CN212932959U - Mobile robot and ToF detection assembly - Google Patents

Abstract

The application of mobile robot and TOF detection component, mobile robot includes: a robot main body having an assembly space; a ToF collecting part disposed in the assembly space and configured to detect an external environment of the mobile robot; the driving component is connected with the ToF collecting component and used for driving the ToF collecting component to move so as to form a detectable range of the ToF collecting component; the application innovatively reaches environment detection in a wider range through the movable ToF acquisition component to determine the barrier, thereby reducing or eliminating the anti-collision structure and solving the problems in the prior art.

Description

Mobile robot and ToF detection assembly

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of robotics, and more particularly, to a mobile robot and ToF detecting device.

Background

At present, in a mobile robot, such as a cleaning robot, mapping and navigation are key technologies for implementing the mobile function of the mobile robot. The mobile robot mainly constructs an obstacle map for navigation according to environment information measured by a distance sensor, an image sensor and the like, and can display the map to a terminal so that a user can observe the working state of the mobile robot.

However, although the mobile robot, especially the cleaning robot, in the prior art, uses VSLAM (i.e. visual instantaneous positioning and mapping) technology or laser radar SLAM technology to detect the environment, a large-sized buffer assembly disposed at the front end of the cleaning robot (e.g. sweeping robot) is still required to prevent collision in a large area, such as the structure of the buffer assembly shown in the document with chinese patent publication No. CN 210277064U. The structure of the buffer assembly occupies a large amount of layout space of the mobile robot, resulting in a complicated mechanical structure and increased cost.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

In view of the above-mentioned shortcomings of the prior art, the present application provides a mobile robot and a ToF detecting device, so as to achieve the size and structure of the buffer device in the prior art to solve the problem of complicated mechanical structure and cost.

To achieve the above and other related objects, a first aspect of the present application provides a mobile robot comprising: a robot main body having an assembly space; a ToF collecting part disposed in the assembly space and configured to detect an external environment of the mobile robot; and the driving component is connected with the ToF acquisition component and used for driving the ToF acquisition component to move so as to form a detectable range of the ToF acquisition component.

In certain embodiments of the first aspect of the present application, the detectable range of the ToF collecting component comprises: the ToF acquisition component comprises a preset detection range of the ToF acquisition component and an adjustable detection range formed by the movement of the ToF acquisition component.

To achieve the above and other related objects, a second aspect of the present application provides a ToF detecting assembly for a mobile robot; the ToF detecting element comprises: a ToF collecting part disposed in the assembly space and configured to detect an external environment of the mobile robot; and the driving component is connected with the ToF acquisition component and used for driving the ToF acquisition component to move so as to form a detectable range of the ToF acquisition component.

As described above, the mobile robot and the ToF detecting device of the present application include: a robot main body having an assembly space; a ToF collecting part disposed in the assembly space and configured to detect an external environment of the mobile robot; the driving component is connected with the ToF collecting component and used for driving the ToF collecting component to move so as to form a detectable range of the ToF collecting component; the application innovatively reaches environment detection in a wider range through the movable ToF acquisition component to determine the barrier, thereby reducing or eliminating the anti-collision structure and solving the problems in the prior art.

Other aspects and advantages of the present application will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description. Only exemplary embodiments of the present application have been shown and described in the following detailed description. As those skilled in the art will recognize, the disclosure of the present application enables those skilled in the art to make changes to the specific embodiments disclosed without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as it is directed to the present application. Accordingly, the descriptions in the drawings and the specification of the present application are illustrative only and not limiting.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a mobile robot in an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram illustrating the operation of the ToF collecting component in the embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 3 is an exploded view of the ToF collecting element in the embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of a motor in which a driver and a movable member are integrated in one embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 5A and 5B are schematic exploded structural views illustrating a shielding structure in an embodiment of the present application.

FIG. 6 shows a schematic top view of the ToF collecting component and carrier arrangement in the embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 7 is a schematic circuit diagram illustrating a configuration of a circuit for controlling the movement of the ToF collecting component in the mobile robot according to the embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a control method according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 9A and 9B are schematic diagrams illustrating the operation of ToF collecting device for obstacle detection according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 10A and 10B are schematic diagrams illustrating the principle of controlling the movement of the ToF collecting device for landmark detection in an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 11 is a schematic circuit diagram of a control device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 12 is a functional block diagram of a control system according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

The following description of the embodiments of the present application is provided for illustrative purposes, and other advantages and capabilities of the present application will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the present disclosure.

In the following description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that describe several embodiments of the application. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that changes in the module or unit composition, electrical, and operation may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. The following detailed description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of embodiments of the present application is defined only by the claims of the issued patent. The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the application.

Although the terms first, second, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, information, or parameters in some instances, these elements or parameters should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element or parameter from another element or parameter. For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and, similarly, a second element could be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of the various described embodiments. Both the first and second elements are described as one element, but they are not the same element unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Depending on context, for example, the word "if" as used herein may be interpreted as "at … …" or "at … …".

Also, as used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms "comprises," "comprising," "includes" and/or "including," when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, steps, operations, elements, components, items, species, and/or groups, but do not preclude the presence, or addition of one or more other features, steps, operations, elements, components, species, and/or groups thereof. The terms "or" and/or "as used herein are to be construed as inclusive or meaning any one or any combination. Thus, "A, B or C" or "A, B and/or C" means "any of the following: a; b; c; a and B; a and C; b and C; A. b and C ". An exception to this definition will occur only when a combination of elements, functions, steps or operations are inherently mutually exclusive in some way.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative modules and method steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, or combinations of computer software and 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 application.

A mobile robot, such as a household cleaning robot, for example, a floor sweeping robot, a floor mopping robot, a floor sweeping and mopping integrated robot, inevitably generates a collision when moving. Since there are many locations where the collision may occur, a large-sized buffer member, such as that shown in chinese patent publication No. CN210277064U, is disposed at the front of the mobile robot, and the buffer member has an arc structure matching the shape of the cleaning robot, and when the buffer member collides with an obstacle, the buffer member moves inward, absorbs and absorbs the impact force of the obstacle, thereby protecting the main body of the mobile robot.

Although some sensors are provided to detect the external environment in this solution, the detectable range is actually small, so that the buffer assembly with such a large size is required, and it can be seen from fig. 10 of this document that the size of the buffer assembly needs to cover the whole front side of the cleaning robot, which occupies the layout space of the mobile robot, and the buffer assembly needs to have a certain stroke, which also causes the volume of the mobile robot to increase, resulting in a complicated mechanical structure and increased cost.

To solve the above problems, it is necessary to cancel the buffer assembly or reduce the additional material cost and installation cost due to the existence of the buffer assembly. Therefore, in the technical scheme of this application, realize having movable TOF to gather the part, utilize its motion to expand detectable range, and can in time discover the barrier to reduce the position that mobile robot probably collided, just also can change the structure of current buffering subassembly.

As shown in fig. 1, a schematic structural diagram of a mobile robot in an embodiment of the present application is shown.

As shown in the figure, the mobile robot 1 is exemplified by a cleaning robot (a sweeping robot, a mopping robot or a sweeping and mopping integrated robot); it should be noted that the type and structure of the mobile robot 1 shown in fig. 1 are only examples, and in an actual scenario, the mobile robot may be another type of mobile robot, such as a logistics robot in an industrial robot, or a service robot in a commercial place or a household, or an unmanned aerial vehicle, an unmanned vehicle, etc., and therefore the example of fig. 1 is not limited.

In the present embodiment, a robot main body 10 is illustrated; FIG. 1 may be a schematic view of the interior of the housing 100 shown with a portion of the front side removed; or in other examples, the stopper (see fig. 5A or 5B) on the carrier 102 may be covered by the housing to assume the state shown in fig. 1, for example. The robot body 10 refers to a whole body of the mobile robot, and may or may not include some accessories of the mobile robot, such as one or more of a side-sweep, a mop, a water tank, and the like of a floor sweeping or mopping robot. For example, if the mobile robot is a cleaning robot, it may include a kinetic energy system, a driving mechanism, a control system (e.g., a controller, a control chip, etc.), and a cleaning device (e.g., a roller brush, an edge brush, etc.). The kinetic energy system includes, for example, a power device (e.g., an electric motor, etc.). Examples of the driving mechanism include a transmission mechanism (such as a lead screw, a gear, a rotating shaft mechanism, etc.), a moving member (such as a roller, a track, a mechanical foot, etc.), and the like.

