EP4292495A1

EP4292495A1 - Automatic cleaning device control method and apparatus, and medium and electronic device

Info

Publication number: EP4292495A1
Application number: EP22752304.0A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Zhengtao HOU
Original assignee: Beijing Roborock Innovation Technology Co Ltd
Current assignee: Beijing Roborock Innovation Technology Co Ltd
Priority date: 2021-02-10
Filing date: 2022-02-09
Publication date: 2023-12-20
Also published as: WO2022171144A1; US20240090735A1; CN112790672B; CN115089056A; CN112790672A

Abstract

An automatic cleaning device control method, an automatic cleaning device control apparatus, a computer-readable storage medium and an electronic device (2800). The control method comprises: when an automatic cleaning device (2000) performs cleaning in a first surface medium area (2002), in response to a surface medium sensor triggering a surface medium change signal, determining whether the automatic cleaning device (2000) is located in a second surface medium area (2001) (S2110); and in response to determining that the automatic cleaning device (2000) is located in the second surface medium area (2001), according to a map of the second surface medium area (2001) and the current position of the automatic cleaning device (2000), controlling the automatic cleaning device (2000) to deviate from the second surface medium area in a direction perpendicular to an edge of the second surface medium area (2001) (S2120). An automatic cleaning device (2000) can be helped so that same comes out from the inside of the second surface medium area (2001) as soon as possible.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202110184809.4, filed on February 10, 2021 , which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety as a part of the present application.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to the field of smart homes, and in particular, to a method and device for controlling an automatic cleaning apparatus, a computer-readable storage medium and an electronic apparatus.

BACKGROUND

In recent years, with the rapid development of computer technology and artificial intelligence science, intelligent robot technology has gradually become a hot spot in the field of modern robotic research. A sweeping robot, as one of the most practical intelligent robots, can automatically clean the ground by virtue of artificial intelligence.
At present, more and more families have laid carpets. When the sweeping robot sweeps along a wall or on the carpet, it is easy to be trapped on the carpet.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Objectives of the present disclosure are to provide a method and device for controlling an automatic cleaning apparatus, a computer-readable storage medium and an electronic apparatus, which can solve the technical problems in the prior art.
According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, the present disclosure provides a method for controlling an automatic cleaning apparatus, for the automatic cleaning apparatus including a surface medium sensor. The method includes:

determining, when the automatic cleaning apparatus performs cleaning in a first surface medium region, whether the automatic cleaning apparatus is located in a second surface medium region in response to that the surface medium sensor triggers a surface medium change signal; and
controlling, in response to determining that the automatic cleaning apparatus is located in the second surface medium region, the automatic cleaning apparatus to leave the second surface medium region in a direction perpendicular to an edge of the second surface medium region according to a map of the second surface medium region and a current position of the automatic cleaning apparatus.

In some embodiments, controlling the automatic cleaning apparatus to leave the second surface medium region in the direction perpendicular to the edge of the second surface medium region includes:
determining, according to the map of the second surface medium and the current position of the automatic cleaning apparatus, the edge of the second surface medium region perpendicular to a traveling direction along which the automatic cleaning apparatus enters the second surface medium region, and controlling the automatic cleaning apparatus to retreat in the direction perpendicular to the edge of the second surface medium region to leave the second surface medium region.
In some embodiments, controlling the automatic cleaning apparatus to leave the second surface medium region in the direction perpendicular to the edge of the second surface medium region includes:

determining, according to the map of the second surface medium and the current position of the automatic cleaning apparatus, the edge of the second surface medium region closest to the automatic cleaning apparatus; and
controlling the automatic cleaning apparatus to leave the second surface medium region in the direction perpendicular to the closest edge of the second surface medium region.

In some embodiments, the method further includes:

controlling, before controlling the automatic cleaning apparatus to leave the second surface medium region in the direction perpendicular to the closest edge of the second surface medium region, the automatic cleaning apparatus to rotate by a first angle according to an included angle between the traveling direction of the automatic cleaning apparatus and the closest edge of the second surface medium region, the first angle being related to the included angle; and
controlling the automatic cleaning apparatus to leave the second surface medium region in a manner of forward traveling or reversely retreating, the forward traveling or reversely retreating depending on a rotation direction of the automatic cleaning apparatus.

In some embodiments, the method further includes:
controlling, after the automatic cleaning apparatus executes a retreating operation for preset time, the automatic cleaning apparatus to rotate by a second angle and leave the second surface medium region in a manner of forward traveling in response to that the surface medium sensor is still able to detect the second surface medium region.
In some embodiments, the second angle is 180 degrees.
In some embodiments, the method further includes:
controlling, after determining that the automatic cleaning apparatus leaves the second surface medium region, the automatic cleaning apparatus to clean along the edge of the second surface medium region, and re-acquiring the map of the second surface medium region to update the map of the second surface medium region.
In some embodiments, the map of the second surface medium region is established by controlling the automatic cleaning apparatus to run to the edge of the second surface medium region and then scanning a boundary of the second surface medium region.
According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, the present disclosure provides a device for controlling an automatic cleaning apparatus, disposed in the automatic cleaning apparatus including a surface medium sensor, and including:

a position determination module for determining, when the automatic cleaning apparatus performs cleaning in a first surface medium region, whether the automatic cleaning apparatus is located in a second surface medium region in response to that the surface medium sensor triggers a surface medium change signal; and
a navigation control module for controlling, in response to determining that the automatic cleaning apparatus is located in the second surface medium region, the automatic cleaning apparatus to leave the second surface medium region in a direction perpendicular to an edge of the second surface medium region according to a map of the second surface medium region and a current position of the automatic cleaning apparatus.

According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, the present disclosure provides a computer-readable storage medium, storing a computer program thereon, wherein the computer program implements the above method for controlling the automatic cleaning apparatus when executed by a processor.
According to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, the present disclosure provides an electronic apparatus, including:

a processor; and
a memory for storing executable instructions of the processor,
wherein the processor is configured to execute the above method for controlling the automatic cleaning apparatus by executing the executable instructions.

Compared with the prior art, in the method for controlling the automatic cleaning apparatus according to the example embodiments of the present disclosure, in response to acquiring the surface medium change signal and on the basis of determining that the automatic cleaning apparatus has been located in the second surface medium region, the automatic cleaning apparatus can be controlled to leave the second surface medium region in the direction perpendicular to the edge of the second surface medium region according to the map of the second surface medium region and the current position of the automatic cleaning apparatus, so as to help the automatic cleaning apparatus leave the second surface medium region as soon as possible, and further reduce the case of being stuck and the like, thereby improving the user experience.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings here, which are incorporated in the Description and constitute a part of the Description, show embodiments conforming to the present disclosure, and are used to explain the principles of the present disclosure together with the Description. Apparently, the accompanying drawings in the following description show merely some embodiments of the present disclosure, and those of ordinary skills in the art can also derive other drawings from these accompanying drawings without creative efforts. In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is an oblique view of an automatic cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a bottom of an automatic cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 3 is an oblique view of a driving wheel assembly on a side according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 4 is a front view of the driving wheel assembly on a side according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 5 is an oblique view of a dust box according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 6 is an oblique view of a blower according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a dust box in an open state according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a dust box and a blower in an assembled state according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 9 is an exploded view of an automatic cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 10 is a structural diagram of a supporting platform of an automatic cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 11 is a structural diagram of a vibrating member of an automatic cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of a cleaning head driving mechanism based on a crank slider mechanism according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of a cleaning head driving mechanism based on a double-crank mechanism according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of a cleaning head driving mechanism based on a crank mechanism according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram of an automatic cleaning apparatus in a lifting state according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram of an automatic cleaning apparatus in a lowering state according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram of a four-link lifting and lowering structure in a lifting state according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram of a four-link lifting and lowering structure in a lowering state according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a running route of an automatic cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 20 shows a flowchart of a method for controlling an automatic cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 21 shows a diagram of waveforms of echo waves received by an ultrasonic sensor from normal ground according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 22 shows a diagram of waveforms of echo waves received by an ultrasonic sensor from a carpet surface according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 23 shows a schematic structural diagram of an initialized region after a second surface medium region is scanned according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 24 shows a schematic structural diagram of a merged region acquired based on the initialized region shown in FIG. 23;
FIG. 25 shows a schematic structural diagram of a sub-region determined based on the merged region shown in FIG. 24;
FIG. 26 shows a block diagram of a device for controlling an automatic cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and
FIG. 27 shows a schematic diagram of modules of an electronic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

