CN212241020U

CN212241020U - Autonomous mobile device

Info

Publication number: CN212241020U
Application number: CN202020812770.7U
Authority: CN
Inventors: 邢兴国; 张一茗; 陈震
Original assignee: Qfeeltech Beijing Co Ltd
Current assignee: Qfeeltech Beijing Co Ltd
Priority date: 2020-05-15
Filing date: 2020-05-15
Publication date: 2020-12-29
Anticipated expiration: 2030-05-15

Abstract

The utility model provides an autonomic mobile device, include: the sensor group, the bulge, the motion unit and the controller are arranged on the body; the sensor group is electrically connected with the controller and comprises at least one first sensor, the detection end surface of the first sensor faces upwards and is used for detecting whether an obstacle exists within a preset distance from the detection end to the position above the autonomous mobile equipment; the bulge is higher than the upper end surface of the body, and the first sensor is positioned in front of the bulge along the forward running direction of the autonomous mobile equipment; the motion unit is electrically connected with the controller, and the controller controls the motion unit to drive the autonomous mobile equipment to advance or carry out avoidance operation according to signals sent by the sensor group. The utility model discloses can detect the lower part space of sky type barrier down, make the sky type barrier down of autonomous mobile device perception early, avoid being blocked or stranded by the sky type barrier down.

Description

Autonomous mobile device

Technical Field

The utility model relates to an intelligence house technical field especially relates to an autonomic mobile device.

Background

Along with the improvement of science and technology and the improvement of living standard, artificial intelligent autonomous mobile equipment with different functions increasingly enters families of people, and the life of people is more comfortable and convenient.

The autonomous mobile device refers to an intelligent mobile device that autonomously performs a preset task within a set area, such as a cleaning robot, a companion type mobile robot, and the like. Most autonomous mobile devices need to move autonomously within a work space (e.g., within a user's house) and determine obstacles and passable areas based on different types of sensors, avoiding obstacles and working within passable areas. For example, a front obstacle (such as a wall, a refrigerator, a floor cabinet, etc.) is sensed by a collision sensor through frontal collision, and an obstacle (such as a wall) in front or at a short distance to the side is sensed by a proximity sensor. The autonomous mobile device can take avoidance or escaping actions to avoid the obstacles according to the information of the sensor.

However, it is difficult for the existing autonomous moving apparatus, especially an autonomous moving apparatus having a significant protrusion on the upper surface to avoid a hollow obstacle having a certain space on the lower portion, because the hollow obstacle is located above the autonomous moving apparatus when the autonomous moving apparatus enters the lower portion of the hollow obstacle, and for the autonomous moving apparatus which can only sense a front or side obstacle, the protrusion is easily caught on the upper obstacle when the autonomous moving apparatus enters the lower portion space, which often causes the autonomous moving apparatus to be caught or trapped, and easily damages the sensor of the autonomous moving apparatus, and damages the wall or furniture where the autonomous moving apparatus collides.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

The utility model provides an autonomous mobile device, its lower part space that can detect empty type barrier down makes empty type barrier under autonomous mobile device perception early, avoids being blocked or stranded by empty type barrier down.

The utility model provides an autonomic mobile device, include: the sensor group, the bulge, the motion unit and the controller are arranged on the body;

the sensor group is electrically connected with the controller and comprises at least one first sensor, the detection end surface of the first sensor faces upwards and is used for detecting whether an obstacle exists within a preset distance from the detection end to the position above the autonomous mobile equipment;

the bulge is higher than the upper end surface of the body, and the first sensor is positioned in front of the bulge along the forward running direction of the autonomous mobile equipment;

the motion unit is electrically connected with the controller, and the controller controls the motion unit to drive the autonomous mobile equipment to advance or carry out avoidance operation according to signals sent by the sensor group.

In one possible implementation, the first sensor may be tilted towards a side of the body relative to the body.

In one possible implementation, the first sensor is arranged on the upper surface of the body; be equipped with first mounting groove at the body upper surface, first sensor is located first mounting groove, and the sense terminal of first sensor is less than the up end of bulge.

In one possible implementation manner, when the number of the detection ends of the first sensor included in the sensor group is plural, the plural detection ends are arranged in a direction perpendicular to the forward running direction.

In a possible implementation manner, the motion unit is electrically connected with the controller, and the motion unit is used for driving the body to move or stop.

In a possible implementation, the bulge is radar range finder, and the body upper surface is equipped with the second mounting groove, and the body is still including setting up the lifting unit in the second mounting groove, and lifting unit is connected with radar range finder to make radar range finder stretch out or withdraw in the second mounting groove by the second mounting groove in to the top.

In one possible implementation mode, the lifting assembly comprises a screw rod, a guide piece and a nut, the guide piece and the screw rod are arranged in the second mounting groove and extend along the depth direction of the second mounting groove, the radar range finder is connected with the guide piece in a sliding mode, and the nut is screwed on the outer side of the screw rod in a threaded mode and fixed on the radar range finder; the screw rod drives the nut to lift along the axial direction of the screw rod when rotating, so that the radar range finder enters and exits the second mounting groove along the guide piece under the driving of the nut.

In one possible implementation mode, the lifting assembly comprises a gear, a rack and a guide piece, the guide piece and the gear are both positioned in the second mounting groove and extend along the depth direction of the second mounting groove, the radar range finder is connected with the guide piece in a sliding mode, and the rack is fixed on the radar range finder; the rack is meshed with the gear and used for moving up and down along the length direction of the rack when the gear rotates, and the radar range finder is driven to enter and exit the second mounting groove along the guide piece.

In a possible implementation, the body further includes a position sensor located in the second mounting groove and configured to detect whether the radar range finder is located at a bottom of the second mounting groove.

In one possible implementation, the first sensor is an infrared pair tube or a time-of-flight ranging sensor.