The robot main body 10 has an assembly space for mounting the ToF collecting part 101. In the embodiment of fig. 1, the fitting space may be a space allocated within the housing 100 of the robot main body; of course, in other embodiments, the assembling space may also extend to the housing 100 protruding from the robot main body, which is not limited to this.

The ToF capturing component 101 is configured to detect an external environment of the mobile robot, as shown in fig. 1, and a capturing direction of the ToF capturing component is disposed toward the outside of the robot body 10, which is exemplarily illustrated as a lateral arrangement in the embodiment of fig. 1. In the embodiment of fig. 1, the ToF collecting part 101 is arranged at the front side of the robot body 10, which front side is defined by the direction of travel of the mobile robot, i.e. the front side if the robot body 10 is moving forward. It should be noted that, in other embodiments, the ToF collecting component 101 may also be disposed at other positions of the robot main body 10, such as a top position and a laterally outward position, and the like, which is not limited to the illustration.

Illustratively, the ToF acquiring component 101 may comprise at least one ToF camera. In particular, ToF is an abbreviation of Time of flight, which refers to the Time required for a certain medium (e.g. air) to travel a certain distance by detecting a signal (e.g. light or sound signal), and in particular, a signal transmitter (e.g. single or multiple infrared transmitters or laser transmitters) of the ToF camera sends out a signal, which is received by a signal receiver (e.g. single lens and photosensitive sensor, or single (or multiple lenses) and multiple photosensitive sensors) of the ToF camera after hitting an obstacle, and the depth of the landing point is determined by calculating the Time of flight from the signal transmission to the signal reception.

Preferably, the ToF camera may be a 3D ToF camera. The 3D ToF camera is a plane array ToF camera, and a signal generator and a signal receiver of the 3D ToF camera are in an array form, so that the depth of a plane formed by a plurality of points on the surface of an obstacle can be acquired; the efficiency of the signal acquisition data of an area array camera is higher compared to a single point ToF camera.

It should be understood that the mobile robot uses the ToF collecting part to collect the depth information of the obstacle, but is not limited to being able to use only the ToF collecting part. For example, the ToF collecting component may also be replaced by other depth information collecting components, such as a collecting component including at least one binocular camera, or a collecting component including at least one structured light camera, etc. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that any reasonable alternatives/alternatives to the ToF collecting member based on the principle of depth ranging are within the scope of the present application.

The ToF collecting part 101 is movably disposed in the assembly space. Specifically, the ToF collecting part 101 is connected to and driven by a driving part (not shown in fig. 1), so that the ToF collecting part moves to form a detectable range of the ToF collecting part 101.

Exemplarily, the detectable range of the ToF collecting component 101 includes: at least in the transverse plane and/or in the vertical plane.

Wherein the transverse plane may be a plane extending laterally along the robot body and in which ToF collecting part 101 is located, such as a plane extending in a direction parallel to the plane of travel of the robot. For example, if the robot body 10 is disposed on the ground, the transverse plane is parallel to the ground; alternatively, the robot main body 10 may be disposed on a horizontal plane, and the horizontal plane may be parallel to the horizontal plane. In the embodiment of fig. 1, it is shown that the ToF collecting part 101 can rotate in the left and right directions as indicated by the arrow a in the figure; and/or in other embodiments, ToF collecting component 101 can also be left and right translated.

The vertical plane refers to a plane in which ToF collecting part 101 lies orthogonal to the above-mentioned transverse plane. Wherein the orthogonal plane is a plane substantially perpendicular to the transverse plane. In some examples, if the lateral plane is a horizontal plane, the vertical plane is a vertical plane. For example, if the transverse plane is a ground plane, the vertical plane is a wall surface, wherein the vertical error between the wall surface and the ground plane is within an acceptable range of being substantially vertical. In the embodiment of fig. 1, it is shown that the ToF collecting part 101 can rotate and/or translate in the up and down direction as indicated by the arrow B in the figure; and/or in other embodiments, ToF collecting component 101 can also be translated up and down.

Exemplarily, the detectable range of the ToF collecting component 101 includes: a predetermined detection range of the ToF collecting part 101, and an adjustable detection range formed by the movement of the ToF collecting part 101. Illustratively, the predetermined detection range is a fixed range determined by hardware and/or software parameters of ToF collecting component 101 itself, that is, a range that can be detected when ToF collecting component 101 is at rest; in contrast, the adjustable detection range is determined by the movable (e.g., rotational and/or translational) travel range of the ToF collecting member.

Exemplarily, the detectable range of the ToF collecting component 101 includes: at least in the transverse plane and/or in the vertical plane. The detectable range of the ToF collecting component 101 is actually cone-shaped, and the range of the cone projected on a plane can be regarded as the predetermined angle range. For example, in fig. 6, it is assumed that the first partial angle range a of the predetermined detection range of the ToF acquisition unit 101 projected on the transverse plane is 60 °, if the ToF acquisition unit 101 can be rotated 30 ° to the left and right in the drawing, the second partial angle ranges B1, B2 of the corresponding adjustable detection ranges projected on the transverse plane are 30 ° on both sides, respectively, and the total of 60 °, and the first partial angle range and the second partial angle range are combined to form the predetermined angle range, which is 120 °.

Illustratively, the preset angle range can be any divided angle range of 40-180 degrees in at least a transverse plane, such as 65-70 degrees, 70-75 degrees, 75-80 degrees, 80-85 degrees, 85-90 degrees, 90-95 degrees, 95-100 degrees, 100-105 degrees, 105-110 degrees, 110-115 degrees, 115-120 degrees, 120-125 degrees, 125-130 degrees, 130-135 degrees and the like; and/or, in the vertical plane, the angle range divided arbitrarily between 40 degrees and 180 degrees, such as 30 degrees to 35 degrees, 35 degrees to 40 degrees, 40 degrees to 45 degrees, 45 degrees to 50 degrees, 50 degrees to 55 degrees, 55 degrees to 60 degrees, 60 degrees to 65 degrees, 65 degrees to 70 degrees, 70 degrees to 75 degrees, and 75 degrees to 80 degrees.

The above angle ranges can be formed by driving the ToF collecting component 101 to rotate along one point in a reciprocating manner by a driving component; the ToF acquisition part 101 is driven by a driving part to move in a linear segment interval in a reciprocating way; or the ToF collecting component 101 is driven by the driving component to move back and forth along an arc line segment interval.

Illustratively, as shown in fig. 1, a carrier 102 is disposed in the robot body 10, and the carrier 102 is provided with a hollow structure 103 for exposing the ToF collecting component 101. Referring to fig. 1 and fig. 5, the hollow structure 103 is disposed such that one end corresponds to the ToF collecting component 101, the other end corresponds to an open end disposed outside, and an inner wall between the two ends forms a cavity.

Illustratively, the cavity has a shape with a gradually increasing cross-sectional area from one end of the cavity corresponding to ToF collecting component 101 to the other end, i.e., the cavity has a shape similar to a "bell mouth" from inside to outside, which corresponds to the shape of the collecting range of ToF collecting component 101.

It is understood that the size of the cavity and/or the movable range of ToF collecting member 101 imposes limitations on the detectable range of ToF collecting member 101. The size of the cavity and the movable range of the ToF collecting part 101 can both be used as limitations to the detectable range of the ToF collecting part 101; for example, the movable range of the ToF collecting part 101 enables the detectable range of the ToF collecting part 101 to reach an angle range of 130 ° on the transverse plane, but the size of the cavity blocks 5 ° on two sides of the angle range of 130 °, so that the obtained preset angle range is 120 °; or, conversely, the size of the cavity may satisfy the angle range of 180 ° of the detectable range of the ToF collecting member 101 on the transverse plane, and the movable range of the ToF collecting member 101 only enables the detectable range of the ToF collecting member 101 to reach the angle range of 130 ° in the angle range of 180 ° on the transverse plane, so that the preset angle range is limited to 130 °.

Illustratively, the inner wall surface of the cavity is a rough surface. The ToF collecting component 101 has the advantages that if the ToF collecting component 101 emits laser, infrared light and the like, the rough surface can perform diffuse reflection on the laser and the infrared light so as to avoid large brightness difference caused by the fact that light is concentrated on certain parts; or, more specifically, in the embodiments such as fig. 1 and fig. 6, the inner wall surface of the cavity forms a step structure, and the step structure is in a form that becomes smaller from one end corresponding to the ToF collecting part 101 to the other end, so that the problem of large brightness difference can be avoided.

