cleaning path for the cleaning area may be generated. In generating the cleaning route of the cleaning area, the shape and area of the cleaning area, the position of the base station 100, and the like may be considered in combination. In some embodiments, when the sweeping area is regular in shape but large in area, the sweeping area may be divided into a plurality of sub-areas and a sweeping path for each sub-area is generated. In some embodiments, the sweeping area is irregular, and the sweeping area may be divided into a plurality of sub-areas with regular shapes, and then the sweeping path of each sub-area is determined. In some embodiments, the cleaning area includes a plurality of rooms, and the cleaning area may be divided into a plurality of sub-areas according to the room distribution, and then the cleaning path of each sub-area is determined.

After determining the cleaning path of the cleaning area, the cleaning robot 200 may clean the cleaning area while traveling along the cleaning path. In the backwashing mode, when the cleaning robot 200 travels to a proper backwashing position, the cleaning robot 200 may return to the base station 100 from the backwashing position. In the return path, when the cleaning robot 200 senses the sensing element on the base station 100 through the sensing element, the cleaning robot 200 may turn around, go backward so that the wiper at the rear of the cleaning robot 200 enters the backwashing space 102 of the base station 100.

In some embodiments, the sweeping path may be a zig-zag path. The method for generating the zigzag path may include: among the sides included in the cleaning area, the side located closest to the base station 100 is determined as a reference side. Optionally, the location closest to the base station 100 may include: the center position of the side is closest to the straight line distance of the base station 100, or the distance from the center position of the side to the base station 100. Then, a zigzag path including a zigzag long side may be determined in the cleaning region based on the reference side, and the zigzag long side may be perpendicular to the reference side, or may be parallel to the reference side according to actual circumstances. It should be noted that, when the cleaning area includes a plurality of sub-areas, the zigzag path of each sub-area can be determined in this manner. The specific process of determining the zigzag path will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Referring to fig. 4-a and 4-b, the sweep area is rectangular. The base station 100 is located on the right side of the rectangular cleaning area. According to the calculation, the center position of the right side is closest to the base station 100, and the right side is the reference side. Thereafter, a bow-shaped path may then be determined at the cleaning zone based on the reference edge. As shown in fig. 4-a, the arcuate path includes an arcuate long edge that is perpendicular to the reference edge. In this sweeping area, if the cleaning robot 200 needs to backwash twice, 10A and 10B may be regarded as two backwashing positions. When the cleaning robot 200 travels to the backwashing positions 10A and 10B, it may return to the base station 100 to wash the mops.

In addition to determining the arcuate path in the manner of fig. 4-a, the arcuate path may also be determined in the cleaning zone in the manner of fig. 4-b. As shown in fig. 4-b, the long arcuate side of the arcuate path is parallel to the reference side. In this sweeping area, if the cleaning robot 200 needs to backwash twice, 10C and 10D may be taken as two backwashing positions. When the cleaning robot 200 travels to the backwashing positions 10C and 10D, it may return to the base station 100 to wash the mops.

In the zigzag paths shown in fig. 4-a and 4-B, the sum of the paths traveled from 10A and 10B back to the base station 100 is smaller than the sum of the paths traveled from 10C and 10D back to the base station 100. Therefore, when the arcuate path is determined in the cleaning region, the long arcuate side of the arcuate path can be made perpendicular to the reference side.

In some embodiments, referring to fig. 5-a and 5-b, the sweep area is rectangular. The base station 100 is located at the lower side of the rectangular cleaning area. According to the calculation, the center position of the lower side is closest to the base station 100, and the lower side is the reference side. Thereafter, a bow-shaped path may then be determined at the cleaning zone based on the reference edge. As shown in fig. 5-a, the arcuate path includes an arcuate long side that is parallel to the reference side. In this sweeping area, if the cleaning robot 200 needs to backwash twice, 20A and 20B may be regarded as two backwashing positions. When the cleaning robot 200 travels to the backwashing positions 20A and 20B, it can return to the base station 100 to wash the mops.