The utility model discloses an independently mobile device includes: the sensor group, the bulge, the motion unit and the controller are arranged on the body; the sensor group is electrically connected with the controller and comprises at least one first sensor, the detection end surface of the first sensor faces upwards and is used for detecting whether an obstacle exists within a preset distance from the detection end to the position above the autonomous mobile equipment; the bulge is higher than the upper end face of the body, and the first sensor is positioned in front of the bulge in the forward running direction of the autonomous mobile equipment; the motion unit is electrically connected with the controller, and the controller controls the motion unit to drive the autonomous mobile equipment to advance or carry out avoidance operation according to signals sent by the sensor group. Through set up at least one first sensor on autonomic mobile device, the detection terminal surface of first sensor is to the top, can detect the lower part space of type barrier under, whether detect from the detection end promptly to the preset distance above autonomic mobile device in have the barrier, and first sensor is located the place ahead of bulge, makes autonomic mobile device just can perceive the barrier before the bulge gets into the lower part space of type barrier under, consequently can avoid autonomic mobile device to be blocked or stranded.

The structure of the present invention and other objects and advantages thereof will be more clearly understood from the following description of the preferred embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic operation diagram of an autonomous mobile device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram illustrating an autonomous moving apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention entering below an obstacle;

fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of an autonomous mobile device according to an embodiment of the present invention detecting an obstacle;

fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of an autonomous mobile device of another structure for detecting obstacles according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of an autonomous mobile device of yet another configuration for detecting obstacles according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of a detection situation of an autonomous mobile apparatus including a first sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of the autonomous mobile device of FIG. 6 and its projection of measurement range onto a first plane;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a measurement range shadow of the autonomous mobile device of FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a schematic view of expanding the measurement range by lowering the height of the first sensor;

FIG. 10 is a schematic view of expanding the measurement range by increasing the number of first sensors;

fig. 11 is a schematic diagram of a detection situation in an autonomous mobile apparatus including four first sensors according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12a is a schematic diagram of the autonomous mobile apparatus of FIG. 11 and its projection of the measurement range onto a first plane;

fig. 12b is a schematic diagram illustrating a detection situation when the first sensor of the autonomous mobile apparatus is an infrared pair transistor according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 13 is a schematic structural diagram of an autonomous mobile apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which a radar distance meter is located at an upper limit position;

fig. 14 is a schematic structural diagram of an autonomous mobile apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which a radar range finder is located at a lower limit position;

fig. 15 is a schematic structural diagram of another example of the autonomous mobile apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention when the radar distance meter is at the upper limit position;

fig. 16 is a schematic structural diagram of another example when the radar distance measuring device is at the lower limit position in the autonomous moving apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Description of reference numerals:

100-an autonomous mobile device; 200-an obstacle; 201-lateral shielding; 202-longitudinal shade; 203-lower space of obstacle; 205-bar barrier; 10-a body; 20-a motion unit; 21-a driving wheel; 22-universal wheels; 30-a projection; 30' -the projected area of the projection; 31-radar rangefinder; 32-a second mounting groove; 33. 35-a position sensor; 34-a first mounting groove; 50-a first sensor; 51-detecting the emission line; 52-an infrared emitter; 53-an infrared receiver; 54-an overlap region; 521-a transmitting end; 531-a receiving end; 60-a first plane; 61-a lifting assembly; 62-screw rod; 621-screw rod fixing frame; 622. 651-drive assembly; 63. 67-a guide; 64-a nut; 65-gear; 66-rack.

Detailed Description

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying 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. Based on the embodiments in the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by a person skilled in the art without creative efforts belong to the protection scope of the present invention.

The autonomous mobile device refers to a smart mobile device that autonomously performs a preset task in a set area, and in the embodiment of the present application, the autonomous mobile device includes, but is not limited to, a cleaning robot (e.g., a smart sweeper, a smart floor wiper, a window wiping robot), a companion mobile robot (e.g., a smart electronic pet, a nurse robot), a service mobile robot (e.g., a hotel, a reception robot in a meeting place), an industrial patrol smart device (e.g., a power patrol robot, a smart forklift, etc.), a security robot (e.g., a home or commercial smart guard robot), and the like.

The hollow type obstacle is an object having a certain space at a lower portion thereof, such as a bed with legs, a table, a cabinet, a sofa, etc., furniture having a space at a lower portion thereof, which has a certain height so as to allow a part or all of an autonomous moving apparatus to enter or pass therethrough, and thus may be referred to as a hollow type obstacle.

The autonomous mobile equipment can detect the lower space of the lower hollow type barrier by arranging the first sensor with the upward detection end on the body, and the autonomous mobile equipment can sense the barrier before the bulge on the autonomous mobile equipment enters the lower space of the lower hollow type barrier, so that the autonomous mobile equipment can be prevented from being clamped or trapped.

Examples

Fig. 1 is an operation schematic diagram of the autonomous moving apparatus provided by an embodiment of the present invention, and fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a structure that the autonomous moving apparatus provided by an embodiment of the present invention enters below the obstacle.

Referring to fig. 1 and 2, the autonomous mobile apparatus 100 of the present embodiment includes: a body 10, and a protrusion 30, a sensor group, a moving unit 20, and a controller (not shown) provided on the body 10. The sensor group is electrically connected with the controller. The sensor group includes at least one first sensor 50, a detection end of the first sensor 50 faces upward S, and the first sensor 50 is configured to detect whether there is an obstacle 200 within a preset distance from a detection end thereof to the position above the autonomous mobile apparatus 100, or, in some examples, the first sensor 50 is further configured to detect a distance from a detection end thereof to the obstacle 200 above the autonomous mobile apparatus 100. The protrusion 30 is higher than the upper end surface of the body 10, and the first sensor 50 is located at the front F of the protrusion 30, wherein the front F is on the body 10 in the forward running direction F of the autonomous moving apparatus 100. The motion unit 20 is electrically connected to the controller, and the controller controls the motion unit 20 to drive the autonomous moving apparatus 100 to move forward or perform an avoidance operation according to the signal sent by the sensor group.