Under the condition that the detectable range of the ToF collecting component 101 to the external environment is enlarged, the possibility of detecting obstacles before collision and the range of detecting the obstacles can be effectively improved, so that the buffer assembly can be reduced or eliminated in structural design.

For example, in the implementation of fig. 1, the carrier 102 and the housing 100 of the robot main body covered outside the carrier are fixedly disposed, that is, the relative positions of the two are respectively fixed by fixing means (such as clamping, screwing, bonding, etc.); alternatively, the carrier is directly fixed to the housing 100; alternatively, the carrier 102 is integrally formed with the housing 100.

As can be seen, there is no need to leave a buffer stroke between the housing 100 of the robot body and the carrier 102 as in the buffer assembly, which reduces the size of the whole mobile robot and simplifies the structure.

To illustrate the manner in which the ToF collecting member operates, the following description is provided with reference to the embodiment of fig. 2.

As shown in fig. 2, a schematic structural diagram of the ToF collecting component in an embodiment is shown.

In the embodiment of fig. 2, ToF collecting part 201 is connected to and driven by a driving part 202. Referring also to fig. 4, the driving unit 202 includes: a movable member 2021 and a driver 2022.

Specifically, the movable element 2021 is connected to and movable to drive the ToF collecting component 101. The ToF collecting part 101 and the movable part 2021 can be connected in a positioning manner or through a transmission structure. Wherein the positioning connection comprises: any one or more of snap connection, riveting, bonding, and welding. In an example of positioning connection, as shown in fig. 4, the movable element 2021 is, for example, a driving rod capable of rotating laterally, and the ToF collecting component 101 has a concave hole (not shown) that is fitted with the driving rod in a form-fitting manner, so long as the sections of the driving rod and the concave hole are non-circular, the ToF collecting component 101 can rotate laterally with the driving rod; in some examples of the transmission structure, the movable member is, for example, a screw rod, a connection seat on the screw rod is translated along with the rotation of the screw rod, and the connection seat is fixed with the ToF collecting part 201, so that the ToF collecting part 201 can move along with the connection seat. In some examples of the transmission structure, the ToF collecting component 201 and the movable component may also be connected through one or more of a tooth portion, a gear, a rack, a toothed chain, etc. to realize the movement of the movable component to the ToF collecting component 201.

Illustratively, as shown in fig. 3, the structure of ToF collecting member 201 in one embodiment is shown. In this embodiment, the ToF collecting part 201 includes: a front cover 2011, a back cover 2012, and a ToF camera 2013 (or ToF camera module). The front cover 2011 and the back cover 2012 are combined with each other to form a space for installing the ToF camera 2013. In this embodiment, but not limited to, a protrusion 2014 is formed on the rear cover 2012, and a concave hole (not shown) may be formed at a bottom of the protrusion 2014 for being fitted with an output shaft (i.e., the movable element 2021 in the embodiment of fig. 4) of a motor serving as the driver 2022.

Illustratively, a cushion 2015, such as an elastic cushion (e.g., rubber pad, rubber mat) for buffering and positioning, may be further disposed in a space formed by the front cover 2011 and the rear cover 2012 of the ToF collecting component 201.

Illustratively, the actuator 2022 and the movable element 2021 may be integral. For example, as shown in fig. 4, the driving component 202 itself may be a motor, and the movable component 2021 may be an output shaft outside the motor, which rotates transversely to drive the ToF collecting component 201 (for example, as shown in fig. 3) sleeved with the output shaft to rotate transversely.

Of course, the embodiments of fig. 3 and 4 are merely exemplary, and in other embodiments, the embodiments may be changed according to actual needs.

For example, the movable member and the actuator may be separated from each other (not shown). For example, the movable member may be a transmission member, which is driven by a driver to drive the ToF collecting component; for example, the movable member is a gear, an output shaft of the driver is fixedly sleeved with the gear, the ToF collecting component housing is provided with a tooth portion, the tooth portion is meshed with the gear, and when the driver drives the gear to rotate, the tooth portion moves along with the gear to drive the ToF collecting component to rotate.

For example, if the driver in the above embodiments is a motor, it may be a stepping motor, for example. The stepping motor is also called a pulse motor, and receives a digital control signal (an electric pulse signal) and converts the digital control signal into an angular displacement or a linear displacement corresponding to the digital control signal, and the stepping motor is an execution element for completing digital mode conversion. Furthermore, the so-called incremental position control system can be controlled by opening a loop and a specified position increment is obtained by inputting a pulse signal, so that compared with the traditional direct current control system, the cost is obviously reduced, and the system is hardly formed. The angular displacement of the stepping motor is strictly proportional to the number of pulses input and is synchronized in time with the pulses. The required rotation angle, speed and direction can thus be obtained by controlling the number, frequency and phase sequence of the motor windings. In other examples, the drive may be implemented by other types of motors, such as servo motors, etc. It will be appreciated that in selecting the motor to implement the drive, the motor type may be determined based on actual circumstances, such as one or more of the nature of the load (e.g., horizontal or vertical load, etc.), the torque, inertia, speed, accuracy, acceleration and deceleration requirements, and higher level control requirements (e.g., requirements for port interface and communications), the primary control mode (e.g., position, torque, or speed mode), the power supply type (e.g., dc or ac, or battery power), and the supply voltage range.

The application also provides a ToF collecting assembly. The ToF collecting component comprises the ToF collecting component and a driving component, wherein the ToF collecting component is arranged in an assembly space of the mobile robot and is configured to detect the external environment of the mobile robot; the driving component is connected to the ToF collecting component and used for driving the ToF collecting component to move so as to form a detectable range of the ToF collecting component. For the specific embodiments, please refer to the foregoing description, which is not repeated herein.

In view of the limited detection range of the ToF collecting component, the mobile robot further comprises: other detecting means. The ToF collecting component and the other detecting components are both used for detecting the external environment of the mobile robot, and are therefore collectively referred to as an environment detecting component.

In some embodiments, the environment detection component may include, for example, one or more of the ToF collecting component, the other detecting component in the embodiment of fig. 1.

The other detection components are positioned in the robot body or on the surface of the robot body and used for detecting the external environment of the mobile robot; wherein at least part of the detectable range of the other detecting components is out of the detectable range of the ToF collecting component. In addition, to avoid a detection blind area, for example, the detectable ranges of the other detecting components and the ToF collecting component 301 may partially overlap.

In some examples, the other detection components may be implemented as sensors or sensing assemblies that are either contact or non-contact. For example, the other detection components may include: any one or more of an infrared sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, a laser radar, a pressure sensor, an electromagnetic sensor, a millimeter wave radar, and a travel switch.

Illustratively, the other detection components may include a laser radar, which is disposed on a surface (e.g., a top) of a housing of the mobile robot and collects data of an external environment in a manner of lateral rotation.

For example, one or more openings or transmission portions may be disposed on the carrier for exposing sensors (such as infrared sensors, ultrasonic sensors, laser radar, etc.) that need to send and receive detection signals; alternatively, the one or more openings may be located on the front side of the robot body together with the ToF collecting part 101, and may be located at any one or more of the upper, lower, left, and right positions of the ToF collecting part 101.

For example, an opening may be respectively disposed on the carrier on both sides of the ToF collecting component for exposing and disposing the infrared sensor; or, an opening is arranged on the carrier on the hollow structure corresponding to the ToF collecting component and below the ToF collecting component, so that the ultrasonic sensor can be exposed.

The sensors for detecting the environment by sending and receiving detection signals can effectively assist in detecting the part outside the detectable range of the ToF acquisition component.

In some embodiments, the mobile robot further comprises a guard structure. Fig. 5A is a schematic view of a shielding structure in an embodiment of the present application.

It should be noted that, although the guard structure shown in fig. 5A is implemented with the ToF collecting member, it is not limited to that; in fact, in other embodiments, the shielding structure may also be implemented in a mobile robot separately to achieve the structural complexity and layout cost for sensing a small collision and thus reducing collision, and need not be implemented together with the ToF collecting component in the above embodiments.