In addition to determining the arcuate path in the manner of fig. 5-a, the arcuate path may be determined in the cleaning zone in the manner of fig. 5-b. As shown in fig. 5-b, the long arcuate side of the arcuate path is perpendicular to the reference side. In this sweeping area, if the cleaning robot 200 needs to backwash twice, 20C and 20D may be regarded as two backwashing positions. When the cleaning robot 200 travels to the backwashing positions 20C and 20D, it may return to the base station 100 to wash the mops.

In the zigzag paths shown in fig. 5-a and 5-B, the sum of the paths traveled from 20A and 20B back to the base station 100 is smaller than the sum of the paths traveled from 20C and 20D back to the base station 100. Therefore, when the arcuate path is determined in the cleaning region, the arcuate long side of the arcuate path can be made perpendicular to the reference side.

In some embodiments, referring to fig. 6-a and 6-b, the sweep area is rectangular. The base station 100 is located at the lower side of the rectangular cleaning area. According to the calculation, although the base station 100 is located on the lower side of the rectangular area, the center position of the right side of the rectangular area is closest to the base station 100, and the right side can be determined as the reference side. Thereafter, a bow-shaped path may then be determined at the cleaning area based on the reference edge. As shown in fig. 6-a, the arcuate path includes an arcuate long edge that is perpendicular to the reference edge. In this sweeping area, if the cleaning robot 200 needs to backwash twice, 30A and 30B may be regarded as two backwashing positions. When the cleaning robot 200 travels to the backwashing positions 30A and 30B, it can return to the base station 100 to wash the mops.

In addition to determining the arcuate path in the manner of fig. 6-a, the arcuate path may also be determined in the cleaning zone in the manner of fig. 6-b. As shown in fig. 6-b, the long arcuate side of the arcuate path is parallel to the reference side. In this sweeping area, if the cleaning robot 200 needs to backwash twice, 30C and 30D may be regarded as two backwashing positions. When the cleaning robot 200 travels to the backwashing positions 30C and 30D, it may return to the base station 100 to wash the mops.

In the zigzag paths shown in fig. 6-a and 6-B, the sum of the paths traveled from 30A and 30B back to the base station 100 is smaller than the sum of the paths traveled from 30C and 30D back to the base station 100. Therefore, when the arcuate path is determined in the cleaning region, the arcuate long side of the arcuate path can be made perpendicular to the reference side.

As shown in fig. 7, the cleaning area is divided into a sub-area 11 and a sub-area 12 according to the room distribution. The base station 100 is located on the lower side of the sub-area 11. According to the calculation, if the center position of the lower side of the sub-area 11 is closest to the base station 100, the lower side of the sub-area 11 may be determined as the reference side of the sub-area 11. Thereafter, a zigzag path may then be determined at the sub-region 11 based on the reference edge. As shown in fig. 7, the zigzag path in the sub-region 11 includes a zigzag long side, which is perpendicular to the reference side. Further, the base station 100 is not included in the sub area 12, and although the straight line distance from the upper side of the sub area 12 to the base station 100 is the shortest, the walking distance from the center position of the right side of the sub area 12 to the base station 100 is the shortest, and therefore the right side of the sub area 12 can be determined as the reference side. As shown in fig. 7, the arcuate path in the sub-region 12 includes an arcuate long side that is perpendicular to the reference side of the sub-region.

As shown in fig. 7, if the cleaning robot 200 needs to backwash twice in the sub area 11, 20M and 20N in the sub area 11 may be taken as two backwash positions. When the cleaning robot 200 travels to the backwashing positions 20M and 20N, it may return to the base station 100 to wash the mops. As shown in fig. 7, if the cleaning robot 200 needs to backwash twice in the sub area 12, 20E and 20F in the sub area 12 may be taken as two backwash positions. When the cleaning robot 200 travels to the backwashing positions 20E and 20F, it may return to the base station 100 to wash the mops.