In the above solution, by providing the sensor group on the autonomous moving apparatus 100, that is, by providing at least one first sensor 50, the detection end of the first sensor 50 faces upward, the lower space 203 of the hollow obstacle can be detected, and the first sensor 50 is located in front of the protruding portion 30, so that the autonomous moving apparatus 100 can sense the obstacle before the protruding portion 30 enters the lower space 203 of the hollow obstacle, and therefore, the autonomous moving apparatus 100 can be prevented from being stuck or trapped, and meanwhile, the sensor of the autonomous moving apparatus can be prevented from being damaged, and the wall and the furniture can be prevented from being damaged.

The protrusion 30 may be a part of the body 10, or may be a separate component from the body 10. The upper end surface of the protrusion 30 is higher than the upper surface of the body 10 regardless of whether the protrusion 30 is of a unitary piece with the body 10 or a separate structure.

In some other examples, the autonomous moving apparatus 100 further includes a moving unit disposed on the body 10, and the moving unit 20 is electrically connected to the controller, and the controller may control the moving unit 20 to move or stop the body 10.

The obstacle 200, i.e. the above-mentioned hollow obstacle, generally includes a transverse shielding portion 201 and a longitudinal shielding portion 202, the longitudinal shielding portion 202 is supported on the ground, and the transverse shielding portion 201 is supported by the longitudinal shielding portion 202 and is spaced from the ground by a certain distance. The lower surface of the transverse shade 201, the longitudinal shade 202 and the ground together define a lower space 203 of the hollow-type barrier.

The upper surface of the main body 10 is generally a relatively flat structure so as to avoid various obstacles and reduce the possibility of being caught. However, sometimes a protruding structure is formed on the upper surface of the body 10 due to the need of structural design or in the case that some detecting member needs to protrude from the upper surface of the body 10 for normal operation. Exemplarily, sometimes a laser distance measuring instrument (LDS) such as the radar distance measuring instrument 31 is disposed on the upper surface of the body 10, and generally a second mounting groove is disposed on the upper surface of the body 10, and a part of the structure of the radar distance measuring instrument 31 is mounted in the second mounting groove, so that a part of the structure of the radar distance measuring instrument 31 protrudes out of the upper end surface of the body 10 to form the protruding portion 30. The height of the projection 30 may be a distance H0 between the upper end surface of the radar range finder 31 and the upper end surface of the body 10.

In the embodiment of the present application, in order to facilitate the detection of the detection end of the first sensor 50, the first sensor 50 may be disposed on the upper surface of the body 10. The first sensor 50 comprises a transmitter and a receiver, the transmitter is a detection end of the first sensor 50, the detection end is upward, namely the transmitter transmits a detection emission line 51 upward to detect an object above the detection end, as shown in fig. 2, the detection emission line 51 encounters the transverse shielding part 201, is reflected or scattered by the transverse shielding part and then enters a receiving end to be received by the receiver, so that whether an obstacle 200 exists in an upward preset distance of the detection end can be judged according to whether the reflected light is received, and the obstacle 200 is dangerous for the protruding part 30 of the autonomous moving equipment, so that the autonomous moving equipment is controlled to avoid as soon as possible; or detects the distance of the detection end to the obstacle 200 above the autonomous mobile apparatus 100 based on the received reflected light or scattered light. In some examples, the distance from the detection end to the obstacle 200 above the autonomous moving apparatus 100 is compared with a set threshold, and if the distance is within the set threshold, it is determined that the obstacle 200 above the autonomous moving apparatus 100 is dangerous for the protrusion 30 of the autonomous moving apparatus 100, and the autonomous moving apparatus is controlled to perform the avoidance operation early.

It is understood that the position of the first sensor 50 is not limited thereto, and may be disposed on the side of the body 10 or other positions as long as the detecting end of the first sensor 50 faces upward, and there is no other shielding structure above the detecting end to block the detecting end, so as to be able to detect the obstacle 200 above the autonomous moving apparatus 100.

In the present embodiment, the first sensor 50 is located in front F of the projection 30. In this way, regardless of where the protrusion 30 is disposed on the upper surface of the body 10, the first sensor 50 detects the obstacle 200 above before the protrusion 30 enters the lower space of the hollow type obstacle, and the protrusion 30 is better prevented from being caught.

In the embodiment of the present application, the first sensor 50 may be located at the front end side of the body 10, and the closer to the front side, the better. In this way, when the autonomous moving apparatus 100 is about to enter or has entered the lower space 203 of the empty obstacle, the obstacle 200 above the autonomous moving apparatus 100 can be sensed as early as possible, and in consideration of the time when the sensor transmits the obstacle information to the controller and the time when the controller performs the calculation, in a case where there is a possibility of getting stuck, the earlier sensing of the obstacle thereon is more advantageous for the autonomous moving apparatus 100 to perform the avoidance operation in the next step. In addition, it is also necessary to make the detection end of the first sensor lower than the upper end surface of the projection portion 30 so that the projection portion 30 is within the detection range of the first sensor 50 in the height direction thereof.

In the embodiment of the present application, the first sensor 50 may be inclined toward the side of the body 10 with respect to the body 10. The lateral direction of the body 10 refers to the periphery of the body 10, and the first sensor 50 may be inclined towards the lateral direction of the body 10 relative to the body 10, specifically, when the sensor is disposed on the body 10, for example, on the upper surface of the body 10, the first sensor 50 may be inclined towards the forward running direction F, or inclined towards the opposite direction of the forward running direction F; or to other directions lateral to the body 10, so that the range of detection by the first sensor 50 can be increased.

Further, the moving unit 20 is used for moving or stopping the body 10. The moving unit 20 includes a driving wheel 21 disposed under the body 10, or, in some other examples, the moving unit 20 further includes a universal wheel 22 disposed under the body 10, the universal wheel 22 being located at a front side of the driving wheel 21. The driving wheel 21 is used for providing driving force for the movement of the body 10, and the universal wheel 22 is only responsible for steering, does not provide driving force and follows under the driving of the driving wheel. The first sensor 50 may be located at a front side of the driving wheel 21, so that when the first sensor 50 detects that the autonomous moving apparatus 100 needs to be steered or backed up in a short distance from the obstacle 200 above, the driving wheel 21 does not enter the lower space 203, or a portion entering the lower space 203 is small, thereby facilitating an avoidance operation such as steering or backing up of the autonomous moving apparatus 100.