In embodiment a1, a barrier structure is provided, comprising: a carrier 302A fixed to a front side of a robot main body of a mobile robot, the carrier 302A being in a stable positional relationship with the robot main body of the mobile robot in a state where a backward acting force is applied to the entirety thereof; at least one stopper 304A selectively formed on the carrier 302A, wherein the stopper is capable of being displaced or deformed in a manner of being capable of being restored relative to the main body of the carrier 302A when being subjected to a backward acting force; at least one sensor 305, disposed on the inner surface of each stopper, for sensing the displacement or deformation of the stopper and generating a predetermined electrical signal.

It should be noted that the carrier in the embodiment of fig. 5A and 5B may be the same component as the "carrier" in the other illustrated embodiments, such as the carrier 102 in the embodiment of fig. 1; due to its protective action, it may also be referred to as a "fender".

Illustratively, the stable positional relationship between the carrier 302A and the robot body of the mobile robot (e.g., the mobile robot body in fig. 1) refers to a relative position between the carrier 302A and the robot body of the mobile robot being fixed, in other words, the carrier 302A and the robot body of the mobile robot are not movably connected or combined, and in this case, the carrier 302A and the robot body of the mobile robot do not generate relative movement or displacement under the action of external force (unless in destructive condition, of course), for example, the carrier 302A is rigidly connected to the robot body of the mobile robot, for example, the carrier 302A is fixed to the robot body by screwing, bonding, clamping, etc.

The stopper 304A is selectively formed on the carrier 302A. Illustratively, "selectively" means that the number of the stoppers 304A and the positions thereof on the carrier 302A are selectable, such as two stoppers 304A are provided, such as two stoppers 304A symmetrically provided on both sides of the center line of the carrier 302A in the transverse direction, and so on. In addition, the term "forming" refers to a structure that the stopper and the carrier can be integrally formed, or the stopper and the carrier form a robot main body part through a connecting piece so as to provide a containing space for hardware inside the robot. Compared with the carrier, the deformation amount of the small deformation of the stopper 304A is greater than or equal to the deformation amount of the small deformation of the carrier during collision. However, during collision, the deformation process corresponding to the stopper 304A does not affect the accommodating space formed by the robot body and the layout of the hardware disposed in the internal space.

Illustratively, the stopper 304A may be connected to the carrier 302A by a resilient structure, thereby enabling resilient and resilient displacement with respect to a main body portion of the carrier 302A other than the stopper 304A. Wherein, the elastic structure has a slight deformation so as not to influence the inner space formed by the robot main body and the hardware layout arranged in the accommodating space.

For example, in embodiment a2, implemented in accordance with embodiment a1, the structure for coupling between the flight and the carrier can comprise: one or more cantilevers 306A.

In some examples, such as shown in fig. 5A, the stopper 304A may be integrally connected to the carrier 302A via one or more cantilever arms 306A, and the elastic deformation of the cantilever arms 306A may be utilized to allow the stopper 304A to perform a reversible displacement with respect to the carrier 302A.

In other examples, the connection between the stopper and the carrier may be smaller in thickness than the portion of the carrier adjacent to the stopper, so that the stopper can move in a reciprocating manner relative to the carrier. For example, a portion of the thickness of the carrier compared to the adjoining carrier is less than the flight/carrier junction.

In still other examples, the stopper 304A is at least partially made of an elastic material, and is at least partially deformed when a backward force is applied, such as a collision, so as to approach or close to the sensor 305. In other words, the sensor 305 outputs an impact signal when the stopper 304A deforms due to an impact according to the material deformation characteristics thereof. The stopper 304A serves to form the shape of the robot housing, and the material thereof has flexibility and rigidity, thereby protecting the hardware inside the robot.

For the above examples of the stoppers, the sensing portion of the sensor 305 is disposed within the deformation stroke of the stopper 304A, or the range of the sensing portion of the sensor 305 can sense the deformation stroke of the stopper 304A.

It should be noted that the displacement or deformation degree of the stopper 304A is not large, and under the condition that the sensor 305 is triggered, the deformation or displacement stroke of the stopper 304A relative to the robot main body of the mobile robot is limited to a preset range, such as a range of a distance between 0.1 mm and 10 mm, for example, a range of a distance between 0.1 mm and 0.5 mm, 0.5 mm and 1 mm, 1 mm and 5 mm, or a smaller range of 5 mm and 10 mm.

In the embodiment of the present application, the stopper 304A cooperates with the sensor 305, and when the stopper 304A is forced to displace or deform, the sensor 305 is triggered to change its state, so as to generate a corresponding predetermined electrical signal output. When the sensor 305 is used, the travel distance required by triggering the sensor 305 is shorter than that of a photoelectric sensor or a photoelectric switch, and when the stopper has a small displacement, the state change of the sensor is triggered to output a preset electric signal to indicate that the collision event of the stopper is detected, so that the mechanical structure is simplified compared with the buffering assembly in the prior art, and the material cost and the safety cost are saved.

The guard structure is not limited to the structure shown in fig. 5A; referring to fig. 5B, a schematic view of a shielding structure in another embodiment of the present application is shown.

Compared with fig. 5A, in the embodiment of fig. 5B, the area of the stop member 304B is designed to be larger, and accordingly, the area of the portion of the carrier 302B around the stop member is reduced, for example, the connecting structure (e.g., the cantilever 306B) between the stop member 304B and the carrier 302B is designed to be as far as possible on the left and right sides of the stop member, so that the area of the stop member 304B can be enlarged upward, and the area of the portion of the carrier 302B above the stop member can be reduced accordingly; when a collision occurs, the stopper 304B is preferentially touched rather than the carrier 302B, so as to avoid the problem of missed detection or delayed detection of the collision.

In some embodiments, the sensor 305 may be a travel switch, such as any one of a limit switch, a micro-switch, or a proximity switch; preferably, the travel switch can be a microswitch, which has small volume and sensitive response, is more suitable for being used in a small-sized mechanism, and has short triggering travel.

The principle will be described by taking a certain structure in which the sensor 305 is a travel switch as an example. For example, the travel switch may have a housing and an elastic structure (not shown) exposed from the housing and elastically stretchable, the elastic structure is composed of a push rod and an elastic member (e.g., a metal elastic sheet) located under the push rod, and in an initial state, a moving contact on the metal elastic sheet is electrically contacted with the normally closed contact, so that the travel switch is in a first state; when the push rod is extruded to be contracted, the metal elastic sheet is deformed to enable the movable contact to be electrically contacted with the normally open contact, the travel switch is triggered to be in the second state, and the preset electric signal is output. Then, for example, when the travel switch is in the first state, the normally closed and movable contacts are contacted without conducting the travel switch, so that the output electrical signal can be '0'; when the state of the mobile robot changes due to the extrusion of the displacement of the stopper, the normally open contact and the dynamic contact are enabled to be in contact with the conducting travel switch, so that the output electric signal can be 1, and the preset electric signal is used as a preset electric signal and represents that the collision event of the mobile robot is detected.

Of course, the structure of the travel switch in the above example is only one, and other similar switches which have a telescopic structure and convert the telescopic state of the telescopic structure into different electric signals to be output so as to detect the collision event of the mobile robot can be substituted; it should be noted that if the requirement of short trigger stroke can be met, the travel switch does not need to be a contact type switch, but can be a non-contact type switch, such as the proximity switch and the like, and the principle of the travel switch lies in electric and magnetic induction, in which case the stopper needs to be at least partially made of metal so as to be sensed; based on different principles, the proximity switch can be classified into an inductive type, a capacitive type, a hall type, an ac type, a dc type, and the like.

Alternatively, in some simpler structural implementations, the inductor 305 may also be simplified to appear as a metal contact structure, such as two metal contact portions (e.g., contacts or pads, etc.).

In embodiment A3 implemented in accordance with embodiment a1, the flights 304A are multiple in number, and the inner surface of each flight 304A is provided with one or more of the sensors 305.

For example, there are two of the stoppers 304A; two sensors 305 may be disposed behind each flight 304A.

In embodiment a4, implemented in accordance with embodiment a1, the flights 304A are at least two; the carrier has an opening or transmissive portion between the two stoppers 304A for exposing at least one environmental detection component (including at least one or more of a ToF collecting component and other detection components).

In an embodiment a5 implemented in accordance with embodiment a1, the carrier is provided with an opening or transmissive portion for exposing the at least one environment detecting member at a portion other than a portion between the plurality of stoppers.

For example, in fig. 5A, openings or transmission portions may be disposed on two sides of the two stoppers 304A for receiving and transmitting signals of the environment detection component.