To make the objectives, technical solutions and advantages of the present disclosure clearer, the present disclosure will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It is apparent that the described embodiments are only some, but not all of the embodiments of the present disclosure. All other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skills in the art without creative efforts based on the embodiments in the present disclosure are within the protection scope of the present disclosure.
The terms used in the embodiments of the present disclosure are for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. The singular forms "alan", "said" and "the" used in the embodiments of the present disclosure and the appended claims are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless otherwise indicated clearly in the context. The term "a plurality of" generally includes at least two.
It should be understood that, the term "and/or" used herein only describes an association relationship between associated objects, and indicates that there may be three kinds of relationships. For example, A and/or B may indicate three cases: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. In addition, the character "I" herein generally indicates an "or" relationship between the contextual objects.
It should be understood that, although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used to describe ... in the embodiments of the present disclosure, these ... should not be limited to these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish ..... For example, "first" ... may also be referred to as "second" ... without departing from the scope of the embodiments of the present disclosure. Similarly, "second" ... may also be referred to as "first" .....
Depending on the context, the word "if" as used herein may be interpreted as "when..." or "at the time..." or "in response to determining" or "in response to detecting". Similarly, depending on the context, the phrases "if it is determined that" or "if it is detected that (the stated condition or event)" may be interpreted as "when it is determined that" or "in response to determining" or "when it is detected that (the stated condition or event)" or "in response to detecting (the stated condition or event)".
It should also to be noted that, the terms "including", "containing", or any other variants are intended to cover the nonexclusive inclusion, such that a commodity or device including a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not listed explicitly or elements inherent to such a commodity or device. Without more limitations, the element defined by the phrase "including a ..." does not exclude the existence of other same elements in the commodity or device including the element.
FIGS. 1-2 are schematic structural diagrams of an automatic cleaning apparatus according to an example embodiment. As shown in FIGS. 1-2, the automatic cleaning apparatus may be a vacuum ground sucking robot, or may be a ground mopping/brushing robot, or may be a window climbing robot, or the like. The automatic cleaning apparatus may include a mobile platform 100, a perception system 120, a control system 130, a driving system 140, a cleaning module 150, an energy system 160 and a human-computer interaction system 170.
The mobile platform 100 may be configured to move automatically along a target direction on an operating surface. The operating surface may be a surface to be cleaned by the automatic cleaning apparatus. In some embodiments, the automatic cleaning apparatus may be a ground mopping robot, and thus the automatic cleaning apparatus operates on a ground, and the ground is the operating surface. The automatic cleaning apparatus may also be a window cleaning robot, and thus the automatic cleaning apparatus operates on an outer surface of glass of a building, and the glass is the operating surface. The automatic cleaning apparatus may also be a pipe cleaning robot, and thus the automatic cleaning apparatus operates on an inner surface of a pipe, and the inner surface of the pipe is the operating surface. For the purpose of presentation only, the following description in the present application takes a ground mopping robot as an example for illustration.
In some embodiments, the mobile platform 100 may be an autonomous mobile platform, or a non-autonomous mobile platform. The autonomous mobile platform refers to that the mobile platform 100 itself can automatically and adaptively make an operational decision based on an unexpected environmental input; and the non-autonomous mobile platform itself cannot adaptively make an operational decision based on an unexpected environmental input, but can execute a given procedure or operate according to a certain logic. Correspondingly, when the mobile platform 100 is the autonomous mobile platform, the target direction may be determined autonomously by the automatic cleaning apparatus; and when the mobile platform 100 is the non-autonomous mobile platform, the target direction may be set systematically or manually. When the mobile platform 100 is the autonomous mobile platform, the mobile platform 100 includes a forward portion 111 and a rearward portion 110.
The perception system 120 includes a position determination device 121 located on the mobile platform 100, a buffer 122 located in the forward portion 111 of the mobile platform 100, cliff sensors 123 and sensing devices such as an ultrasonic sensor (not shown), an infrared sensor (not shown), a magnetometer (not shown), an accelerometer (not shown), a gyroscope (not shown) an odometer (not shown), and the like located at a bottom of the mobile platform 100, for providing various position information and motion state information of the automatic cleaning apparatus to the control system 130.
In order to describe behaviors of the automatic cleaning apparatus more clearly, directions are defined as follows: the automatic cleaning apparatus may travel on the ground by various combinations of movements relative to the following three mutually perpendicular axes defined by the mobile platform 100, i.e., a transversal axis X, a front and rear axis Y and a center vertical axis Z. A forward driving direction along the front and rear axis Y is designated as "forward", and a rearward driving direction along the front and rear axis Y is designated as "rearward". The transversal axis X is substantially in a direction of an axis center defined by a center point of a driving wheel assembly 141 extending between a right wheel and a left wheel of the automatic cleaning apparatus. The automatic cleaning apparatus may rotate around the X axis. It is referred to as "pitch up" when the forward portion of the automatic cleaning apparatus is tilted upward and the rearward portion thereof is tilted downward, and it is referred to as "pitch down" when the forward portion of the automatic cleaning apparatus is tilted downward and the rearward portion thereof is tilted upward. In addition, the automatic cleaning apparatus may rotate around the Z axis. In a forward direction of the automatic cleaning apparatus, it is referred to as "turn right" when the automatic cleaning apparatus is tilted to the right of the Y axis, and it is referred to as "turn left" when the automatic cleaning apparatus is tilted to the left of the Y axis.
As shown in FIG. 2, cliff sensors 123 are provided at the bottom of the mobile platform 100 and in front and rear of the driving wheel assembly 141, for preventing the automatic cleaning apparatus from falling off when the automatic cleaning apparatus retreats, so as to avoid damage to the automatic cleaning apparatus. The aforementioned "front" refers to a side the same as a travelling direction of the automatic cleaning apparatus, and the aforementioned "rear" refers to a side opposite to the travelling direction of the automatic cleaning apparatus.
The position determination device 121 includes, but is not limited to, a camera and a laser distance sensor (LDS).
Various components in the perception system 120 may operate independently, or operate together to achieve a purpose function more accurately. The surface to be cleaned is identified by the cliff sensors 123 and the ultrasonic sensor to determine physical properties of the surface to be cleaned, including a surface medium, a degree of cleanliness, and the like, and may be determined more accurately in combination with the camera, the LDS, or the like.
For example, the ultrasonic sensor may determine whether the surface to be cleaned is a carpet. If the ultrasonic sensor determines that the surface to be cleaned is made of a carpet material, the control system 130 controls the automatic cleaning apparatus to perform cleaning in a carpet mode.
The forward portion 111 of the mobile platform 100 is provided with the buffer 122. During cleaning, when the driving wheel assembly 141 propels the automatic cleaning apparatus to travel on the ground, the buffer 122 detects one or more events (or objects) in a travelling path of the automatic cleaning apparatus via a sensor system, e.g., an infrared sensor, and the automatic cleaning apparatus may control the driving wheel assembly 141 based on the event (or object), such as obstacle and wall, detected by the buffer 122 to cause the automatic cleaning apparatus to respond to the event (or object), for example, to move away from the obstacle.
The control system 130 is disposed on a main circuit board in the mobile platform 100, and includes a computing processor such as a central processing unit and an application processor, that communicates with a non-transitory memory such as a hard disk, a flash memory and a random-access memory. The application processor is configured to receive environmental information sensed by the plurality of sensors and transmitted from the perception system 120, to draw a simultaneous map of an environment where the automatic cleaning apparatus is located using a positioning algorithm e.g., simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM), based on obstacle information fed back by the LDS, and to autonomously determine a travelling path based on the environmental information and the environmental map, and then to control the driving system 140 to perform operations, such as travelling forward, retreating, and/or steering based on the autonomously determined travelling path. Further, the control system 130 may also determine whether to activate the cleaning module 150 to perform a cleaning operation based on the environmental information and the environmental map.
Specifically, the control system 130 may, based on distance information and speed information which are fed back by the buffer 122, the cliff sensors 123 and the sensing devices such as the ultrasonic sensor, the infrared sensor, the magnetometer, the accelerometer, the gyroscope and the odometer, comprehensively determine a current operation state of the ground sweeping robot, such as crossing a threshold, getting on a carpet, locating at an edge of a cliff, being trapped from above or below, having a full dust box or being picked up, and will also give specific next-step action strategies for different situations, so that the operation of the automatic cleaning apparatus is more in line with requirements of an owner and provides better user experience. Further, the control system can plan the most efficient and reasonable sweeping path and sweeping mode based on the simultaneous map information drawn by the SLAM, thereby greatly improving the sweeping efficiency of the automatic cleaning apparatus.
The driving system 140 may execute a driving command based on specific distance and angle information, such as x, y, and θ components, to manipulate the automatic cleaning apparatus to travel across the ground. FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 are an oblique view and a front view of a driving wheel assembly 141 on a side according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in the figures, the driving system 140 includes the driving wheel assembly 141, and the driving system 140 may control a left wheel and a right wheel simultaneously. In order to control the motion of the automatic cleaning apparatus more precisely, the driving system 140 preferably includes a left driving wheel assembly and a right driving wheel assembly. The left driving wheel assembly and the right driving wheel assembly are disposed symmetrically along a transversal axis defined by the mobile platform 100. The driving wheel assembly includes a shell and a connecting frame, and a driving motor 146 is respectively disposed in each of the driving wheel assembly. The driving motor 146 is located outside the driving wheel assembly 141, an axis center of the driving motor 146 is located within a sectional projection of the driving wheel assembly, and the driving wheel assembly 141 may also be connected to an odometer and a circuit for measuring a driving current.
In order for the automatic cleaning apparatus to move on the ground more stably or have a higher movement ability, the automatic cleaning apparatus may include one or more steering assemblies 142, wherein the steering assembly 142 may be a driven wheel or a driving wheel, and structurally includes but is not limited to a universal wheel. The steering assembly 142 may be located in front of the driving wheel assembly 141.