In other examples, the moving unit 20 may be in other forms, such as a crawler belt provided on the body 10.

When the first sensor 50 is used to detect whether there is an obstacle 200 in a preset distance from the detection end of the first sensor to the upper side of the autonomous mobile device 100, the first sensor may be an infrared pair tube or a TOF (Time of flight distance sensor), and the basic manner of sensing an object or measuring distance is to emit a detection light (such as an infrared ray or a laser) from the emission end, and receive an incident light, which is incident to the receiving end after the detection light passes through the surface to be measured, from the receiving end; the incident light ray may be a reflected ray (such as an infrared pair tube or TOF) or a scattered ray (such as TOF). The difference between the infrared pair tube and the TOF is that the infrared pair tube judges whether an object exists at a set height above the infrared pair tube according to the intensity of received incident light, and if the intensity of the incident light received by a receiving end of the infrared pair tube or the intensity of the received incident light is greater than a certain threshold value, the obstacle 200 exists at the set height above the infrared pair tube; the TOF indirectly determines whether there is an obstacle 200 at a set height L 'above the TOF (i.e., the set height L' is taken into L to calculate a time threshold T or a time range T ± T, where c is the speed of light) according to whether the time taken for the emitted light to be emitted from the emitting end to be reflected by the object and then enter the receiving end is within a set time range. For example, when an object appears at a set height L 'above the first sensor 50, for the TOF, the light received by the receiving end is reflected light of the emitted light, and the distance value measured by the flight time of the laser is within a preset time range, whereas if there is no object at the set height L' above the first sensor 50 (for example, the autonomous mobile apparatus 100 runs on a relatively open ground), the incident light received by the receiving end may be scattered light (generally, the detection light emitted by the TOF is a cone-shaped light beam with a certain angle, for example, 25 °, so that there is both reflected light and scattered light after passing through the surface of the object to be irradiated), and the distance of the object above is calculated from the scattered light received by the receiving end, and if the distance is outside the set distance threshold, it is determined that the distance exceeds the set height range. This prevents the protrusion of the autonomous moving apparatus from being caught by an obstacle 200 having a bottom space (such as a bed bottom, a table bottom, etc., also defined as a hollow type obstacle 200 in this application).

The first sensor 50 may be a Time of flight (TOF) or LDS, for detecting a distance from a detection end thereof to the obstacle 200 above the autonomous mobile device 100.

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of autonomous mobile device detecting obstacles according to an embodiment of the present invention, fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of autonomous mobile device detecting obstacles according to another structure provided by an embodiment of the present invention, and fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of autonomous mobile device detecting obstacles according to another structure provided by an embodiment of the present invention.

The principle of detection of an obstacle 200 by the autonomous mobile device 100 is described below. As described above, the first sensor 50 of the sensor group is disposed on the upper surface of the body 10, and includes three conditions, wherein the detecting end of the first sensor 50 is flush with the upper surface of the body 10, the detecting end is lower than the upper surface of the body 10, and the detecting end is higher than the upper surface of the body 10. Considering that the difference in height of the first sensor 50 itself on the upper surface of the body 10 may cause the difference in the detection result, the following description is divided into three cases. When the first sensor 50 is used to detect the distance from its detection end to the obstacle 200 above the autonomous mobile apparatus 100, the first sensor 50 is a ranging sensor.

In the first case, referring to fig. 2 and 3, the bottom of the first sensor 50 is mounted on the upper surface of the body 10, and the detecting end of the first sensor 50 (the height of the first sensor 50 itself is negligibly small) is substantially flush with the upper surface of the body 10.

The distance of the protrusion 30 with respect to the upper surface of the body 10 is H0, which is a known value in a normal operation state of the autonomous moving apparatus 100;

the distance from the detection end to the obstacle 200 above the first sensor 50 is H1;

if H1> H0, the protrusion 30 will not collide with the obstacle 200, and the autonomous moving apparatus 100 can continue to move forward by the driving wheels 21, for example, through the bottom of the bed with a large lower space, in the case where other sensors, such as a collision sensor, do not detect a side obstacle, or the distance from the side obstacle is within a safe range. Corresponding to the situation shown in fig. 2.

If H1 is less than or equal to H0, the operation of the autonomous moving apparatus may cause the protrusion 30 to collide with the obstacle 200, resulting in the protrusion being stuck or damaged, so that the autonomous moving apparatus 100 may perform an avoiding operation, such as stopping moving, or may move backward by the driving wheels 21, or may rotate sideways by the driving wheels 21, thereby avoiding the lower space 203. In case H1 is smaller than H0, this may correspond to the situation shown in fig. 3, for example a short tea table with a relatively low lower space.

In the second case, referring to fig. 4, the bottom of the first sensor 50 is installed at a predetermined height above the upper surface of the body 10, for example, at a height H2, or the first sensor 50 itself has a height with its detecting end at a height H2 (H2 is relatively large and is not negligible) from the upper surface of the body 10.

the distance from the detection end of the first sensor 50 to the upper surface of the body 10 is H2;

if (H1+ H2) > H0, the protrusion 30 does not collide with the obstacle 200, and the autonomous moving apparatus 100 may continue to move forward by the driving wheels 21 in the case where other sensors, such as a collision sensor, do not detect a side obstacle or a distance from the side obstacle is within a safe range. Corresponding to the situation shown in fig. 4.

If (H1+ H2) is less than or equal to H0, the protrusion 30 collides with the obstacle 200, and the autonomous moving apparatus 100 can perform an avoidance operation, such as stopping moving, or can move backward under the driving of the driving wheel 21, or can rotate sideward under the driving of the driving wheel 21.