In an embodiment a6 implemented according to embodiment a4 or a5, the environment detection unit includes: any one or more of a ToF sensor, a camera, a photoelectric sensor, an infrared sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, a pressure sensor, an electromagnetic sensor, a millimeter-wave radar, a travel switch, a metal contact structure and the like.

The environment detecting part refers to a sensor for environment detection in the mobile robot except for the sensor 305 in the shielding structure, such as any one or more of the ToF collecting part 301, a camera, a photoelectric sensor, an infrared sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, a pressure sensor, a millimeter wave radar, an electromagnetic sensor, and the sensor 305 (in the non-shielding structure).

In a possible implementation, the environment detection component may include, for example, the ToF collecting component in the embodiment of fig. 1.

For example, as shown in fig. 5A, stoppers 304A may be respectively formed on the carrier 302A at two sides of the hollow structure 303 of the ToF collecting component 301, where the stoppers 304A have an outer surface 3041A for receiving a force and are displaced when receiving the force; the inner surface of each stopper 304A (i.e., the back surface of the outer surface 3041A) may be provided with at least one sensor 305 for sensing the displacement of the stopper 304A and generating a predetermined electrical signal. Each of the flights 304A and the sensor 305 form a sensing assembly. It is understood that the stop 304B and the sensor 305 of fig. 5B may also constitute a sensing assembly.

Of course, the embodiment of FIG. 5A is only one application of the combination of the environment detection component and the shielding structure, and the environment detection component can be varied.

In an embodiment a7 implemented according to embodiment a4 or a5, the environment detecting component is provided at a front side defined by a traveling direction of the mobile robot.

For example, the environment detecting component may be a ToF collecting component in the embodiment of fig. 1, which is disposed at the front side of the mobile robot, and the mobile robot moves forward.

In embodiment A8 implemented in accordance with embodiment a6, the ToF sensor is A3D ToF sensor.

For example, the ToF collecting part in the foregoing embodiments may include a 3D ToF sensor.

In an embodiment a9 implemented in accordance with embodiment a5, the carrier is provided with a cutout for exposing the environment detecting element.

For example, in the embodiment of fig. 1, the carrier is provided with a hollow structure for exposing the ToF collecting element.

In an embodiment a10 implemented in accordance with embodiment a9, the hollowed-out structure is configured such that one end corresponds to the environment detecting component and the other end is an open end corresponding to the external component, and an inner wall between the two ends encloses a cavity.

For example, in the embodiment shown in fig. 1, the carrier has a hollow structure for exposing the ToF collecting component, and the carrier has two ends respectively corresponding to the ToF collecting component and the exterior and enclosing a cavity.

In embodiment a11 implemented in accordance with embodiment a10, the cavity exhibits a shape with an increasing cross-sectional area from the end corresponding to the environment detection component to the other end.

For example, in the embodiment of fig. 1, the description of the shape of the cavity of the hollow structure is referred to.

In embodiment a12, implemented in accordance with embodiment a10, an interior wall surface of the cavity is a rough surface; or, a step structure is formed on the inner wall surface of the cavity, and the step structure is in a shape that the size of the step structure is reduced from one end corresponding to the environment detection component to the other end.

Such as described above with respect to the fig. 1 or 5A embodiment, with respect to the interior wall surface of the cavity.

In embodiment a13 implemented in accordance with embodiment a1, the sensor includes: a travel switch, or a metal contact mechanism.

As mentioned above, the sensor 305 may be selected as a micro-switch in a travel switch, so that a collision can be sensed with a very small travel.

In example a14, which was carried out according to example a1, an outer surface of the carrier is provided with a shell covering each of the stoppers, which stoppers are not visible under the covering of the shell.

Referring to fig. 1, for example, the housing 105 covers the position of the corresponding stopper on the carrier, and covers each stopper to be invisible, for example, the housing is made of or coated with a material that is not transparent, so as to make the robot main body beautiful and achieve a protection effect, and the overall size of the mobile robot can be reduced because the carrier and the housing can maintain a stable position relationship.

In an embodiment a15 implemented according to embodiment a1 or a14, an outer surface of the carrier is provided with a casing, the casing being provided with an opening or a transmissive portion arranged corresponding to a location of an environment detection component of the mobile robot.

Referring to fig. 1, for example, if there may be signal transceiving requirements for some sensors (e.g., photoelectric sensors, ultrasonic sensors, etc.) in the environment detection component, the housing may form an opening or a transmission portion (e.g., implemented by using a transparent or translucent material to facilitate transmission of optical signals) at a position corresponding to the signal transceiving requirements.

In embodiment A15, which is implemented in accordance with embodiment A1, an outer surface of the flight 304 protrudes above an outer surface of the carrier.

Such a design may enable the flights 304A, 304B to impact outside, such as an obstacle or the like, prior to the carriage, thereby avoiding an undesirable condition in which the mobile robot has actually impacted, but not detected by the sensor 305.

As described in the foregoing embodiment, optionally, an elastic anti-collision portion may be further fixedly disposed at a bottom position of the front side of the robot main body, so as to buffer collision. The anti-collision part protrudes out of the outer surface of the blocking part, and is preferentially pressed and deformed when the front part of the robot body is collided, and when the anti-collision part is deformed to a certain degree, the blocking part is collided to detect the occurrence of a collision event, so that the anti-collision part can firstly buffer collision force in the process, and the blocking and protecting structure is effectively protected to prolong the service life of the blocking and protecting structure.

In embodiment a17, there may be provided a mobile robot comprising: a housing; and the baffle structure of any one of embodiments a 1-a 16.

In embodiment a18 implemented based on embodiment a17, the mobile robot includes: a kinetic energy system for controllably moving the mobile robot; a control device electrically coupled to and for controlling the kinetic energy system; the control device is further electrically coupled to the at least one sensor 305 to receive the predetermined electrical signal.

In embodiment a19 implemented based on embodiment a18, the control device is configured to drive the kinetic energy system according to a predetermined electrical signal of the sensor 305 to eliminate the displacement of the stoppers 304A and 304B corresponding to the sensor 305 generating the predetermined electrical signal.

The control device may be, for example, a control component in the embodiment of fig. 7 or other control device in the mobile robot, and is electrically coupled to the kinetic energy system to send a signal to control the kinetic energy system to move the mobile robot. The kinetic energy system is a general term for a power device and a driving mechanical structure which can make the mobile robot move.

For example, when the mobile robot collides with an obstacle, the stoppers 304A and 304B are pressed to displace (e.g., displace backward) into the mobile robot, the triggering sensor 305 generates a preset electrical signal and outputs the preset electrical signal to the control device, and the control device controls the mobile robot to move backward, so that the stoppers 304A and 304B are disengaged from the obstacle, and the stoppers 304A and 304B return to their original positions (e.g., displace forward).

In an embodiment a20 implemented on the basis of embodiment a17, the mobile robot includes a cleaning robot. The cleaning robot can be a sweeping, mopping, sweeping and mopping integrated robot and the like.

In the embodiment of the cooperation between the ToF collecting component and the sensing components in the above embodiments, since the movable ToF collecting component 301 expands the detectable range, the collision between the mobile robot and the detected obstacle can be avoided, and the collision between the mobile robot and the detected obstacle can be avoided with a small probability even if the obstacle that cannot be detected is outside the detectable range, the sensing component that can be realized by the cooperation between the stoppers 304A and 304B in the above embodiments and the sensor 305 is preferably adopted, and the collision can be detected with as few strokes and collision areas as possible by the ingenious structural design, so that the structure of the buffering component in the prior art can be completely eliminated, the complexity of the structural design of the mobile robot can be effectively reduced, and the cost can be reduced.

Referring to fig. 1 and fig. 6 together, a schematic top view of the ToF collecting component 101 disposed at one end of the hollow structure of the carrier 102 in the embodiment of the present application is shown. As is apparent from fig. 6, the first partial angular range of the predetermined detection range of the ToF collecting part 101 projected on the transverse plane, and the second partial angular ranges B1, B2 of the adjustable detection range realized by the transverse rotation of the ToF collecting part 101 projected on the transverse plane, wherein A, B1 and B2 in combination constitute the predetermined angular range.

In fig. 6, the hollow-out structure 103 is exemplarily illustrated, wherein a step structure, and/or a rugged rough surface may be provided.

Of course, the embodiment in fig. 6 is only an illustrative example for facilitating the reader to understand that ToF collecting component 101 can move to reach a larger detectable range, and is not a limitation on the possible implementation schemes, for example, the step structure, the rough surface, the hollow structure, the moving manner of ToF collecting component 101, and the like can be changed, and is not limited to the embodiment in fig. 6.