The driving motor 146 provides power for rotation of the driving wheel assembly 141 and/or the steering assembly 142.
The driving wheel assembly 141 may be detachably connected to the mobile platform 100 to facilitate assembly, disassembly and maintenance. The driving wheel may have an offset drop suspension system movably fastened, e.g., rotatably attached, to the mobile platform 100 of the automatic cleaning apparatus, and maintain contact and traction with the ground by an elastic element 143 such as a tension spring or a compression spring with a certain grounding force; meanwhile, the cleaning module 150 of the automatic cleaning apparatus is also in contact with the surface to be cleaned with a certain pressure.
The energy system 160 includes a rechargeable battery, such as a nickel-hydride battery and a lithium battery. The rechargeable battery may be connected with a charging control circuit, a battery pack charging temperature detecting circuit and a battery undervoltage monitoring circuit, wherein the charging control circuit, the battery pack charging temperature detecting circuit and the battery undervoltage monitoring circuit are then connected to a single-chip microcomputer control circuit. A host of the automatic cleaning apparatus is connected to a charging pile through a charging electrode disposed on a side of or below a body of the automatic cleaning apparatus for charging.
The human-computer interaction system 170 includes buttons that are on a panel of the host and used by a user to select functions. The human-computer interaction system 170 may further include a display screen and/or an indicator light and/or a horn that present a current state or function item of the automatic cleaning apparatus to the user. The human-computer interaction system 170 may further include a mobile client program. For a route navigation type cleaning apparatus, a mobile client may present a map of the environment where the apparatus is located and a position of the apparatus to the user, which may provide richer and more user-friendly function items to the user.
The cleaning module 150 may include a dry cleaning module 151 and/or a wet cleaning module 400.
As shown in FIGS. 5-8, the dry cleaning module 151 includes a rolling brush, a dust box, a blower and an air outlet. The rolling brush having a certain interference with the ground sweeps up garbage on the ground and rolls up the garbage to the front of a dust suction inlet between the rolling brush and the dust box, and then the garbage is sucked into the dust box by air having a suction force, which is generated by the blower and passes through the dust box. A dust removal capacity of the ground sweeping robot may be characterized by a dust pickup efficiency (DPU) of the garbage. The DPU is affected by a structure and material of the rolling brush, by a utilization rate of the air in an air channel formed by the dust suction inlet, the dust box, the blower, the air outlet and connecting components between the four, and by a type and power of the blower, which is a complex systematic design problem. Compared with an ordinary plug-in vacuum cleaner, the improvement of the dust removal capacity is more meaningful for an automatic cleaning apparatus with limited energy, because the improvement of the dust removal capacity directly and effectively reduces requirements for energy. That is, the original cleaning apparatus that may sweep 80 square meters of the ground on a single charge may be evolved to sweep 180 square meters or more on a single charge. Furthermore, the service life of the battery with the reduced number of charging times will also be greatly increased, so that the frequency of replacing the battery by the user will also be increased. More intuitively and importantly, the improvement of the dust removal capacity is the most apparent and important user experience, as the user will directly come to a conclusion of whether the thorough sweeping/mopping is achieved. The dry cleaning module may further include a side brush 157 having a rotary shaft angled relative to the ground, for moving debris into a region of the rolling brush of the cleaning module 150.
FIG. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a dust box 152 in the dry cleaning module, FIG. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a blower 156 in the dry cleaning module, FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of the dust box 152 in an open state, and FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of the dust box and the blower in an assembled state.
The rolling brush having a certain interference with the ground sweeps up garbage on the ground and rolls up the garbage to the front of the dust suction inlet 154 between the rolling brush and the dust box 152, and then the garbage is sucked into the dust box 152 by air having a suction force, which is generated by the blower 156 and passes through the dust box 152. The garbage is isolated inside the dust box 152 at a side close to the dust suction inlet 154 by a filter 153, and the filter 153 completely isolates the dust suction inlet from the air outlet, so that the filtered air enters the blower 156 through the air outlet 155.
Typically, the dust suction inlet 154 of the dust box 152 is located in front of the automatic cleaning apparatus, the air outlet 155 is located at a side of the dust box 152, and an air inlet of the blower 156 is docked with the air outlet of the dust box.
A front panel of the dust box 152 may be opened for cleaning the garbage in the dust box 152.
The filter 153 is detachably connected to a body of the dust box 152 to facilitate assembling, disassembling and cleaning the filter.
As shown in FIGS. 9-11, the wet cleaning module 400 according to the present disclosure is configured to clean at least a part of the operating surface by means of wet cleaning. The wet cleaning module 400 includes a cleaning head 410 and a driving unit 420. The cleaning head 410 is used for cleaning at least a part of the operating surface, and the driving unit 420 is used for driving the cleaning head 410 to reciprocate along a target surface, the target surface being a part of the operating surface. The cleaning head 410 reciprocates along a surface to be cleaned, and a surface of the cleaning head 410 in contact with the surface to be cleaned is provided with a cleaning cloth or a cleaning plate, which generates a high-frequency friction with the surface to be cleaned through reciprocating motion, thereby removing stains on the surface to be cleaned. The reciprocating motion may be a repeated motion along any one or more directions within the operating surface, or may be a vibrating motion perpendicular to the operating surface, which is not strictly limited.
As shown in FIG. 9, the driving unit 420 includes: a driving platform 421 connected to a bottom surface of the mobile platform 100 for providing a driving force; and a supporting platform 422 detachably connected to the driving platform 421, for supporting the cleaning head 410 and being able to lift and lower under the driving of the driving platform 421.
A lifting and lowering module is provided between the cleaning module 150 and the mobile platform 100, so that the cleaning module 150 may be in better contact with the surface to be cleaned, or different cleaning strategies may be used for surfaces to be cleaned made of different materials.
The dry cleaning module 151 may be connected to the mobile platform 100 by a passive lifting and lowering module. When the cleaning apparatus encounters an obstacle, the dry cleaning module 151 may pass the obstacle more easily through the lifting and lowering module.
The wet cleaning module 400 may be connected to the mobile platform 100 by an active lifting and lowering module. When the wet cleaning module 400 does not participate in the operation temporarily, or when a surface to be cleaned cannot be cleaned by the wet cleaning module 400, the wet cleaning module 400 is lifted by the active lifting and lowering module and separated from the surface to be cleaned, so as to realize the change of cleaning means.
As shown in FIGS. 10-11, the driving platform 421 includes: a motor 4211 disposed on a side of the driving platform 421 close to the mobile platform 100 and for outputting power through a motor output shaft; a first driving wheel 4212 connected to the motor output shaft and having an asymmetric structure; and a vibrating member 4213 disposed on a side of the driving platform 421 opposite to the motor 4211 and connected to the first driving wheel 4212 to reciprocate under the asymmetrical rotation of the first driving wheel 4212.
The driving platform 421 may further include a driving wheel and a gear mechanism. The gear mechanism 235 may be connected to the motor 4211 and the first driving wheel 4212. The motor 4211 may directly drive the first driving wheel 4212 to swivel, or may indirectly drive the first driving wheel 4212 to swivel through the gear mechanism. Those of ordinary skills in the art may understand that the gear mechanism may be one gear, or may be a gear set composed of a plurality of gears.
The motor 4211 simultaneously transmits, through a power transmission device, power to the cleaning head 410, the driving platform 421, the supporting platform 422, a water delivery mechanism, a water tank, and the like. The energy system 160 provides power and energy for the motor 4211 and is entirely controlled by the control system 130. The power transmission device may be a gear drive, a chain drive, a belt drive, or may be a worm gear, or the like.
The motor 4211 has a forward output mode and a reverse output mode. In the forward output mode, the motor 4211 rotates in the forward direction; and in the reverse output mode, the motor 4211 rotates in the reverse direction. In the forward output mode of the motor 4211, the motor 4211 simultaneously drives, through the power transmission device, the cleaning head 410 and the water delivery mechanism in the wet cleaning assembly 400 to move synchronously.
Further, the driving platform 421 further includes a connecting rod 4214 extending along an edge of the driving platform 421 and connecting the first driving wheel 4212 and the vibrating member 4213, so that the vibrating member 4213 extends to a preset position. An extension direction of the vibrating member 4213 is perpendicular to the connecting rod 4214.
The motor 4211 is connected to the first driving wheel 4212, the vibrating member 4213, the connecting rod 4214 and a vibration buffering device 4215 through the power transmission device. When the wet cleaning assembly 400 is activated, the motor 4211 is started to rotate forward to drive the connecting rod 4214 through the first driving wheel 4212 to reciprocate along the surface of the driving platform 421; meanwhile, the vibration buffering device 4215 drives the vibrating member 4213 to reciprocate along the surface of the driving platform 421, the vibrating member 4213 drives a cleaning substrate 4221 to reciprocate along the surface of the supporting platform 422, and the cleaning substrate 4221 drives a movable region 412 to reciprocate along the surface to be cleaned. At this time, a clean water pump enables clean water to flow out of a clean water tank and sprinkles the clean water on the cleaning head 410 through a water discharging device 4217, and the cleaning head 410 reciprocates to clean the surface to be cleaned.
The cleaning intensity/efficiency of the automatic cleaning apparatus may also be automatically and dynamically adjusted according to an operation environment of the automatic cleaning apparatus. For example, the automatic cleaning apparatus may achieve dynamic adjustment according to physical information of the surface to be cleaned detected by the perception system 120. For example, the perception system 120 may detect the flatness of the surface to be cleaned, a material of the surface to be cleaned, the existence of oil and dust, and other information, and transmit the information to the control system 130 of the automatic cleaning apparatus. Correspondingly, the control system 130 may instruct the automatic cleaning apparatus to automatically and dynamically adjust a rotational speed of the motor and a transmission ratio of the power transmission device according to the operation environment of the automatic cleaning apparatus, so as to adjust a preset reciprocating period of the reciprocating motion of the cleaning head 410.
For example, when the automatic cleaning apparatus operates on a flat ground, the preset reciprocating period may be automatically and dynamically adjusted to be longer, and a water volume of the water pump may be automatically and dynamically adjusted to be smaller; and when the automatic cleaning apparatus operates on a less flat ground, the preset reciprocating period may be automatically and dynamically adjusted to be shorter, and the water volume of the water pump may be automatically and dynamically adjusted to be larger. This is because it is easier to clean the flat ground than the less flat ground, and thus the reciprocating motion of the cleaning head 410 at a higher speed (i.e., a higher frequency) and in the larger water volume are needed for cleaning an uneven ground.