In the third case, referring to fig. 5, the bottom of the first sensor 50 is embedded in the main body 10, and the sensing end of the first sensor 50 is lower than the upper surface of the main body 10 by a certain height, for example, H3.

the distance from the detection end of the first sensor 50 to the upper surface of the body 10 is H3;

if (H1-H3) > H0, the protrusion 30 does not collide with the obstacle 200, and the autonomous moving apparatus 100 may continue to move forward by the driving wheels 21 in the case where other sensors, such as a collision sensor, do not detect a side obstacle or a distance from the side obstacle is within a safe range. Corresponding to the situation shown in fig. 5.

If (H1-H3) is less than or equal to H0, the protrusion 30 collides with the obstacle 200, and the autonomous moving apparatus 100 can perform an avoidance operation, such as stopping moving, or can move backward under the driving of the driving wheel 21, or can rotate sideward under the driving of the driving wheel 21.

In this embodiment, if the distance between the upper end surface of the protrusion 30 and the upper surface of the body 10 cannot be directly measured, the distance may be obtained by the distance between the upper end surface of the protrusion 30 and the lowermost end of the autonomous moving apparatus 100, and referring to fig. 2, for example, when the motion unit 20 is operated on the ground, the distance between the upper end surface of the protrusion 30 and the ground is H1, the bottom of the first sensor 50 is fixed on the upper surface of the body 10 (the thickness of the first sensor 50 itself is negligible), and the distance between the upper surface of the body 10 and the ground is H2, the distance H0 between the upper end surface of the protrusion 30 and the upper surface of the body 10 is H1-H2.

When the first sensor 50 is used to detect whether there is an obstacle 200 within a preset distance L from the detection end to above the autonomous mobile apparatus 100:

in the first case, referring to fig. 2 and 3, in the case that the bottom of the first sensor 50 is mounted on the upper surface of the body 10, and the detecting end of the first sensor 50 (the height of the first sensor 50 itself is negligibly small) is substantially flush with the upper surface of the body 10,

the preset distance L > H0 for the first sensor 50.

If there is no obstacle 200 within the preset distance L from the detection end of the first sensor 50 to above the autonomous moving apparatus 100, the protrusion 30 does not collide with the obstacle 200, and the autonomous moving apparatus 100 may continue to move forward by the driving wheels 21 in the case where other sensors, such as a collision sensor, do not detect a side obstacle or a distance from the side obstacle is within a safe range. Corresponding to the situation shown in fig. 2.

If there is an obstacle 200 within the preset distance L from the detection end of the first sensor 50 to the upper side of the autonomous moving apparatus 100, the protruding portion 30 collides with the obstacle 200 while continuing to move forward, and the autonomous moving apparatus 100 may perform an avoidance operation, such as stopping moving, or may retreat backward by the driving wheels 21, or may rotate sideways by the driving wheels 21. Which may correspond to the situation shown in fig. 3.

In the second case, referring to fig. 4, in case that the bottom of the first sensor 50 is installed at a predetermined height position above the upper surface of the body 10, for example, at a height position of H2, or the first sensor 50 itself has a height with its sensing end at a height of H2 (H2 is large and not negligible) from the upper surface of the body 10,

the preset distance L > (H0-H2) of the first sensor 50.

If there is no obstacle 200 within the preset distance L from the detection end of the first sensor 50 to above the autonomous moving apparatus 100, the protrusion 30 does not collide with the obstacle 200, and the autonomous moving apparatus 100 may continue to move forward by the driving wheels 21 in the case where other sensors, such as a collision sensor, do not detect a side obstacle or a distance from the side obstacle is within a safe range. Corresponding to the situation shown in fig. 4.

If there is an obstacle 200 within the preset distance L from the detection end of the first sensor 50 to the upper side of the autonomous moving apparatus 100, the protrusion 30 may collide with the obstacle 200 when moving forward, and the autonomous moving apparatus 100 may perform an avoidance operation, such as stopping moving, or may retreat backward by the driving wheels 21, or may rotate sideways by the driving wheels 21.

In the third case, referring to fig. 5, in the case where the bottom of the first sensor 50 is embedded in the body 10 and the sensing end of the first sensor 50 is lower than the upper surface of the body 10 by a certain height, for example, at the height of H3,

the preset distance L > (H0+ H3) of the first sensor 50.

If there is no obstacle 200 within the preset distance L from the detection end of the first sensor 50 to above the autonomous moving apparatus 100, the protrusion 30 does not collide with the obstacle 200, and the autonomous moving apparatus 100 may continue to move forward by the driving wheels 21 in the case where other sensors, for example, the collision sensor, do not detect the side obstacle 200, or the distance from the side obstacle 200 is within a safe range. Corresponding to the situation shown in fig. 5.

If there is an obstacle 200 within the preset distance L from the detection end of the first sensor 50 to above the autonomous moving apparatus 100, the protrusion 30 may collide with the obstacle 200 when moving forward, and the autonomous moving apparatus 100 may perform an avoidance operation, such as stopping moving, or may move backward by the driving wheels 21, or may rotate sideways by the driving wheels 21.

In this embodiment, if the distance between the upper end surface of the protrusion 30 and the upper surface of the body 10 cannot be directly measured, the distance may be obtained by the distance between the upper end surface of the protrusion 30 and the bottom end of the autonomous moving apparatus 100, referring to fig. 2, for example, when the motion unit 20 runs on the ground, the distance between the upper end surface of the protrusion 30 and the ground is H1, the bottom of the first sensor 50 is fixed on the upper surface of the body 10 (the thickness of the first sensor 50 itself is negligible), and when the distance between the upper surface of the body 10 and the ground is H2, the distance H0 between the upper end surface of the protrusion 30 and the upper surface of the body 10 is H1-H2.

Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of a detection situation of an autonomous moving apparatus including a first sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention, fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of a projection of the autonomous moving apparatus of fig. 6 and a measurement range thereof on a first plane, and fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of a measurement range of the autonomous moving apparatus of fig. 6 showing a blind area.