Illustratively, the actuation component is controllably actuatable to enable formation of the ToF capturing component 101 to meet certain functional requirements.

Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating a circuit structure of the mobile robot in the embodiment of the present application for controlling the activity of the ToF collecting component 401.

The driving part 402 may include a driver such as a motor (e.g., a stepping motor, a servo motor, etc.), a steering engine, or other rotary power mechanism, and the robot body of the mobile robot may further include a control part 403 electrically connected to the driving part 402, so as to control the driving part 402 to drive the ToF collecting part 401 to move.

For example, if the driving unit 402 includes a stepping motor, the control unit 403 may be electrically coupled to the stepping motor, and send a pulse signal to the stepping motor according to a timing sequence corresponding to a desired function, so as to drive the ToF collecting unit 401 to move. For example, an output shaft of a driving part 202 in fig. 4 is driven to rotate laterally, thereby driving ToF collecting part 201 in fig. 2 to rotate laterally.

Illustratively, the control component 403 controls the activities of the ToF acquiring component 401 in order to achieve a certain function. For example, the control unit 403 may control the driving unit 402 to drive the ToF collecting unit 401 to move, so that the detection target is located in the detectable range of the ToF collecting unit 401 in the process of executing the corresponding function, and the control unit 403 triggers/maintains to execute a function by using the detection target detected by controlling the movement of the ToF collecting unit. For example, the moving route is adjusted and/or marking is performed on the map data according to the relative position with the detection target; as another example, the cleaning mode is adjusted according to the recognition result of the detection target.

For example, in the case that the mobile robot has the ToF collecting component in the above embodiment, the control component 403 is also electrically coupled to other detecting components, and also receives data transmitted by the other detecting components for detecting the environment.

In some examples, the detection target includes at least one of: an obstacle, landmark, or designated area that has been detected.

Wherein, the obstacle refers to an object which is located on the motion path of the mobile robot and can generate a block; obstacles vary in type depending on the environment, for example in indoor scenarios, obstacles may be doors, walls, pillars, tables, chairs, cabinets, flowerpots, appliances and other various placements; in an outdoor scenario, the obstacle may be a building, a public facility, a pedestrian, or the like.

Wherein, in a map of the robot, the landmark comprises features collected from one or more points in the environment; for a color image captured by a camera, the features may be formed by pixel points (including RGB pixel values and/or depth data) at certain specific locations on the color image, which may be on the same or different objects; for a ToF camera, it may be depth data for points at certain specific locations on the acquired depth image.

Illustratively, the obstacle that has been detected is detected by a detection component 404 other than the ToF collecting component with which the mobile robot is provided or by a detection component 404 other than the ToF collecting component with which the mobile robot communicates. The other detecting means 404 may be implemented by other detecting means in the aforementioned embodiments. For example, when the other detecting component 404 first detects the obstacle a in the detection range thereof, and then generates a corresponding signal to be transmitted to the control component 403, the control component 403 controls the ToF collecting component 401 to move according to the signal until the obstacle a falls into the predetermined detection range after the movement of the ToF collecting component, so as to detect the obstacle.

It should be noted that, in this embodiment, since the actual relative position, the central axis or the baseline relative position, etc. between ToF collecting component 401 and other detecting components 404 can be predicted, and the moving stroke (e.g. rotating and translating) of ToF collecting component 401 can be calculated by the moving stroke (e.g. motor rotating speed and motor rotating stroke calculated by rotating time) when driving the driver of driving component 402, when other detecting components 404 find an obstacle, the general orientation of the obstacle can be known, and it can be realized to drive ToF collecting component 401 to move until the obstacle falls into its predetermined detection range.

For example, in the positioning scheme of the mobile robot, in the case that a landmark is not acquired yet, the control component 403 may also drive the ToF acquiring component 401 to move to detect the landmark, so as to match in the map database to obtain the current position of the mobile robot; therefore, the mobile robot does not need to move integrally as in the prior art, thereby simplifying the control logic.

The map database may be located in a local storage medium of the mobile robot, or may be located in a cloud.

In some embodiments, the storage medium is, for example, read-only memory, random-access memory, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, flash memory, U-disk, removable hard disk, or any other medium that can be used to store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer.

In some embodiments, the cloud is implemented by any one of a server/server group, a desktop, a laptop, a smartphone, a tablet, and the like, or by a distributed system in which multiple communications are connected to work cooperatively; the Service terminal may be implemented by a server/server group, may be based on a centralized architecture, or may be based on a distributed architecture, such as a public cloud (public cloud) Service end and a private cloud (PrivateCloud) Service end, where the public or private cloud Service end includes Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). The private cloud service end is, for example, an Intel service end, an aristo cloud computing service platform, an Amazon cloud computing service platform, a hundredth cloud computing platform, a Tencent cloud computing platform, and the like.

Illustratively, the detection target may further include a designated area, for example, an area that has been predefined in a map, such as a living room, a bedroom, or other customized area; alternatively, the designated area may be any type of area detected by other detection means, which may cause an obstacle to the travel of the mobile robot and is not intended for the mobile robot to enter, such as an underexposed area or other designated forbidden area.

Illustratively, the control component 403 may also be electrically coupled to a kinetic energy system 405 of the mobile robot. The kinetic energy system 405 is a general term for a power device and a driving mechanism that can move the mobile robot. Similar to the foregoing examples, the power device may be a motor, a steering engine, or other rotary power device, and the driving mechanism includes: such as transmission structures (e.g., lead screw, gear, shaft structures, etc.), and moving parts (e.g., roller, track, machine foot, etc.).

It should be noted that the electrical connection in the embodiment of fig. 7 is only an example, and the dashed lines represent alternative connection, not a limitation.

Fig. 8 is a schematic flow chart illustrating a control method in the embodiment of the present application. The control method can be applied to a mobile robot, and the execution subject of the control method can be, for example, a control component of the mobile robot in the embodiment of fig. 7.

The control method comprises the following steps:

step S501: the detection target is known.

In some examples, the detection target includes at least one of: an obstacle, landmark, or designated area that has been detected. The obstacles may be doors, walls, pillars, tables, chairs, cabinets, flowerpots, electric appliances and other various objects, which are different types according to environments, for example, in indoor scenes; in an outdoor scenario, the obstacle may be a building, a public facility, a pedestrian, or the like. Illustratively, the designated area is, for example, an area that has been predefined in a map, such as a living room, bedroom, or other custom area; alternatively, the designated area may be any type of area detected by other detection means, which may cause an obstacle to the travel of the mobile robot and is not intended for the mobile robot to enter, such as an underexposed area or other designated forbidden area.

Wherein, in a map of the robot, the landmark comprises features collected from one or more points in the environment; for a color image captured by a camera, the features may be formed by pixel points (including RGB pixel values and/or depth data) at certain specific locations on the color image, which may be on the same or different objects; for a ToF camera, it may be depth data for points at certain specific locations on the acquired depth image.

In some examples, the control component may learn from the received information a position of a probe target, such as an externally input (e.g., user input); still alternatively, the detection target detected by other detecting means in the foregoing embodiments is sent to the control means, and is thus known by the control means.

Step S502: and controlling the driving component to drive the ToF acquisition component to move so as to enable the detection target to be positioned in the detectable range of the ToF acquisition component.

Illustratively, the detected obstacle is detected by a detection component other than a ToF collecting component provided with the mobile robot or other than a ToF collecting component communicating with the mobile robot.

In some scenarios, other detecting components may employ low-cost and weak-detection sensors, which may only detect a rough and inaccurate orientation of the obstacle, but cannot detect more data about the obstacle, such as size, type, more accurate orientation, distance, etc., and therefore further detection is required by the ToF collecting component.

For example, in the foregoing embodiment, the other detecting component may first find the obstacle a in the detection range thereof, and then generate a corresponding signal to be transmitted to the control component, and the control component controls the ToF collecting component to move according to the signal to enable the obstacle a to fall into the predetermined detection range after the movement of the ToF collecting component, so as to detect the obstacle.

It is understood that the control of the driving means by the control means is an action of performing the control in a case where a trigger condition is satisfied; the trigger conditions include: the control part receives signals indicating that the other detection parts except the ToF acquisition part arranged on the mobile robot or the other detection parts except the ToF acquisition part communicated with the mobile robot detect the obstacles.