For another example, when the automatic cleaning apparatus operates on a table, the preset reciprocating period may be automatically and dynamically adjusted to be longer, and the water volume of the water pump may be automatically and dynamically adjusted to be smaller; and when the automatic cleaning apparatus 100 operates on a ground, the preset reciprocating period may be automatically and dynamically adjusted to be shorter, and the water volume of the water pump may be automatically and dynamically adjusted to be larger. This is because the table has less dust and oil compared to the ground, the material of the table is also easier to clean, and thus, the table can be cleaned with the fewer number of reciprocating motions of the cleaning head 410 and the relatively smaller water volume of the water pump.
The supporting platform 422 includes a cleaning substrate 4221 movably disposed on the supporting platform 422 and reciprocating under the vibration of the vibrating member 4213. Optionally, the cleaning substrate 4221 includes an assembly notch (not shown) disposed at a position in contact with the vibrating member 4213. When the supporting platform 422 is connected to the driving platform 421, the vibrating member 4213 is assembled to the assembly notch, so that the cleaning substrate 4221 may reciprocate synchronously along with the vibrating member 4213.
FIG. 12 shows another cleaning head driving mechanism 800 based on a crank slider mechanism according to a plurality of embodiments of the present disclosure. The driving mechanism 800 may be applied to the driving platform 421. The driving mechanism 800 includes a first driving wheel 4212, a vibrating member 4213, a cleaning substrate 4221, a first sliding slot 4222 and a second sliding slot 4223.
The first sliding slot 4222 and the second sliding slot 4223 are formed in the supporting platform 422. Both ends of the cleaning substrate 4221 include a first slider 525 and a second slider 528, respectively. Each of the first slider 525 and the second slider 528 is a protrusion at each of both ends of the cleaning substrate 4221. The first slider 525 is inserted into the first sliding slot 4222 and may slide along the first sliding slot 4222, and the second slider 528 is inserted into the second sliding slot 4223 and may slide along the second sliding slot 4223. In some embodiments, the first sliding slot 4222 and the second sliding slot 4223 are on the same line. In some embodiments, the first sliding slot 4222 and the second sliding slot 4223 are not on the same line. In some embodiments, the first sliding slot 4222 and the second sliding slot 4223 extend along the same direction. In some embodiments, an extension direction of the first sliding slot 4222 and an extension direction of the second sliding slot 4223 are the same as that of the cleaning substrate 4221. In some embodiments, the extension direction of the first sliding slot 4222 and the extension direction of the second sliding slot 4223 are different from that of the cleaning substrate 4221. In some embodiments, the extension direction of the first sliding slot 4222 is different from that of the second sliding slot 4223. For example, as shown in FIG. 12, the extension direction of the first sliding slot 4222 is the same as that of the cleaning substrate 4221, and the extension direction of the second sliding slot 4223 is at a certain angle with that of the first sliding slot 4222.
The vibrating member 4213 includes a swiveling end 512 and a sliding end 514. The swiveling end 512 is connected to the first driving wheel 4212 through a first pivot 516, and the sliding end 514 is connected to the cleaning substrate 4221 through a second pivot 518.
A swiveling center of the first driving wheel 4212 is a point O, and a pivoting center of the first pivot 516 is a point A. The point O and the point A do not coincide, and the distance between the point O and the point A is a preset distance d.
When the first driving wheel 4212 rotates, the point A also swivels along a circular path. Correspondingly, the swiveling end 512 follows the point A to swivel along the circular path, and the sliding end 514 drives the cleaning substrate 4221 to slide through the second pivot 518. Correspondingly, the first slider 525 of the cleaning substrate 4221 linearly reciprocates along the first sliding slot 4222, and the second slider 528 linearly reciprocates along the second sliding slot 4223. In FIG. 4, a moving speed of the mobile platform 210 is V0, and a moving direction thereof is a target direction. According to some embodiments, when the second sliding slot 4223 and the first sliding slot 4222 are approximately perpendicular to the direction of the moving speed V0 of the mobile platform 210 respectively, an overall displacement of the cleaning substrate 4221 is substantially perpendicular to the target direction. According to some other embodiments, when any one of the second sliding slot 4223 and the first sliding slot 4222 forms an angle other than 90 degrees with the target direction, the overall displacement of the cleaning substrate 4221 includes both a component perpendicular to the target direction and a component parallel to the target direction.
Further, a vibration buffering device 4215 is included, which is disposed on the connecting rod 4214 for reducing vibration in a specific direction. In this embodiment, the vibration buffering device 4215 is used for reducing the vibration in a direction of a movement component perpendicular to the target direction of the automatic cleaning apparatus.
FIG. 13 shows another cleaning head driving mechanism 600 based on a double-crank mechanism according to a plurality of embodiments of the present disclosure. The driving mechanism 600 may be applied to the driving platform 421. The driving mechanism 600 includes a first driving wheel 4212, a second driving wheel 4212' and a cleaning substrate 4221.
The cleaning substrate 4221 has two ends, a first end thereof is connected to the first driving wheel 4212 through a first pivot 624, and a second end thereof is connected to the second driving wheel 4212' through a second pivot 626. A swiveling center of the first driving wheel 4212 is a point O, and a pivoting center of the first pivot 624 is a point A. The point O and the point A do not coincide, and the distance between the point O and the point A is a preset distance d. A swiveling center of the second driving wheel 4212' is a point O', and a pivoting center of the second pivot 626 is point A'. The point O' and the point A' do not coincide, and the distance between the point O' and the point A' is a preset distance d. In some embodiments, the point A, the point A', the point O, and the point O' are located on the same plane. Therefore, the first driving wheel 4212, the second driving wheel 4212' and the cleaning substrate 4221 may form a double-crank mechanism (or a parallelogram mechanism), wherein the cleaning substrate 4221 acts as a coupling lever, and the first driving wheel 4212 and the second driving wheel 4212' act as two cranks.
Further, a vibration buffering device 4215 is included, which is disposed on the connecting rod 4214 for reducing vibration in a specific direction. In this embodiment, the vibration buffering device 4215 is used for reducing the vibration in a direction of a movement component perpendicular to the target direction of the automatic cleaning apparatus.
FIG. 14 shows a driving mechanism 700 based on a crank slider mechanism according to a plurality of embodiments of the present disclosure. The driving mechanism 700 may be applied to the driving platform 421. The driving mechanism 700 includes a first driving wheel 4212, a cleaning substrate 4221 and a first sliding slot 4222.
The first sliding slot 4222 is formed in the supporting platform 422. The cleaning substrate 4221 includes a swiveling end 4227 and a sliding end 4226. The swiveling end 4227 is connected to the first driving wheel 4212 through a pivot 4228. A swiveling center of the first driving wheel 4212 is a point O, and a pivoting center of the pivot 4228 of the swiveling end is a point A. The point O and the point A do not coincide, and the distance between the point O and the point A is a preset distance d. The sliding end 4226 includes a third slider 4225. The third slider 4225 is a protrusion on the sliding end 4226. The third slider 4225 is inserted into the first sliding slot 4222 and may slide along the first sliding slot 4222. Therefore, the first driving wheel 4221, the cleaning substrate 4221, the third slider 4225 and the first sliding slot 4222 constitute the crank slider mechanism.
When the first driving wheel 4212 rotates, the point A swivels along a circular path. Correspondingly, the swiveling end 4227 of the cleaning substrate 4221 follows the point A to swivel along the circular path, and the third slider 4225 also slides in the first sliding slot 4222 and reciprocates linearly. As a result, the cleaning substrate 4221 starts to reciprocate. According to some embodiments, the first sliding slot 4222 is approximately perpendicular to a direction of the target direction of the moving speed of the mobile platform. Therefore, the linear motion of the sliding end 4226 includes a component perpendicular to the target direction, and the circular swiveling motion of the swiveling end 4227 includes both a component perpendicular to the target direction and a component parallel to the target direction.
In FIG. 14, a moving speed of the mobile platform is V0, and a moving direction thereof is a target direction, and the first sliding slot 4222 is approximately perpendicular to the target direction. At this time, the reciprocating motion of the cleaning substrate 4221 as a whole includes both a movement component parallel to the target direction of the automatic cleaning apparatus and a movement component perpendicular to the target direction of the automatic cleaning apparatus.
Further, a vibration buffering device 4215 is included, which is disposed on the connecting rod 4214, for reducing vibration in a specific direction. In this embodiment, the vibration buffering device 4215 is used for reducing the vibration in a direction of a movement component perpendicular to the target direction of the automatic cleaning apparatus.
Further, the supporting platform 422 further includes an elastic detaching button 4229 disposed on at least one side of the supporting platform 422, for detachably connecting the supporting platform 422 to pawls 4216 of the driving platform 421. At least one assembly region 4224 is disposed on the supporting platform 422, for assembling the cleaning head 410. The assembly region 4224 may be formed of an adhesive material having an adhesive layer.
As shown in FIG. 9, the cleaning head 410 includes a movable region 412 connected to the cleaning substrate 4221 to reciprocate along the surface to be cleaned under the driving of the cleaning substrate 4221. The movable region 412 is disposed at a substantially central position of the cleaning head 410. An adhesive layer is provided on a side of the movable region 412 connected to the cleaning substrate 4221, and the movable region 412 is connected to the cleaning substrate 4221 through the adhesive layer.
Optionally, the cleaning head 410 further includes a fixed region 411 connected to a bottom of the supporting platform 422 through the at least one assembly region 4224. The fixed region 411 cleans at least a part of the operating surface along with the movement of the supporting platform 422.
Further, the cleaning head 410 further includes a flexible connecting portion 413 disposed between the fixed region 411 and the movable region 412, for connecting the fixed region 411 and the movable region 412. The cleaning head 410 further includes a sliding fastener 414 extending along an edge of the cleaning head 410 and detachably mounted at an engagement position 4225 of the supporting platform 422.
As shown in FIG. 9, the cleaning head 410 may be made of a material with certain elasticity, and is fixed to the surface of the supporting platform 422 through the adhesive layer, so as to reciprocate. The cleaning head 410 is always in contact with the surface to be cleaned during operation.
As shown in FIG. 10, the water delivery mechanism includes a water discharging device 4217 that may be directly or indirectly connected to a cleaning liquid outlet of a water tank (not shown), that is, a liquid outlet of the clean water tank. The cleaning liquid may flow to the water discharging device 4217 via the cleaning liquid outlet of the water tank, and may be evenly coated on the surface to be cleaned through the water discharging device. A connecting member (not shown) may be provided on the water discharging device, and the water discharging device is connected to the cleaning liquid outlet of the water tank through the connecting member. The water discharging device is provided with a distribution port which may be a continuous opening or a combination of several discontinuous small openings, and several nozzles may be provided at the distribution port. The cleaning liquid flows to the distribution port via the cleaning liquid outlet of the water tank and the connecting member of the water discharging device, and is evenly coated on the operating surface via the distribution port.
The water delivery mechanism may further include a clean water pump 4219 and/or a clean water pump pipe 4218. The clean water pump 4219 may be communicated with the cleaning liquid outlet of the water tank directly, or communicated with the cleaning liquid outlet of the water tank through the clean water pump pipe 4218.