As shown in fig. 8, if the cleaning region is rectangular and has a large area, the cleaning region may be divided into a sub-region 13 and a sub-region 14, and then the travel paths of the sub-region 13 and the sub-region 14 may be determined. As shown in fig. 8, when the base station 100 is located on the lower side of the entire cleaning area and the lower sides of the sub-areas 13 and 14 are closest to the base station 100, the lower sides of the sub-areas 13 and 14 may be used as reference sides, respectively. The arcuate long sides of the arcuate paths of both sub-regions 13 and 14 are perpendicular to the reference side.

In some embodiments, after the arcuate path is determined in the cleaning area, the backwashing positions may also be determined on the arcuate path in advance, as shown in fig. 4-a to 7 as 10A, 10B, 20A, 20B, 30A, 30B, 30C, 30D, 20M, and 20N. In some embodiments, after the arcuate path is determined for the cleaning area, the backwash position may also be dynamically determined during cleaning by the cleaning robot 200 along the arcuate path. Of course, in some embodiments, the actual backwashing position may be dynamically determined according to the actual position of the cleaning robot 200 during the cleaning process based on the preset backwashing position. Hereinafter, a method for backwashing mops by the cleaning robot 200 according to the embodiment of the present invention, and particularly, a flow for determining a backwashing position of the cleaning robot 200 will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Referring to fig. 9, a flow chart of a method for a cleaning robot 200 to backwash mops according to an embodiment of the present invention is provided. The execution subject of the method may be, among others, a terminal device communicatively connected to the cleaning robot 200, a robot server, or a control element of the cleaning robot 200 itself. As shown in fig. 9, the processing steps of the method include:

501, controlling the cleaning robot 200 to move forward along the cleaning path in the cleaning area, and judging whether the current position of the cleaning robot 200 meets the backwashing condition in the forward process.

As shown in fig. 4-a to 8, the cleaning path determined in the cleaning region may be a zigzag path. The cleaning robot 200 may travel along a zigzag path in the cleaning area.

In some embodiments, determining whether the current position where the cleaning robot 200 is located satisfies the backwashing condition includes: it is judged whether or not the traveling time of the cleaning robot 200 traveling from the position where the mop was last backwashed (referred to as a second backwashing position) to the current position is greater than the preset time, and if so, the current position where the cleaning robot 200 is located satisfies the backwashing condition. Or, whether the walking distance of the cleaning robot 200 from the second backwashing position to the current position is greater than the preset distance, if so, the current position where the cleaning robot 200 is located satisfies the backwashing condition. Or, if the cleaning area covered by the cleaning robot 200 traveling from the second backwashing position to the current position is larger than the first area, the current position of the cleaning robot 200 satisfies the backwashing condition. Or, the cleaning area is divided into a plurality of sub-areas, and when the cleaning robot 200 travels to the boundary position of two adjacent sub-areas along the cleaning path, it is determined that the current position where the cleaning robot 200 is located satisfies the backwashing condition. As shown in fig. 8, when the cleaning robot 200 walks to the 40A position, it is determined that it walks to the boundary positions of the sub-areas 13 and 14, and at this time, it may be determined that the current position where the cleaning robot 200 is located satisfies the backwashing condition.

502, if the current position where the cleaning robot 200 is located satisfies the backwashing condition, a first backwashing position is determined on the sweeping path based on the current position.

In some embodiments, when the current position where the cleaning robot 200 is located satisfies the backwashing condition, a first length of the path to be traveled after the current position may be determined, and a first backwashing position may be determined from the path to be traveled. Alternatively, if a plurality of zigzag paths are included in the first length range after the current position, the path to be backwashed is determined from the plurality of zigzag paths. Alternatively, the position closest to the base station 100 on the path to be traveled may be determined as the first backwashing position.

In some embodiments, if the path to be traveled includes the preset backwashing position, the position closest to the base station 100 may be determined from the current position and the path between the preset backwashing position, and the determined position closest to the base station 100 is used as the first backwashing position.