In the embodiment of the present application, the number of the first sensors 50 included in the sensor group may be one or more.

Referring to fig. 6, a situation in which the number of the first sensors 50 included in the sensor group is one and one detection end is provided in one first sensor 50 is schematically illustrated. Assuming that any one plane perpendicular to the forward traveling direction F of the autonomous moving apparatus 100, for example, a plane having the same distance from the center of the first sensor 50 and the center of the projection 30 is the first plane 60, a direction perpendicular to the forward traveling direction of the autonomous moving apparatus 100 is referred to as a lateral direction R.

In the embodiment of the present application, the case where the measurement range of the first sensor 50 is conical is taken as an example for description, and the case where the measurement range is other shapes is similar to this case, and will not be described here.

Fig. 7 is a schematic view of the measurement range of the first sensor 50 of fig. 6 and the projection of the projecting portion 30 (radar range finder 31) on the first plane 60, and referring to fig. 7, the projection area of the projecting portion 30 on the first plane 60 is 30 '(rectangular in fig. 7), and the projection area of the measurement range of the first sensor 50 on the first plane 60 is S (triangular formed by broken lines in fig. 7), so that an obstacle 200 higher than the projecting portion 30 can be detected as long as at least the projection area of the upper end face of the projection area 30' of the projecting portion 30 falls within the projection area S of the measurement range of the first sensor 50.

In the case shown in fig. 8 where the bar-shaped obstacle 205 protrudes downward from the lower surface of the lateral obstacle 201, the bar-shaped obstacle 205 is just in the dead zone of the first sensor 50 and is not detected, and if the autonomous moving apparatus continues to move forward, the protrusion 30 may be stuck.

There are three ways to avoid this. First, it is contemplated to increase the taper of the probe emission line 51 emitted from the detection end (emitter) of the first sensor 50. Secondly, the distance between the sensing end (emitter) of the first sensor 50 and the upper surface of the first body 10 may be increased. For example, referring to fig. 9, a first mounting groove 34 is formed in the upper surface of the body 10 and is recessed inward, the first sensor 50 is located in the first mounting groove 34, and the detection end of the first sensor 50 is lower than the upper surface of the body 10. As can be seen from fig. 9, when the distance between the sensing end of the first sensor 50 and the upper surface of the body 10 is increased downward, the dead zone of the first sensor 50 can be reduced. Finally, referring to fig. 10, the measurement range may be increased by increasing the number of detection ends of the first sensor 50.

Referring to fig. 11 and 12a, the number of the first sensors 50 included in the sensor group is a plurality, for example, four.

In fig. 11 and 12a, a plane perpendicular to the forward traveling direction of the autonomous moving apparatus 100, for example, a plane having a distance equal to the distance between the center of the first sensor 50 and the center of the convex portion 30 is defined as a first plane 60, and a direction perpendicular to the forward traveling direction of the autonomous moving apparatus 100 is referred to as a lateral direction R.

The projection area of the projection portion 30 on the first plane 60 is 30', the projection area of the measurement range of each first sensor 50 on the first plane 60 is Q, and the projection areas of the three first sensors 50 are superimposed to form a measurement range P, so that the obstacle 200 higher than the projection portion 30 can be detected as long as the projection area of the upper end face in the projection area 30' of the projection portion 30 falls within the projection area P of the measurement ranges of the three first sensors 50.

For the case where there is a possibility that a plurality of first sensors 50 have a detection blind area, there are three solutions. First, it is contemplated to increase the taper of the probe emission line 51 emitted from the detection end (emitter) of the first sensor 50. Secondly, the distance between the sensing end (emitter) of each first sensor 50 and the upper surface of the first body 10 may be increased. Finally, the total measurement range of the first sensor 50 may likewise be increased by increasing the number of sensing ends of the first sensor 50.

It is to be understood that when the number of the first sensors 50 included in the sensor group is plural, the plural first sensors 50 (i.e., the detection ends of the respective first sensors 50) are arranged in a direction perpendicular to the forward running direction. This allows multiple first sensors 50 to detect simultaneously, which facilitates early detection of an obstacle 200 above the autonomous mobile device 100.

Fig. 12b is a schematic diagram of a detection situation when the first sensor in the autonomous mobile apparatus is an infrared pair tube according to an embodiment of the present invention. Here, the first sensor 50 is taken as an example of the infrared pair tube, in this case, the first sensor 50 includes a set of infrared emitter 52 and infrared receiver 53, the conical range extending outward from the emitting end 521 of the infrared emitter 52 is an emitting range of infrared light, the conical range extending outward from the receiving end 531 of the infrared receiver 53 is a receiving range of infrared light, and the overlapping region 54 of the emitting range and the receiving range is a measuring range of the infrared pair tube.

Fig. 13 is the structural schematic diagram of autonomous mobile device when radar range finder is in the upper limit position that an embodiment of the utility model provides, fig. 14 is the structural schematic diagram of autonomous mobile device when radar range finder is in the lower limit position that an embodiment of the utility model provides.

Fig. 15 is a schematic structural diagram of another kind when radar range finder is in the upper limit position in the autonomous moving apparatus provided by an embodiment of the present invention, and fig. 16 is a schematic structural diagram of another kind when radar range finder is in the lower limit position in the autonomous moving apparatus provided by an embodiment of the present invention.

In the embodiment of the present application, as mentioned above, protruding portion 30 is radar range finder 31, and body 10 upper surface is equipped with second mounting groove 32, and body 10 is still including setting up lifting unit 61 in second mounting groove 32, and lifting unit 61 is connected with radar range finder 31 to make radar range finder 31 liftable and pass in and out second mounting groove 32, radar range finder 31 can be by upwards stretching out or withdrawing in the second mounting groove 32 promptly.

Since radar range finder 31 can be lifted in and out of second mounting groove 32 within second mounting groove 32, autonomous mobile apparatus 100 can be escaped by lowering radar range finder 31 into second mounting groove 32 even when a situation in which radar range finder 31 is stuck is encountered.