The clean water pump 4219 may be connected to the connecting member of the water discharging device, and configured to pump the cleaning liquid from the water tank to the water discharging device. The clean water pump may be a gear pump, a vane pump, a plunger pump, a peristaltic pump, or the like.
The water delivery mechanism draws the cleaning liquid out of the clean water tank through the clean water pump 4219 and the clean water pump pipe 4218, and transports the cleaning liquid to the water discharging device. The water discharging device 4217 may be a sprinkler head, a drip hole, a wet cloth, or the like, and may uniformly spread water on the cleaning head, so as to wet the cleaning head and the surface to be cleaned. Stains on the wetted surface to be cleaned can be cleaned more easily. In the wet cleaning assembly 400, the power/flow rate of the clean water pump may be adjusted.
In the above wet cleaning module, by adding the driving unit and the vibration region, the cleaning head may reciprocate to repeatedly clean the surface to be cleaned. Therefore, in a motion trajectory of the automatic cleaning apparatus, a region may be cleaned several times by the automatic cleaning apparatus passing the region just one time, thereby greatly enhancing the cleaning effect, especially for a region with more stains.
According to a specific embodiment of the present disclosure, the present disclosure provides a liftable and lowerable automatic cleaning apparatus, including a moving platform 100 configured to automatically move on an operating surface; and a wet cleaning module 400 movably connected to the mobile platform 100 through a four-link lifting and lowering structure 500, and configured to clean at least a part of the operating surface by means of wet cleaning. The four-link lifting and lowering structure 500 is a parallelogram structure, for switching the wet cleaning module 400 between a lifting state and a lowering state. In the lifting state, the wet cleaning module 400 leaves the operating surface, as shown in FIG. 15; and in the lowering state, the wet cleaning module 400 is attached to the operating surface, as shown in FIG. 16.
As shown in FIGS. 17-18, the four-link lifting and lowering structure 500 includes: a first connecting end 501 for providing active power to switch the wet cleaning module 400 between the lifting state and the lowering state; and a second connecting end 502 disposed opposite to the first connecting end 501 and rotating under the action of the active power. The first connecting end 501 and the second connecting end 502 are located on both sides of the wet cleaning module 400 respectively, to lift or lower the wet cleaning module 400 by stably providing a lifting or lowering force.
Specifically, the first connecting end 501 includes a first bracket 5011 fixedly connected to the bottom of the mobile platform 100. The first bracket 5011 is roughly shaped like a Chinese character "JL", and includes a cross beam 50111, a first longitudinal beam 50114 and a second longitudinal beam 50115. A tail end of each of the first longitudinal beam 50114 and the second longitudinal beam 50115 is fixedly connected to the mobile platform 100 through a bolt, to provide a supporting force when the wet cleaning module 400 is lifted and lowered.
The first connecting end 501 further includes a first connecting rod pair 5012, one end of which is rotatably connected to the first bracket 5011, and the other end of which is rotatably connected to the wet cleaning module 400. The first connecting rod pair 5012 may be of a hollowed-out structure, which can reduce an overall weight of lifting and lowering ends.
Optionally, the first connecting rod pair 5012 includes a first connecting rod 50121 and a second connecting rod 50122 which are arranged in parallel. A first end of each of the first connecting rod 50121 and the second connecting rod 50122 is rotatably connected to the first longitudinal beam 50114 through a movable stud, and a second end of each of the first connecting rod 50121 and the second connecting rod 50122 is rotatably connected to the wet cleaning module 400 through a movable stud. For example, both ends of each of the first connecting rod 50121 and the second connecting rod 50122 are provided with a through hole having a diameter greater than a diameter of the movable stud, respectively, so that the movable stud may rotate freely within the through hole, and the movable stud is fixedly connected to the first longitudinal beam 50114 after passing through the through hole. When the motor 4211 provides a pulling force to the first ends through the cable, the first ends of the first connecting rod 50121 and the second connecting rod 50122 simultaneously rotate around the movable studs at the first ends, and the second ends thereof are lifted under the pulling force of the cable, so that the wet cleaning module 400 is lifted. When the motor 4211 releases the pulling force to the first ends through the cable, the first ends of the first connecting rod 50121 and the second connecting rod 50122 simultaneously rotate reversely around the movable studs at the first ends, and the second ends thereof are lowered under the action of gravity, so that the wet cleaning module 400 is lowered.
The lifting and lowering structure 500 further includes a cable 42194, for providing a pulling force to rotate the first connecting rod pair 5012 within a preset angle. The cable 42194 includes a cable motor terminal 50131 connected to the driving unit 420, for example, wound on the gear connected to the motor output shaft to extend and retract under the rotation of the motor; and a cable bracket terminal 50132 connected to the first bracket 5011. The motor lifts or lowers the second ends of the first connecting rod 50121 and the second connecting rod 50122 through the cable 42194.
Optionally, the first bracket 5011 further includes: a third sliding slot 50112 extending along a surface of the cross beam 50111; and a snapping hole 50113 running through the cross beam 50111 and disposed at an extension end of the third sliding slot 50112 for accommodating and snapping the cable bracket terminal 50132. The cable 42194 is connected to the first ends of the first connecting rod 50121 and the second connecting rod 50122 through the third sliding slot 50112 and the snapping hole 50113. The third sliding slot 50112 can restrict a moving direction of the cable, to ensure the stability of the lifting and lowering module, and the width of the third sliding slot should match the thickness of the cable.
As shown in FIG. 17, the second connecting end 502 includes: a second bracket 5021 fixedly connected to the bottom of the mobile platform 100; and a second connecting rod pair 5022, one end of which is rotatably connected to the second bracket 5021, and the other end of which is rotatably connected to the wet cleaning module 400. The second connecting rod pair 5022 rotates along with the rotation of the first connecting rod pair 5012. The second connecting rod pair 5022 may be of a hollowed-out structure, which can reduce the overall weight of lifting and lowering ends.
Specifically, the second connecting rod pair 5022 includes a third connecting rod 50221 and a fourth connecting rod 50222 which are arranged in parallel. A first end of each of the third connecting rod 50221 and the fourth connecting rod 50222 is rotatably connected to the second bracket 5021 through a movable stud, and a second end of each of the third connecting rod 50221 and the fourth connecting rod 50222 is rotatably connected to the wet cleaning module 400 through a movable stud. For example, both ends of each of the third connecting rod 50221 and the fourth connecting rod 50222 are provided with a through hole having a diameter greater than a diameter of the movable stud, respectively, so that the movable stud may rotate freely within the through hole, and the movable stud is fixedly connected to the second bracket 5021 and the wet cleaning module 400 after passing through the through hole. When the first connecting end 501 rotates under the driving of the motor 4211, the first ends of the third connecting rod 50221 and the fourth connecting rod 50222 simultaneously rotate around the movable studs at the first ends, and the second ends of the third connecting rod 50221 and the fourth connecting rod 50222 simultaneously rotate around the movable studs at the second ends, so that the wet cleaning module 400 is lifted. When the first connecting end 501 releases the pulling force, the third connecting rod 50221 and the fourth connecting rod 50222 simultaneously rotate reversely around the movable studs and are lowered under the action of gravity, so that the wet cleaning module 400 is lowered.
Through the four-link lifting and lowering structure disposed between the wet cleaning module and the mobile platform, the wet cleaning module may be lifted and lowered relative to the mobile platform. When a ground mopping task is performed, the wet cleaning module is lowered to enable the wet cleaning module to be in contact with the ground; and when the ground mopping task is completed, the wet cleaning module is lifted to separate the wet cleaning module from the ground, thereby avoiding the increased resistance due to the existence of the cleaning module when the cleaning apparatus moves freely on the surface to be cleaned.
In cooperation with a surface medium sensor 103 and other sensors that can detect a surface type of the surface to be cleaned, the lifting and lowering module enables the wet cleaning module to perform a cleaning operation according to different surfaces to be cleaned. For example, the lifting and lowering module lifts the wet cleaning module in case of a carpet surface, and lowers the wet cleaning module in case of a floor surface, a floor tile surface or the like, for cleaning. Thus, a more comprehensive cleaning effect is achieved.
The automatic cleaning apparatus usually performs rotating actions, such as turning, as needed in the cleaning process. For example, the automatic cleaning apparatus 2000 shown in FIG. 19 is likely to rotate and turn around if encountering an obstacle in the cleaning process, and as for a carpet 2001 that is not touched in the cleaning process, at this time, the automatic cleaning apparatus 2000 may climb onto the carpet 2001 in the rotating process.
Since the automatic cleaning apparatus 2000 is provided with both the dry cleaning module 151 and the wet cleaning module 400, wherein the dry cleaning module 151 is located at the front end in the traveling direction so as to sweep the ground; and the wet cleaning module 400 is located at the rear end in the traveling direction and may mop and clean the ground after the sweeping by the dry cleaning module 151 is completed. However, the wet cleaning module 400 generally cannot be used for cleaning the carpet and the like. Therefore, if climbing onto the carpet 2001 in a state in which the wet cleaning module 400 works, the automatic cleaning apparatus 2000 is likely to wet the carpet, and may be trapped on the carpet 2001, causing trouble to customers.
Based on this, an example embodiment of the present disclosure provides a method for controlling an automatic cleaning apparatus. Referring to FIG. 20, the flowchart of the method for controlling the automatic cleaning apparatus according to the example embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. The method for controlling the automatic cleaning apparatus is mainly used in the automatic cleaning apparatus including a surface medium sensor, and may include the following steps:
step S2110, determining, when the automatic cleaning apparatus performs cleaning in a first surface medium region, whether the automatic cleaning apparatus is located in a second surface medium region in response to that the surface medium sensor triggers a surface medium change signal; and
step S2120, controlling, in the case of determining that the automatic cleaning apparatus is located in the second surface medium region, the automatic cleaning apparatus to leave the second surface medium region in a direction perpendicular to an edge of the second surface medium region according to a map of the second surface medium region and a current position of the automatic cleaning apparatus.
In the method for controlling the automatic cleaning apparatus according to the example embodiment of the present disclosure, in response to acquiring the surface medium change signal and in the case of determining that the automatic cleaning apparatus has been located in the second surface medium region, the automatic cleaning apparatus can be controlled to leave the second surface medium region in the direction perpendicular to the edge of the second surface medium region according to the map of the second surface medium region and the current position of the automatic cleaning apparatus, so as to help the automatic cleaning apparatus leave the second surface medium region as soon as possible, and further reduce the case of being stuck and the like, thereby improving the user experience.