It should be noted that the position on the path to be traveled closest to the base station 100 may be a straight line closest to the base station 100, or may also be a position on the path to be traveled closest to the base station 100.

503 controlling the cleaning robot 200 to return from said first backwash position to the base station 100 for backwashing mops at said base station 100.

In some embodiments, the first backwashing position is the current position of the cleaning robot 200, and the cleaning robot 200 is directly controlled to return to the base station 100 from the current position. In some embodiments, the first backwashing position is not the current position of the cleaning robot 200, and the cleaning robot 200 is controlled to continue sweeping from the current position to the first backwashing position and directly return to the base station 100 from the first backwashing position.

As shown in fig. 10, it is determined that the backwashing condition is satisfied on the assumption that the cleaning robot 200 travels along the zigzag path to the a position. Determining a path to be traveled with a first length on the zigzag path by taking the position A as a starting point. And according to the calculation, the position A on the path to be traveled is closest to the base station 100, and the cleaning robot 200 directly returns to the base station 100 from the position A. For another example, when the cleaning robot 200 travels to the B position, it is determined that the backwashing condition is satisfied. Determining a path to be traveled with a first length on the zigzag path by taking the position B as a starting point. The belt travel path includes a preset backwash position C. And the preset backwashing position C may be determined as the first backwashing position according to the calculation that the preset backwashing position C is closer to the base station 100. Thereafter, the cleaning robot 200 is controlled to continue cleaning from the B position to the C position, and returns to the base station 100 from the C position.

In some embodiments, the cleaning area is divided into a plurality of sub-areas, and when the cleaning robot 200 travels along the cleaning path to the boundary position of two adjacent sub-areas, it is determined that the current position where the cleaning robot 200 is located satisfies the backwashing condition. At this time, a first sub-area in which the cleaning robot 200 is currently located may be determined. And determining a sub-area which is adjacent to the first sub-area in position and is not cleaned from the plurality of sub-areas as a second sub-area. Thereafter, the first backwashing position may be determined from the second sub-zone, or the boundary position of the first sub-zone and the second sub-zone.

As shown in fig. 8, when the cleaning robot 200 walks to the 40A position, it is determined that it walks to the boundary positions of the sub-areas 13 and 14, and at this time, it may be determined that the current position where the cleaning robot 200 is located satisfies the backwashing condition. Thereafter, if it is determined that the sub-zone 14 is positioned adjacent to the sub-zone 13 and is not swept, the first backwashing position may be determined from the sub-zone 14, or, alternatively, the boundary position of the sub-zone 13 and the sub-zone 14. For example, the 40B position in the sub-zone 14 is determined as the first backwash position.

Based on the embodiment of the present invention, when it is determined that the cleaning robot 200 satisfies the backwashing condition, it does not directly return to the base station 100 to backwash the mop, but determines an appropriate backwashing position based on the current position of the cleaning robot 200, and controls the cleaning robot 200 to return to the base station 100 from the backwashing position. According to the scheme of the embodiment of the invention, the return path of the cleaning robot 200 to the base station 100 can be shortened as much as possible and the cleaned area can be prevented from being polluted as much as possible by selecting the backwashing position based on the current position.

The embodiment of the invention also provides a cleaning robot corresponding to the method for backwashing the mop by the cleaning robot. As shown in fig. 11, the cleaning robot includes: a walking unit 601 and a processing unit 602. The walking unit 601 is used for controlling the cleaning robot to move along the cleaning path in the cleaning area. The processing unit 602 is configured to determine whether the current position of the cleaning robot meets a backwashing condition in the forward moving process of the cleaning robot; determining a first backwashing position on the sweeping path based on the current position if the current position of the cleaning robot satisfies the backwashing condition. The walking unit 601 is further adapted to control the cleaning robot to return from the first backwashing position to the base station for backwashing mops at the base station.