It should be noted that, in this embodiment, since the relative position, the central axis, the base line, and the like between the ToF collecting component and other detecting components can be predicted, and the moving stroke (e.g., rotation, translation) of the ToF collecting component can be calculated by the moving stroke (e.g., motor rotation speed, and motor rotation stroke calculated by rotation time) when the driver of the driving component is driven, when the other detecting components find an obstacle, the general orientation of the obstacle can be known, and the ToF collecting component can be driven to move until the obstacle falls into the predetermined detection range.

The principle of the above process will be more clearly described with reference to fig. 9A and 9B, which are described below in conjunction with the drawings.

As shown in fig. 9A, the other detecting component 404, such as an infrared sensor, detects the obstacle B and transmits corresponding data to the control component 403, wherein the other detecting component 404 may only detect the general direction of the obstacle B and cannot know the depth or size of the obstacle B; as can be seen from the figure, the ToF acquiring part 401 does not have the obstacle B in the predetermined detection range (corresponding to its current posture) at this time.

Alternatively, after the other detecting means detects the obstacle B and notifies the control means 403, the control means 403 or other control devices on the mobile robot may control the kinetic energy system to decelerate to avoid collision; or, the braking energy system is controlled to decelerate when it is judged by calculation that a collision with the obstacle will occur.

As shown in fig. 9B, the control unit 403 controls the driving unit 402 to drive the ToF collecting unit 401 to move (e.g., rotate in the direction of the right arrow in fig. 9A) to approach the other detecting unit 404, so that the obstacle B appears in the predetermined detection range after the movement.

Further, after finding the obstacle, the control unit 403 or other control devices in the mobile robot may plan an obstacle avoidance path and control the kinetic energy system to enable the mobile robot to avoid the obstacle.

For example, in the positioning scheme of the mobile robot, in the case that a landmark is not acquired yet, the control component 403 may also drive the ToF acquiring component 401 to move to detect the landmark, so as to match in the map database to obtain the current position of the mobile robot; therefore, the mobile robot does not need to move integrally as in the prior art, thereby simplifying the control logic.

Accordingly, for example, as shown in fig. 10A, in the present case, the mobile robot starts to locate its current position, however, the landmark C, D (e.g. one or more points on a flowerpot, a water dispenser, a cabinet, etc.) is outside the predetermined detection range of the ToF collecting component 401, and there are no other landmarks in the predetermined detection range, so that the location cannot be completed; control section 403 controls ToF collecting section 401 to perform detection in a predetermined manner (e.g., one or more of clockwise rotation, counterclockwise rotation, ascending, descending, etc.) or at random; as shown in fig. 10B, if C (or D) is found, the detected environment data (e.g., depth data) including C (or D) is transmitted to the control component 403 or other control device, and the control component 403 or other control device may perform local comparison with the map database to complete positioning, or transmit the detected environment data to the cloud to perform comparison with the map database to complete positioning.

For example, the data of the detected obstacle may be used to update map data corresponding to the external environment, and the obstacle may be marked on a map display graphical interface presented to the user. Wherein the type of data of the obstacle includes: any one or more of location, size, distance, and type. Further optionally, if an obstacle in the same location has previously existed, the update may be utilized to override the data of the previous obstacle.

Fig. 11 is a schematic diagram of a circuit structure of the control device in the embodiment of the present application.

The control device 600 in this embodiment may be used to implement the control components in the foregoing embodiments.

The control device 600 includes: one or more communicators 601, one or more memories 602, and one or more processors 603.

The one or more communicators 601 are for communicating with the outside. Illustratively, the communicator 601 may include a wired or wireless communication interface, which represents a meaning of logically interacting with the outside, not limited to a real physical interface; for example, the wired communication interface includes, for example, a wired ethernet card, a USB, etc., and the wireless communication interface includes, for example, a wireless network card (WiFi), a 2G/3G/4G/5G mobile communication module, a bluetooth, an infrared, etc.

One of the communicators 601 may be communicatively coupled to the ToF collecting component, and one or more of the communicators 601 may be communicatively coupled to other environment collecting components, such as any one or more combinations of an infrared sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, a lidar, a pressure sensor, an electromagnetic sensor, a millimeter-wave radar, and a travel switch.

The one or more memories 602 are used for storing at least one computer program. Illustratively, the one or more memories 602 may include high-speed random access memory, and may also include non-volatile memory, such as one or more magnetic disk storage devices, flash memory devices, or other non-volatile solid-state storage devices. In certain embodiments, the one or more memories may also include a memory remote from the one or more processors, such as a network-attached memory accessed via RF circuitry or external ports and a communication network, which may be the internet, one or more intranets, local area networks, wide area networks, storage area networks, and the like, or suitable combinations thereof. The memory controller may control access to the memory by other components of the device, such as the CPU and peripheral interfaces.

The one or more processors 603, coupled to the one or more communicators 601 and memory 602, are configured to run the computer programs to perform a control method, such as that shown in fig. 8, to control the activities of the ToF acquiring device. Illustratively, the processor 603 may be a general purpose microprocessor, a special purpose processor, a programmable logic array, or any combination thereof.

Referring to fig. 12, a functional block diagram of a control system 700 in an embodiment of the present application is shown. The functional modules in the control system 700 may be implemented by a combination of software/hardware/software/hardware, such as the control module 701, and may be implemented by a processor in the control device in the embodiment of fig. 10 running a computer program.

The control system 700 is applied to a mobile robot. In some examples, the mobile robot may be a mobile robot implementation such as in fig. 1, such as a cleaning robot (sweeping robot, mopping robot, sweeping/mopping robot, etc.).

The mobile robot includes: a robot main body having an assembly space; a ToF collecting component movably arranged in the assembling space and used for detecting the external environment of the mobile robot; and the driving component is connected with the ToF acquisition component and used for driving the ToF acquisition component to move so as to form a detectable range of the ToF acquisition component.

The control system 700 includes: the control module 701 is configured to control the driving component to drive the ToF collecting component to move, so that the detection target is located in a detectable range of the ToF collecting component.

In some examples, the detection target includes at least one of: an obstacle, landmark, or designated area that has been detected. The obstacles may be doors, walls, pillars, tables, chairs, cabinets, flowerpots, electric appliances and other various objects, which are different types according to environments, for example, in indoor scenes; in an outdoor scenario, the obstacle may be a building, a public facility, a pedestrian, or the like.

Wherein, in a map of the robot, the landmark comprises features collected from one or more points in the environment; for a color image captured by a camera, the features may be formed by pixel points (including RGB pixel values and/or depth data) at certain specific locations on the color image, which may be on the same or different objects; for a ToF camera, it may be depth data for points at certain specific locations on the acquired depth image.

Illustratively, the detected obstacle is detected by a detection component other than a ToF collecting component provided with the mobile robot or other than a ToF collecting component communicating with the mobile robot.

In some scenarios, other detecting components may employ low-cost and weak-detection sensors, which may only detect a rough and inaccurate orientation of the obstacle, but cannot detect more data about the obstacle, such as size, type, more accurate orientation, distance, etc., and therefore further detection is required by the ToF collecting component.

For example, in the foregoing embodiment, the other detecting component may first find the obstacle a in the detection range thereof, and then generate a corresponding signal to be transmitted to the control component, and the control component controls the ToF collecting component to move according to the signal to enable the obstacle a to fall into the predetermined detection range after the movement of the ToF collecting component, so as to detect the obstacle.

It is understood that the control of the driving means by the control means is an action of performing the control in a case where a trigger condition is satisfied; the trigger conditions include: signals representing obstacles detected by other detection means than ToF collecting means provided with or communicating with the mobile robot are received by the control means.

It should be noted that, in this embodiment, since the relative position, the central axis, the base line, and the like between the ToF collecting component and other detecting components can be predicted, and the moving stroke (e.g., rotation, translation) of the ToF collecting component can be calculated by the moving stroke (e.g., motor rotation speed, and motor rotation stroke calculated by rotation time) when the driver of the driving component is driven, when an obstacle is found by other detecting components, the general orientation of the obstacle can be known, and the ToF collecting component can be driven to move until the obstacle falls into the predetermined detection range.

Illustratively, the data of the obstacle is used to update map data corresponding to the external environment. Optionally, the type of the data of the obstacle includes: any one or more of location, size, distance, and type. For example, the data of the detected obstacle may be used to update map data corresponding to the external environment, and the obstacle may be marked on a map display graphical interface presented to the user. Wherein the type of data of the obstacle includes: any one or more of location, size, distance, and type. Further optionally, if an obstacle in the same location has previously existed, the update may be utilized to override the data of the previous obstacle.