It should be noted that the above method for controlling the automatic cleaning apparatus is suitable for that the automatic cleaning apparatus in the mode of not cleaning the carpet or the mode of activating the wet cleaning module. In these two modes, the automatic cleaning apparatus is prevented from climbing onto the carpet, that is, the automatic cleaning apparatus is in the mode of only cleaning the first surface medium region. Therefore, when the automatic cleaning apparatus is trapped on the carpet, the automatic cleaning apparatus can be controlled to escape as soon as possible through the method for controlling the automatic cleaning apparatus according to the example embodiment of the present disclosure, so as to reduce the probability that the automatic cleaning apparatus is trapped by the carpet.
In addition, the first surface medium here is one or more of a wood floor, the carpet, a ceramic tile, a cement surface and other floor surface media; and the second surface medium is one or more of the wood floor, the carpet, the ceramic tile, the cement surface and other floor surface medium different from the first surface medium.
Now, by continuously taking the case shown in FIG. 19 as an example, the method for controlling the automatic cleaning apparatus according to the example embodiment of the present disclosure will be explained.
When the automatic cleaning apparatus 2000 sweeps the first surface medium region 2002 (for example, the ground) along a wall and turns around, the automatic cleaning apparatus 2000 is likely to climb into the illustrated second surface medium region 2001 (for example, the carpet). At this time, the automatic cleaning apparatus 2000 may be controlled to leave the second surface medium region 2001 through the method for controlling the automatic cleaning apparatus according to the example embodiment of the present disclosure.
During cleaning by the automatic cleaning apparatus 2000 in the first surface medium region 2002, if the surface medium sensor triggers the surface medium change signal, it means that the surface medium sensor on the automatic cleaning apparatus 2000 has detected the second surface medium region 2001. At this time, it is necessary to determine whether the automatic cleaning apparatus 2000 is located in the second surface medium region 2001.
In an example embodiment of the present disclosure, the case of determining whether the automatic cleaning apparatus 2000 is located in the second surface medium region 2001 may include: detecting whether the position of the surface medium sensor is already in the second surface medium region 2001; and if the position of the surface medium sensor is already in the second surface medium region 2001, determining that the automatic cleaning apparatus 2000 has entered the second surface medium region 2001, or at least a part of the automatic cleaning apparatus 2000 has entered the second surface medium region 2001.
At present, the commonly used surface medium sensors mainly include an infrared sensor identification device, an ultrasonic sensor identification device, etc. Different sensor identification devices may have different specific methods to detect whether the position of the surface medium sensor of the automatic cleaning apparatus is already in the second surface media region. This example embodiment takes the ultrasonic sensor identification device as an example to explain how to specifically detect whether the position of the surface medium sensor is already in the second surface medium region.
In practical application, the ultrasonic sensor identification device is used for transmitting ultrasonic signals to the ground and receiving echo signals reflected from the ground. The waveform of the ultrasonic echo signal of normal ground is deviated from the waveform of the ultrasonic echo signal of the surface of the second surface medium region such as the carpet, as shown in FIG. 21 and FIG. 22. Therefore, the surface of the first surface medium region and the surface of the second surface medium region can be distinguished according to different echo signals. The surface of the second surface medium region refers to the surface of the second surface medium region paved on the ground surface. The waveform and peak number of the echo signals may be used for characterizing the signals.
In an example embodiment of the present disclosure, detecting whether the position of the surface medium sensor is already in the second surface medium region includes: controlling the surface medium sensor to vertically transmit the ultrasonic signal to the current surface and receive the actual echo signal reflected by the current surface; determining whether the actual echo signal is different from the echo signal of the first surface medium region, and if yes, determining that the position of the surface medium sensor is already in the second surface medium region.
In practical application, after receiving an electrical signal, the ultrasonic sensor will convert the electrical signal to the ultrasonic signal and send the ultrasonic signal down to the surface of the medium region. The above ultrasonic signal is reflected by the surface of the medium region, received by the ultrasonic sensor and converted to the electrical signal. Specifically, determining the difference between the actual echo signal and the echo signal on the surface of the first surface medium region may include: determining whether the peak number in the actual echo signal is less than the peak number in the echo signal on the surface of the first surface medium region; and if the peak number in the actual echo signal is less than the peak number in the echo signal on the surface of the first surface medium region, identifying the current ground as the surface of the second surface medium region. Specifically, for different regions, the actual echo signal may be separately compared with the echo signal on the surface of the first surface medium region corresponding to the current region, so as to improve the identification accuracy of the second surface medium region.
In this example embodiment, the echo signal of the second surface medium region is determined based on the echo signal on the surface of the first surface medium region, so that the difficulty in identifying the second surface medium region can be reduced, and the identification accuracy and precision of the second surface medium region of the automatic cleaning apparatus can be improved.
In an example embodiment of the present disclosure, in the case of determining that the automatic cleaning apparatus is located in the second surface medium region, the automatic cleaning apparatus may be controlled to leave the second surface medium region in the direction perpendicular to the edge of the second surface medium region according to the map of the second surface medium region and the current position of the automatic cleaning apparatus.
Usually, before cleaning the first surface medium region, the automatic cleaning apparatus will scan the space where the first surface medium region is located, such as a room, to acquire a room map; and if the second surface medium region is found in the process of acquiring the room map or cleaning the room, the map of the second surface medium region will be established.
The method of establishing the map of the second surface medium region specifically includes: controlling the automatic cleaning apparatus to run to the edge of the second surface medium region, and then scanning a boundary of the second surface medium region. After scanning, an initialized region 2400 as shown in FIG. 23 may be formed according to the scanned boundary, and the initialized region 2400 is recorded in the automatic cleaning apparatus.
Next, boundary coordinates of the initialized region may be merged. For example, adjacent boundary coordinates may be merged into one coordinate to acquire a merged region 2800 smoother than the boundary of the initialized region as shown in FIG. 24, so as to establish the map of the second surface medium region and store the map of the second surface medium region in the automatic cleaning apparatus.
In addition, as shown in FIG. 25, the example embodiment of the present disclosure further includes: dividing the merged region 2500 according to a preset shape to form a plurality of sub-regions 2601 and 2602, and storing the plurality of sub-regions 2601 and 2602 in the automatic cleaning apparatus. In the subsequent cleaning process, the local sub-regions may be swept as needed.
In practical application, the preset shape may be square or circular, and may also be other shapes such as diamond. As shown in FIG. 25, the sub-region 2601 and the sub-region 2602 which are determined according to the preset shape are a square region and a circular region respectively. The specific preset shape is not particularly limited by the example embodiment of the present disclosure.
In an example embodiment of the present disclosure, after acquiring the map of the second surface medium region, the edge of the second surface medium region perpendicular to the traveling direction D1, along which the automatic cleaning apparatus 2000 enters the second surface medium region 2001, may be determined in combination with the current position of the automatic cleaning apparatus 2000, and the automatic cleaning apparatus 2000 is controlled to retreat to leave the second surface medium region in the direction D2 perpendicular to the edge of the second surface medium region, i.e., the direction opposite to the traveling direction D1 along which the automatic cleaning apparatus 2000 enters the second surface medium region, so as to reduce rotation and other operations and improve the success rate and efficiency of escaping.
In some embodiments, according to the map of the second surface medium region and the current position of the automatic cleaning apparatus 2000, the edge of the second surface medium region closest to the automatic cleaning apparatus 2000 is determined; and the automatic cleaning apparatus 2000 is controlled to leave the second surface medium region 2000 in the direction D3 perpendicular to the closest edge of the second surface medium region, so as to help the automatic cleaning apparatus 2000 leave the second surface medium region 2000 as soon as possible in the shortest distance.
It should be noted that when the automatic cleaning apparatus 2000 is controlled to leave the second surface medium region 2000 in the direction D3 perpendicular to the closest edge of the second surface medium region, it is necessary to control the automatic cleaning apparatus 2000 to rotate by a first preset angle, to control the automatic cleaning apparatus 2000 to leave the second surface medium region 2000 in a manner of forward traveling or reversely retreating.
In practical application, the first preset angle may be determined according to an included angle between the traveling direction of the automatic cleaning apparatus and the closest edge of the second surface medium region. For example, if the included angle is 90 degrees, the first preset angle is 90 degrees. In addition, in the process of controlling the automatic cleaning apparatus 2000 to rotate by the first preset angle, the automatic cleaning apparatus 2000 may be controlled to rotate clockwise by the first preset angle, or may be controlled to rotate counterclockwise by the first preset angle. Different rotation directions will ultimately determine whether the automatic cleaning apparatus 2000 leaves the second surface medium region 2000 in the manner of forward traveling or reversely retreating, which is not particularly limited by the example embodiment of the present disclosure.
In an example embodiment of the present disclosure, if the second surface medium region 2000 is still detected by the surface medium sensor after the automatic cleaning apparatus executes the retreating operation for a preset time, it means that the speed at which the automatic cleaning apparatus performs the retreating operation is too low. At this time, the automatic cleaning apparatus 2000 may be controlled to rotate by a second preset angle and then leave the second surface medium region in a manner of forward traveling. The second preset angle here is 180 degrees. The preset time may be 1 minute, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 4 minutes, 5 minutes or the like.
In an example embodiment of the present disclosure, after determining that the automatic cleaning apparatus leaves the second surface medium region, the automatic cleaning apparatus may be controlled to clean along the edge of the second surface medium region, other regions of the first surface medium region are cleaned after the cleaning along the edge of the second surface medium region is completed, and the map of the second surface medium region may be re-scanned and drawn in the process of cleaning along the edge of the second surface medium region, to update the map of the second surface medium region.
In the method for controlling the automatic cleaning apparatus according to the example embodiment of the present disclosure, when the automatic cleaning apparatus accidentally enters the second surface medium region, the traveling direction along which the automatic cleaning apparatus leaves may be determined according to the map of the second surface medium region and the current position of the automatic cleaning apparatus, so that the automatic cleaning apparatus can easily leave the second surface medium region in the fastest way, and the rolling of the automatic cleaning apparatus on the second surface medium region can also be reduced.