In some embodiments, the cleaning robot further comprises: the driving wheel, the cleaning component and the environmental information collecting element can be referred to the description of fig. 3, and are not described herein again.

The cleaning robot according to the embodiment of the present invention may perform the method according to the embodiment shown in fig. 4 to 10. For parts of the present embodiment not described in detail, reference may be made to the related description of the embodiments shown in fig. 4 to 10. The implementation process and technical effect of the technical solution refer to the descriptions in the embodiments shown in fig. 4 to fig. 10, which are not described again here.

Fig. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of a cleaning robot according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 12, the cleaning robot 200 includes: a processor 701, a memory 702, and a computer program stored in said memory 702 and executable on said processor 701. The processor 701, when executing the computer program, implements the steps in the above method embodiments, such as steps 101 to 103 shown in fig. 9. Alternatively, the processor 701 implements the functions of the control elements described above when executing the computer program.

Illustratively, the computer program may be partitioned into one or more modules/units that are stored in the memory 702 and executed by the processor 701 to accomplish the present application. The one or more modules/units may be a series of computer program instruction segments capable of performing specific functions, which are used to describe the execution process of the computer program in the cleaning robot 200.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that fig. 12 is merely an example of the cleaning robot 200 and is not intended to limit the cleaning robot 200 and may include more or fewer components than shown, or some components may be combined, or different components, e.g., the cleaning robot 200 may also include input output devices, network access devices, buses, etc.

The Processor 701 may be a Central Processing Unit (CPU), other general purpose Processor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or other Programmable logic device, discrete Gate or transistor logic device, discrete hardware component, or the like. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor may be any conventional processor or the like.

The storage 702 may be an internal storage unit of the cleaning robot 200, such as a hard disk or a memory of the cleaning robot 200. The memory 702 may also be an external storage device of the cleaning robot 200, such as a plug-in hard disk, a Smart Media Card (SMC), a Secure Digital (SD) Card, a Flash memory Card (Flash Card), or the like provided on the cleaning robot 200. Further, the memory 702 may also include both an internal storage unit and an external storage device of the cleaning robot 200. The memory 702 is used to store the computer program and other programs and data required by the cleaning robot 200. The memory 702 may also be used to temporarily store data that has been output or is to be output.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that, for convenience and brevity of description, only the above-mentioned division of the functional units and modules is illustrated, and in practical applications, the above-mentioned function distribution may be performed by different functional units and modules according to needs, that is, the internal structure of the apparatus is divided into different functional units or modules to perform all or part of the above-mentioned functions. Each functional unit and module in the embodiments may be integrated in one processing unit, or each unit may exist alone physically, or two or more units are integrated in one unit, and the integrated unit may be implemented in a form of hardware, or in a form of software functional unit. In addition, specific names of the functional units and modules are only for convenience of distinguishing from each other, and are not used for limiting the protection scope of the present application. The specific working processes of the units and modules in the system may refer to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and are not described herein again.

In the above embodiments, the description of each embodiment has its own emphasis, and reference may be made to the related description of other embodiments for parts that are not described or recited in any embodiment.

In the embodiments of the present invention, "at least one" means one or more, "a plurality" means two or more. "and/or" describes the association relationship of the associated objects, and means that there may be three relationships, for example, a and/or B, and may mean that a exists alone, a and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. Wherein A and B can be singular or plural. The character "/" generally indicates that the former and latter associated objects are in an "or" relationship. "at least one of the following" and similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of singular or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, and c may represent: a, b, c, a-b, a-c, b-c, or a-b-c, wherein a, b, c may be single or multiple.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the various elements and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of electronic hardware. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the implementation. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present invention.

It is clear to those skilled in the art that, for convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the above-described systems, apparatuses and units may refer to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and are not described herein again.