The various functions performed in the foregoing embodiments relate to a computer software product; the computer software product is stored in a computer storage medium, and is used 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 described in the embodiments of the present application, for example, the steps of the flow chart in the embodiment of the method in fig. 6 when the computer software product is executed.

In the embodiments provided herein, the computer storage medium may include read-only memory, random access memory, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, flash memory, U-disk, removable disk, or any other medium that can be used to store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the instructions are transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium. It should be understood, however, that computer storage media and data storage media do not include connections, carrier waves, signals, or other transitory media, but are intended to refer to non-transitory, tangible storage media. Disk and disc, as used in this application, includes Compact Disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, Digital Versatile Disc (DVD), floppy disk and blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers.

In one or more exemplary aspects, the functions described in the computer programs referred to in the method flows of the present application may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. The steps of a method or algorithm disclosed herein may be embodied in processor-executable software modules, which may be located on tangible, non-transitory computer storage media. Tangible, non-transitory computer storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by a computer.

The flowcharts and block diagrams in the figures described above of the present application illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present application. In this regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of code, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be noted that, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems which perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.

To sum up, the mobile robot and the ToF detecting assembly of the present application, the mobile robot includes: a robot main body having an assembly space; a ToF collecting part disposed in the assembly space and configured to detect an external environment of the mobile robot; the driving component is connected with the ToF collecting component and used for driving the ToF collecting component to move so as to form a detectable range of the ToF collecting component; the movable ToF acquisition component is innovatively used for achieving environment detection in a wider range to determine the obstacle, so that the anti-collision structure is reduced or eliminated, and the problems in the prior art are solved.

Based on the technical framework reflected by the examples described in the mobile robot and ToF detecting component, the present application discloses the following technical solutions:

1. a mobile robot, comprising:

a robot main body having an assembly space;

a ToF collecting part disposed in the assembly space and configured to detect an external environment of the mobile robot;

and the driving component is connected with the ToF acquisition component and used for driving the ToF acquisition component to move so as to form a detectable range of the ToF acquisition component.

2. The mobile robot according to embodiment 1, wherein the detectable range of the ToF collecting component comprises: the ToF acquisition component comprises a preset detection range of the ToF acquisition component and an adjustable detection range formed by the movement of the ToF acquisition component.

3. The mobile robot according to embodiment 1 or 2, wherein the ToF collecting part moves in a manner including: rotation and/or translation.

4. The mobile robot according to embodiment 1, wherein the ToF collecting part is provided on a side surface of the mobile robot.

5. The mobile robot according to embodiment 1 or 4, wherein the ToF collecting part is provided on a front side defined by a traveling direction of the mobile robot.

6. The mobile robot according to embodiment 1, wherein the ToF collecting means includes: 3D ToF sensor.

7. The mobile robot according to embodiment 1, wherein the housing of the mobile robot is provided with a hollow structure for exposing the ToF collecting component.

8. The mobile robot according to embodiment 7, wherein the hollowed-out structure is configured such that one end corresponds to the ToF collecting component, the other end corresponds to an open end disposed outside, and an inner wall between the two ends encloses a cavity.

9. The mobile robot according to embodiment 8, wherein the cavity has a shape with a gradually increasing cross-sectional area from one end of the cavity corresponding to the ToF collecting member to the other end of the cavity.

10. The mobile robot according to embodiment 8, wherein an inner wall surface of the cavity is a rough surface; or the inner wall surface of the cavity forms a step structure.

11. The mobile robot according to embodiment 1, wherein the driving means includes:

the movable piece is connected with and can move to drive the ToF acquisition component;

and the driver is connected with and drives the movable piece.

12. The mobile robot of embodiment 11, wherein the moveable member is positioned and connected to the ToF collecting device.

13. The mobile robot of embodiment 11, wherein the positioning connection comprises: any one or more of snap connection, riveting, bonding, and welding.

14. The mobile robot according to embodiment 11, wherein the movable member and the driver are of an integral structure.

15. The mobile robot according to embodiment 12, wherein the driving member is a motor, and the movable member is an output shaft of the motor to the outside.

16. The mobile robot of embodiment 11, wherein the drive is a motor; the movable piece includes: a transmission member connecting the driver and the ToF collecting member.

17. The mobile robot according to embodiment 1, comprising: other detecting means for detecting an external environment of the mobile robot; wherein at least part of the detectable range of the other detecting components is out of the detectable range of the ToF collecting component.

18. The mobile robot of embodiment 17, wherein the detectable ranges of the other detecting elements and the ToF collecting element partially overlap with each other.

19. The mobile robot of embodiment 17, wherein the other detection means comprises: any one or more of an infrared sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, a laser radar, a pressure sensor, an electromagnetic sensor, a millimeter wave radar, and a travel switch.

20. The mobile robot according to embodiment 1, further comprising:

a carrier fixed to a front side of a robot body of a mobile robot, the carrier having an entirety thereof maintained in a stable positional relationship with the robot body of the mobile robot in a state of being subjected to a rearward acting force;

at least one stopper selectively formed on the carrier, wherein the stopper is capable of being displaced or deformed relative to the main body of the carrier in a manner of being subjected to a backward acting force;

the sensor is arranged on the inner surface of each stopper and used for sensing the displacement or deformation of the stopper and generating a preset electric signal; the inductor includes: a travel switch, or a metal contact mechanism.

21. The mobile robot according to embodiment 1, comprising: the robot is cleaned.

22. A ToF detection assembly is applied to a mobile robot; the ToF detecting element comprises:

a ToF collecting part disposed in the assembly space and configured to detect an external environment of the mobile robot;

and the driving component is connected with the ToF acquisition component and used for driving the ToF acquisition component to move so as to form a detectable range of the ToF acquisition component.

The above embodiments are merely illustrative of the principles and utilities of the present application and are not intended to limit the application. Any person skilled in the art can modify or change the above-described embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application. Accordingly, it is intended that all equivalent modifications or changes which can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and technical concepts disclosed in the present application shall be covered by the claims of the present application.

Claims (10)

1. A mobile robot, comprising:

a robot main body having an assembly space;

a ToF collecting part disposed in the assembly space and configured to detect an external environment of the mobile robot;

and the driving component is connected with the ToF acquisition component and used for driving the ToF acquisition component to move so as to form a detectable range of the ToF acquisition component.

2. The mobile robot of claim 1, wherein the detectable range of the ToF collecting component comprises: the ToF acquisition component comprises a preset detection range of the ToF acquisition component and an adjustable detection range formed by the movement of the ToF acquisition component.

3. The mobile robot according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the ToF collecting part moves in a manner including: rotation and/or translation.

4. The mobile robot of claim 1, wherein the ToF collecting component is disposed at a side of the mobile robot.

5. The mobile robot of claim 1, wherein the ToF collecting component comprises: 3D ToF sensor.

6. The mobile robot as claimed in claim 1, wherein the housing of the mobile robot is provided with a hollow structure for exposing the ToF collecting component.

7. The mobile robot of claim 1, wherein the drive component comprises:

the movable piece is connected with and can move to drive the ToF acquisition component;

and the driver is connected with and drives the movable piece.

8. The mobile robot of claim 1, comprising: other detecting means for detecting an external environment of the mobile robot; wherein at least part of the detectable range of the other detecting components is out of the detectable range of the ToF collecting component.

9. The mobile robot of claim 1, further comprising:

a carrier fixed to a front side of a robot body of a mobile robot, the carrier having an entirety thereof maintained in a stable positional relationship with the robot body of the mobile robot in a state of being subjected to a rearward acting force;

at least one stopper selectively formed on the carrier, wherein the stopper is capable of being displaced or deformed relative to the main body of the carrier in a manner of being subjected to a backward acting force;

the sensor is arranged on the inner surface of each stopper and used for sensing the displacement or deformation of the stopper and generating a preset electric signal; the inductor includes: a travel switch, or a metal contact mechanism.

10. A ToF detection assembly is applied to a mobile robot; the ToF detecting element comprises:

a ToF collecting part disposed in the assembly space and configured to detect an external environment of the mobile robot;

and the driving component is connected with the ToF acquisition component and used for driving the ToF acquisition component to move so as to form a detectable range of the ToF acquisition component.

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