In practical application, the automatic cleaning apparatus also includes other functions to help realize the overall operation, which will not be described in detail in this example embodiment.
It should be noted that the above method can be used not only for the automatic cleaning apparatus with a dry cleaning module and a wet cleaning module, but also for the sweeping robot only with a dry cleaning module or the mopping robot only with a wet cleaning module, as well as other intelligent robots with autonomous traveling mechanisms and requiring identification of ground morphology, which is not limited by the example embodiment of the present disclosure.
It should be noted that although various steps of the method in the present disclosure are described in a specific order in the accompanying drawings, this does not require or imply that these steps must be executed in this specific order, or that all the steps shown must be executed to achieve the desired results. Additionally or alternatively, some steps may be omitted, multiple steps may be combined into one step for execution, and/or one step may be decomposed into multiple steps for execution, etc.
In an example embodiment of the present disclosure, a device for controlling an automatic cleaning apparatus is also provided, and is disposed in the automatic cleaning apparatus including a surface medium sensor. As shown in FIG. 26, the device for controlling the automatic cleaning apparatus 2700 may include a position determination module 2701 and a navigation control module 2702.
The position determination module 2701 is configured to determine, when the automatic cleaning apparatus performs cleaning in a first surface medium region, whether the automatic cleaning apparatus is located in a second surface medium region, if the surface medium sensor triggers a surface medium change signal.
The navigation control module 2702 is configured to control, in the case of determining that the automatic cleaning apparatus is located in the second surface medium region, the automatic cleaning apparatus to leave the second surface medium region in a direction perpendicular to an edge of the second surface medium region according to a map of the second surface medium region and a current position of the automatic cleaning apparatus.
The specific details of respective modules of the device for controlling the automatic cleaning apparatus mentioned above have been described in detail in the corresponding method for controlling the automatic cleaning apparatus, and thus are not repeated here.
It should be noted that although several modules or units of the apparatus for execution are mentioned in the above detailed descriptions, this division is not mandatory. In fact, according to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the features and functions of two or more modules or units described above may be embodied in one module or unit. On the contrary, the features and functions of one module or unit described above may be further divided and embodied by multiple modules or units.
In an example embodiment of the present disclosure, an electronic apparatus capable of implementing the above method is also provided.
Those skilled in the art can understand that various aspects of the present disclosure can be implemented as systems, methods or program products. Therefore, various aspects of the present disclosure can be implemented as hardware only, software (including firmware, microcode, etc.) only, or a combination of hardware and software, which can be collectively referred to as "circuit", "module" or "system" here.
An electronic apparatus 2800 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to FIG. 27. The electronic apparatus 2800 shown in FIG. 27 is just an example, and should not bring any limitation to the functions and application scope of the embodiment of the present disclosure.
As shown in FIG. 27, the electronic apparatus 2800 is represented in the form of a general-purpose computing apparatus. Components of the electronic apparatus 2800 may include, but are not limited to, at least one processing unit 2810, at least one storage unit 2820, a bus 2830 connecting different system components (including the storage unit 2820 and the processing unit 2810), and a display unit 2840.
The storage unit 2820 stores a program code, and the program code may be executed by the processing unit 2810 to cause the processing unit 2810 to execute the steps according to various example embodiments of the present disclosure described in the above "example method" section of the Description. For example, the processing unit 2810 may execute the step S2110, determining, when the automatic cleaning apparatus performs cleaning in a first surface medium region, whether the automatic cleaning apparatus is located in a second surface medium region, if the surface medium sensor triggers a surface medium change signal; and step S2120, controlling, in the case of determining that the automatic cleaning apparatus is located in the second surface medium region, the automatic cleaning apparatus to leave the second surface medium region in a direction perpendicular to an edge of the second surface medium region according to a map of the second surface medium region and a current position of the automatic cleaning apparatus, as shown in FIG. 20.
The storage unit 2820 may include a readable medium in the form of a volatile storage unit, such as a random access memory (RAM) unit 28201 and/or a cache memory unit 28202, and may further include a read-only memory (ROM) unit 28203.
The storage unit 2820 may also include a program/utility 28204 with a set of (at least one) program modules 28205. Such program modules 28205 include, but are not limited to, an operating system, one or more applications, other program modules and program data, and each or a combination of these examples may include the implementation of a network environment.
The bus 2830 may represent one or more of several bus structures, including a storage unit bus or a storage unit controller, a peripheral bus, a graphics acceleration port, a processing unit, or a local bus using any of a variety of bus structures.
The electronic apparatus 2800 may also communicate with one or more external apparatuses 2870 (such as a keyboard, a pointing apparatus and a Bluetooth apparatus) and may also communicate with one or more apparatuses that enable users to interact with the electronic apparatus 2800, and/or communicate with any apparatus that enables the electronic apparatus 2800 to communicate with one or more other computing apparatuses (such as a router and a modem). This communication may be performed through an input/output (I/O) interface 2850. Moreover, the electronic apparatus 2800 may also communicate with one or more networks (for example, a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN) and/or a public network, such as the Internet) through a network adapter 2860. As shown in the figure, the network adapter 2860 communicates with other modules of the electronic apparatus 2800 through the bus 2830. It should be understood that although not shown in the figure, other hardware and/or software modules may be used in conjunction with the electronic apparatus 2800, including but not limited to microcode, apparatus drives, redundant processing units, external disk drive arrays, RAID systems, tape drives, data backup storage systems, and the like.
Through the descriptions of the above embodiments, it is easy for those skilled in the art to understand that the example embodiments described here may be realized by means of software or by combining software with necessary hardware. Therefore, the technical solution according to the embodiments of the present disclosure can be embodied in the form of a software product, and the software product can be stored in a non-volatile storage medium (which may be a CD-ROM, a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, etc.) or on the network, and includes several instructions to enable a computing apparatus (which may be a personal computer, a server, a terminal device, or a network apparatus, etc.) to execute the method according to the embodiments of the present disclosure.
In an example embodiment of the present disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium is also provided, on which a program product capable of implementing the above method of the Description is stored. In some possible embodiments, various aspects of the present disclosure may also be realized in the form of a program product, which includes a program code. When the program product runs on a terminal apparatus, the program code is used to cause the terminal apparatus to execute the steps according to various example embodiments of the present disclosure described in the above "example method" section of the Description.
The program product for realizing the above method according to the embodiments of the present disclosure may adopt a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) and include the program code, and may run on the terminal apparatus, such as a personal computer. However, the program product of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In this document, the readable storage medium may be any tangible medium containing or storing a program, and the program may be used by or in combination with an instruction execution system, a device or a component.
The program product may adopt any combination of one or more readable mediums. The readable medium may be a readable signal medium or a readable storage medium. The readable storage medium may be, for example, but is not limited to, electrical, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor systems, devices or elements, or any combination of the above. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the readable storage medium include: an electrical connection with one or more conducting wires, a portable disk, a hard disk, an RAM, an ROM, an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage element, a magnetic storage element, or any suitable combination of the above.
The computer-readable signal medium may include a data signal propagated in a baseband or as part of a carrier wave, in which a readable program code is carried. Such propagated data signal may take many forms, including but not limited to an electromagnetic signal, an optical signal or any suitable combination of the above. The readable signal medium may also be any readable medium other than the readable storage medium, and the readable medium may send, propagate or transmit a program for use by or in combination with an instruction execution system, a device or an element.
The program code contained in the readable medium may be transmitted by any suitable medium, including but not limited to a wireless medium, a wired medium, an optical cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination of the above.
The program code for executing the operations of the present disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including object-oriented programming languages, such as Java and C++, and conventional procedural programming languages, such as "C" or similar programming languages. The program code may be completely executed on a user computing apparatus, partially executed on the user apparatus, executed as an independent software package, partially executed on the user computing apparatus and partially executed on a remote computing apparatus, or completely executed on the remote computing apparatus or a server. In the situation involving the remote computing apparatus, the remote computing apparatus may be connected to the user computing apparatus through any type of network, including the LAN or WAN, or may be connected to an external computing apparatus (for example, through the Internet by using an Internet service provider).
In addition, the above accompanying drawings are only schematic illustrations of the processing included in the method according to the example embodiments of the present disclosure, and are not for limiting purposes. It is easy to understand that the processing shown in the above accompanying drawings does not indicate or restrict the time sequence of the processing. In addition, it is also easy to understand that the processing may be for example performed synchronously or asynchronously in multiple modules.
Other embodiments of the present disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the Description and practice of the disclosed disclosure here. The present application is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptive changes of the present disclosure, which follow the general principles of the present disclosure and include common general knowledge or customary technical means, which are not disclosed herein, in the art. The Description and embodiments are to be considered as examples only, and a true scope and spirit of the present disclosure are indicated by the claims.
It should be appreciated that the present disclosure is not limited to the exact structure that has been described above and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and that various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope thereof. The scope of the present disclosure is only defined by the appended claims.