In several embodiments provided by the present invention, any function, if implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as a stand-alone product, may be stored in a computer readable storage medium. Based on such understanding, the technical solution of the present invention may be embodied in the form of a software product, which is stored in a storage medium and includes instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device) to execute all or part of the steps of the method according to the embodiments of the present invention. And the aforementioned storage medium includes: various media capable of storing program codes, such as a usb disk, a removable hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a Random Access Memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

The above description is only an embodiment of the present invention, and any person skilled in the art can easily conceive of changes or substitutions within the technical scope of the present invention, and all the changes or substitutions should be covered within the protection scope of the present invention. The protection scope of the present invention shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims (10)

1. A method for a cleaning robot to backwash mops, characterized by comprising:

controlling the cleaning robot to move forwards along a cleaning path in a cleaning area, and judging whether the current position of the cleaning robot meets a backwashing condition or not in the forward moving process;

determining a first backwashing position on the sweeping path based on the current position if the current position of the cleaning robot meets the backwashing condition;

controlling the cleaning robot to return from the first backwash position to the base station to backwash the mops at the base station.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the cleaning robot is located at a current position satisfying a backwashing condition, including:

when the walking time of the cleaning robot walking from the second backwashing position to the current position is longer than the preset time, the current position of the cleaning robot meets the backwashing condition; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

the walking distance from the second backwashing position to the current position of the cleaning robot is greater than the preset distance, and the current position of the cleaning robot meets the backwashing condition; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

the cleaning robot travels from the second backwashing position to the position where the area of the cleaning area covered by the current position is larger than the first area, and the current position where the cleaning robot is located meets the backwashing condition; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

the cleaning area is divided into a plurality of sub-areas, and the cleaning robot travels to the boundary position of two adjacent sub-areas along the cleaning path, so that the current position of the cleaning robot meets the backwashing condition;

wherein the second backwashing position is the position for backwashing the mop last time.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein determining a first backwash location on the sweeping path based on the current location if the current location at which the cleaning robot is located satisfies the backwash condition comprises:

if the current position of the cleaning robot meets the backwashing condition, determining a path to be traveled with a first length behind the current position;

and determining the first backwashing position on the path to be walked.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein determining the first backwash location on the path to be traveled comprises:

and determining the position on the path to be traveled, which is closest to the base station, as the first backwashing position.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein determining the position on the path to be traveled closest to the base station as the first backwashing position comprises:

and if the path to be traveled contains a preset backwashing position, taking a position which is closest to the base station in the path between the current position and the preset backwashing position as the first backwashing position.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the sweep area is divided into a plurality of sub-areas; determining a first backwashing position on the sweeping path based on the current position if the current position of the cleaning robot satisfies the backwashing condition, including:

determining a first sub-area where the current position is located;

determining a sub-area which is adjacent to the first sub-area in position and is not cleaned from the plurality of sub-areas as a second sub-area;

determining the first backwashing position from the second subregion, or the boundary position of the first subregion and the second subregion.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the cleaning path is a zigzag path, and a cleaning direction of the zigzag path is determined according to a position of the base station.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein determining the arcuate path in a sweeping area comprises:

determining a side edge, which is closest to the base station, among the side edges included in the cleaning area as a reference edge;

determining the arcuate path in the cleaning region based on the reference edge, wherein the arcuate path includes an arcuate long edge that is perpendicular to the reference edge.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the arcuate path includes predetermined backwash locations, and the sweep area between two adjacent predetermined backwash locations is larger than the second area.

10. A cleaning robot, characterized by comprising:

the cleaning robot comprises a walking unit, a cleaning unit and a control unit, wherein the walking unit is used for controlling the cleaning robot to move forwards along a cleaning path in a cleaning area;

the processing unit is used for judging whether the current position of the cleaning robot meets the backwashing condition or not in the forward process of the cleaning robot; determining a first backwashing position on the sweeping path based on the current position if the current position of the cleaning robot meets the backwashing condition;

the walking unit is also used for controlling the cleaning robot to return to the base station from the first backwashing position so as to backwash the mops at the base station.

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