It should be noted that the height of the projection 30, for example, the radar distance meter 31 projecting from the upper surface of the body is less than or equal to 1/2 of the height of the body, and the radar distance meter 31 can be prevented from being turned out of the second mounting groove 32.

It should be noted that during normal operation of the autonomous mobile apparatus 100, the radar range finder 31 is always at the upper limit position, i.e., the highest position. In the case where radar range finder 31 is jammed, lifting unit 61 acts to lower radar range finder 31 to the lower limit position in second mounting groove 32 corresponding to radar range finder 31 completely entering second mounting groove 32, so that autonomous moving apparatus 100 is out of trouble. After the autonomous mobile apparatus 100 gets out of trouble, the elevation assembly 61 returns the radar range finder 31 to the upper limit position again to ensure the normal operation of the radar range finder 31.

The lifting assembly 61 can be implemented in various forms, for example, as shown in fig. 13 and 14, fig. 13 is a state in which the radar distance measuring instrument 31 is normally operated, that is, in an upper limit position; fig. 14 is a case where radar range finder 31 enters second installation groove 32 at a lower limit position.

As an alternative embodiment, the lifting assembly 61 may be implemented by a screw pair.

Illustratively, the lifting assembly 61 includes a screw 62, a guide member and a nut 64, the guide member 63 and the screw 62 are both located in the second mounting groove 32 and extend along the depth direction of the second mounting groove 32, the radar distance measuring instrument 31 is slidably connected with the guide member, and the nut 64 is screwed on the outer side of the screw 62 and fixed on the radar distance measuring instrument 31; when the screw 62 rotates, the nut 64 is driven to lift along the axial direction of the screw 62, so that the radar distance measuring instrument 31 enters and exits the second installation groove 32 along the guide member under the driving of the nut 64.

The screw 62 may be rotatably fixed in the second mounting groove 32 by a screw fixing bracket 621. Nut 64 may be secured to the bottom of radar rangefinder 31 against the side wall of the drive assembly described below. The guide member may be a side wall portion of the second mounting groove 32. For example, the inner profile of the sidewall portion of second mounting groove 32 matches the outer profile of radar range finder 31 so that the radar range finder actually ascends and descends along the sidewall portion of second mounting groove 32.

Further, in order to rotate the screw 62, a driving assembly 622 is required, or the screw 62 is rotated manually. The following description will be given taking the driving unit 622 as an example.

Drive assembly 622 may include a motor, two belt pulleys, a belt (or a chain, a sprocket), etc., for example, a motor shaft is connected with one belt pulley, another belt is fixed on the outer surface of screw 62, the belt is sleeved between two belts and tensioned, so that when a belt pulley is driven by the motor to rotate, another belt pulley is driven by the belt pulley to rotate, screw 62 is driven by the belt pulley to rotate, and radar range finder 31 is driven by nut 64 to ascend and descend.

Further, the sensor group may further include a position sensor 33. Specifically, position sensor 33 is located in second mounting groove 32, and may be located at the bottom of second mounting groove 32, for example, and is used to detect the position of radar range finder 31 in second mounting groove 32. By providing the position sensor 33, the operation of the elevating assembly can be stopped when the radar distance measuring instrument 31 is located at the bottom of the second installation groove 32, that is, at the lower limit position. In addition, the position of the position sensor may be disposed at other positions of the main body, for example, at a position adjacent to the second mounting groove 32 in the main body, which is not limited in the present application.

Position sensor 33 may also be used to detect whether the top of radar range finder 31 is located in the notch of second mounting slot 32, i.e., when radar range finder 31 is fully located in second mounting slot 32, the controller may control autonomous mobile device 100 to continue moving forward, or moving backward, turning around, etc. to exit the space below the empty obstacle.

In the autonomous moving apparatus 100, the driving module and the position sensor 33 are electrically connected to the controller, so that when the position sensor detects that the radar distance meter 31 is located at the bottom of the second mounting groove 32, the controller receives a signal from the position sensor 33 and controls the motor in the driving module to stop rotating.

Referring to fig. 15 and 16, fig. 15 shows a state in which the radar distance meter 31 is in normal operation, that is, in the upper limit position; fig. 16 is a case where radar range finder 31 enters second installation groove 32 at a lower limit position.

Referring to fig. 15 and 16, as another possible embodiment, the lifting assembly may be implemented by a gear and rack pair, for example, the lifting assembly 61 includes a gear 65, a rack 66 and a guide 67, the guide 67 and the gear 65 are both located in the second mounting groove 32 and extend along the depth direction of the second mounting groove 32, the radar range finder 31 and the guide 67 are slidably connected, and the rack 66 is fixed on the radar range finder 31; the rack 66 is engaged with the gear 65,

the rack 66 is used for moving up and down along the length direction of the rack when the gear 65 rotates, and driving the radar range finder 31 to enter and exit the second mounting groove 32 along the guide 67.

Rack 66 may be secured to the bottom of radar rangefinder 31 against the side walls of drive assembly 651 described below. Guide 67 may be a wall portion of second mounting groove 32.

Further, in order to rotate the gear 65, a driving assembly 651 is also required, or the gear 65 is manually rotated. The following description will be given taking the drive module 651 as an example.

The driving assembly 651 may include a motor, a reducer, etc., and the reducer may be connected between an output shaft of the motor and the gear 65 such that the rotation of the motor is transmitted to the gear 65 after being reduced by the reducer. The rack 66 is lifted by the gear 65 to lift the radar distance measuring device 31.

Further, the body 10 may further include a position sensor 35. Specifically, the position sensor 35 is located at the bottom of the second mounting groove 32 and is used to detect whether the radar range finder 31 is located at the bottom of the second mounting groove 32. By providing the position sensor 35, the operation of the elevating device can be stopped when the radar distance meter 31 is located at the bottom of the second installation groove 32, that is, at the lower limit position.

Illustratively, the driving assembly 651 and the position sensor 35 are electrically connected to the controller, so that when the position sensor 35 detects that the radar distance meter 31 is located at the bottom of the second mounting groove 32, the controller receives a signal sent by the position sensor 35 and controls the motor in the driving assembly 651 to stop rotating.

In the embodiment of the present application, the sensor group may further include a motion sensor in addition to the first sensor 50 and the position sensor 35, and the motion sensor is configured to acquire motion parameter information of the autonomous mobile apparatus 100. The motion parameter information may include at least one of position, displacement, velocity, acceleration, angle, angular velocity, and angular acceleration.

The motion sensors may include odometers, Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs), which typically include gyroscopes and accelerometers. Alternatively, the motion sensor may also include various displacement sensors, such as resistive displacement sensors, inductive displacement sensors, capacitive displacement sensors, strain gauge displacement sensors, hall displacement sensors, and the like. Various motion sensors may measure or calculate one or more motion parameters, such as position, distance, displacement, angle, velocity, acceleration, etc., based on their characteristics or based on the measurements.

In one embodiment of the application, taking the motion sensor comprising an odometer and an IMU as an example, the odometer can obtain a moving distance, a speed and an angular velocity, and then the angle is integrated by the angular velocity, and the IMU can obtain an acceleration and an angular velocity, and then respectively integrates to obtain the speed and the angle; the motion parameter information acquired by the odometer and the IMU can be mutually supplemented and corrected, and the accuracy of the motion parameter data is improved. The odometer is arranged on the movement unit or is connected with the movement unit; the IMU, however, can acquire the motion parameters as long as it moves with the mobile device, and thus may be located on the housing of the autonomous mobile device or any follower component, not necessarily connected to the motion unit.

In this embodiment, in order to meet the control requirement, the autonomous mobile apparatus 100 may be configured with a sensing unit and a processing unit, the sensing unit may include at least one of an encoder, an inertial measurement unit, and a picture acquisition unit, and the processing unit may analyze current pose information of the autonomous mobile apparatus 100 relative to an initial pose according to information sensed by the sensing unit, where the pose information may specifically include position information and heading information, the position information may be a two-dimensional coordinate, and the heading information may specifically be a heading angle, and the like. The processing unit can be exemplified by a microprocessor MCU, a digital signal processor DSP, etc. The sensing unit may further include an infrared sensor and a collision sensor, the infrared sensor may be distributed in front of and/or under the body of the autonomous mobile apparatus 100, and the collision sensor may be distributed in front of the body of the autonomous mobile apparatus 100.

In this embodiment, at least one first sensor is arranged on the autonomous moving apparatus, the detection end surface of the first sensor faces upward, the lower space of the hollow obstacle can be detected, that is, whether the obstacle exists within a preset distance from the detection end to the upper side of the autonomous moving apparatus is detected, and the first sensor is located in front of the protruding portion, so that the autonomous moving apparatus can sense the obstacle before the protruding portion enters the lower space of the hollow obstacle, and the autonomous moving apparatus can be prevented from being stuck or trapped.

Unless expressly stated or limited otherwise, the terms "mounted," "connected," "secured," and the like are to be construed broadly and can, for example, be fixedly connected, detachably connected, or integral to one another; either directly or indirectly through intervening media, such as through internal communication or through an interaction between two elements. The specific meaning of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific situations by those skilled in the art. Furthermore, the terms "first", "second", etc. are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated.

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

Claims

1. An autonomous mobile device, comprising: the sensor group, the protruding part, the moving unit and the controller are arranged on the body;

the protruding part is higher than the upper end face of the body, and the first sensor is positioned in front of the protruding part along the forward running direction of the autonomous moving equipment;

the motion unit is electrically connected with the controller, and the controller controls the motion unit to drive the autonomous mobile equipment to advance or carry out avoidance operation according to the signals sent by the sensor group.

2. The autonomous mobile device of claim 1,

the first sensor may be tilted toward a side of the body with respect to the body.

3. The autonomous mobile device of claim 1,

the first sensor is arranged on the upper surface of the body; the body upper surface is equipped with first mounting groove, first sensor is located in the first mounting groove, just the sense terminal of first sensor is less than the up end of bulge.

4. The autonomous mobile device of claim 1,

when the number of the detection ends of the first sensor included in the sensor group is plural, the plural detection ends are arranged in a direction perpendicular to the forward running direction.

5. The autonomous mobile device of any of claims 1-4,

the bulge is radar range finder, the body upper surface is equipped with the second mounting groove, the body is still including setting up lifting unit in the second mounting groove, lifting unit with radar range finder connects, so that radar range finder by stretch out or withdraw in the second mounting groove upwards in the second mounting groove.

6. The autonomous mobile device of claim 5,

the height of the protruding part protruding from the upper surface of the body is less than or equal to 1/2 of the height of the body.

7. The autonomous mobile device of claim 5,

the lifting assembly comprises a screw rod, a guide piece and a nut, the guide piece and the screw rod are both arranged in the second mounting groove and extend along the depth direction of the second mounting groove, the radar range finder is slidably connected with the guide piece, and the nut is screwed on the outer side of the screw rod in a threaded manner and is fixed on the radar range finder; the screw rod drives the nut to lift along the axial direction of the screw rod when rotating, so that the radar range finder is driven by the nut to pass in and out the second mounting groove along the guide piece.

8. The autonomous mobile device of claim 5,

the lifting assembly comprises a gear, a rack and a guide piece, the guide piece and the gear are both positioned in the second mounting groove and extend along the depth direction of the second mounting groove, the radar range finder and the guide piece are connected in a sliding mode, and the rack is fixed on the radar range finder; the rack is meshed with the gear, and the rack is used for moving up and down along the length direction of the rack when the gear rotates and driving the radar range finder to enter and exit the second mounting groove along the guide piece.

9. The autonomous mobile device of claim 5,

the sensor group further comprises a position sensor, and the position sensor is arranged on the body and used for detecting the position of the radar range finder in the second mounting groove.

10. The autonomous mobile device of any of claims 1-4,

the first sensor is an infrared geminate transistor or a flight time distance measuring sensor.