Claims

A method for controlling an automatic cleaning apparatus, for the automatic cleaning apparatus comprising a surface medium sensor, and comprising:
determining, when the automatic cleaning apparatus performs cleaning in a first surface medium region, whether the automatic cleaning apparatus is located in a second surface medium region in response to that the surface medium sensor triggers a surface medium change signal; and

controlling, in response to determining that the automatic cleaning apparatus is located in the second surface medium region, the automatic cleaning apparatus to leave the second surface medium region in a direction perpendicular to an edge of the second surface medium region according to a map of the second surface medium region and a current position of the automatic cleaning apparatus.
The method for controlling the automatic cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein controlling the automatic cleaning apparatus to leave the second surface medium region in the direction perpendicular to the edge of the second surface medium region comprises:
determining, according to the map of the second surface medium and the current position of the automatic cleaning apparatus, the edge of the second surface medium region perpendicular to a traveling direction along which the automatic cleaning apparatus enters the second surface medium region, and controlling the automatic cleaning apparatus to retreat in the direction perpendicular to the edge of the second surface medium region to leave the second surface medium region.
The method for controlling the automatic cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein controlling the automatic cleaning apparatus to leave the second surface medium region in the direction perpendicular to the edge of the second surface medium region comprises:
determining, according to the map of the second surface medium and the current position of the automatic cleaning apparatus, the edge of the second surface medium region closest to the automatic cleaning apparatus; and

controlling the automatic cleaning apparatus to leave the second surface medium region in the direction perpendicular to the closest edge of the second surface medium region.
The method for controlling the automatic cleaning apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising:
controlling, before controlling the automatic cleaning apparatus to leave the second surface medium region in the direction perpendicular to the closest edge of the second surface medium region, the automatic cleaning apparatus to rotate by a first angle according to an included angle between the traveling direction of the automatic cleaning apparatus and the closest edge of the second surface medium region, the first angle being related to the included angle; and

controlling the automatic cleaning apparatus to leave the second surface medium region in manner of forward traveling or reversely retreating, the forward traveling and the reversely retreating depending on a rotation direction of the automatic cleaning apparatus.
The method for controlling the automatic cleaning apparatus according to claim 2 or 4, further comprising:
controlling, after the automatic cleaning apparatus executes a retreating operation for preset time, the automatic cleaning apparatus to rotate by a second angle and leave the second surface medium region in a manner of forward traveling in response to that the surface medium sensor is still able to detect the second surface medium region.
The method for controlling the automatic cleaning apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the second angle is 180 degrees.
The method for controlling the automatic cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:
controlling, after determining that the automatic cleaning apparatus leaves the second surface medium region, the automatic cleaning apparatus to clean along the edge of the second surface medium region, and re-acquiring the map of the second surface medium region to update the map of the second surface medium region.
The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the map of the second surface medium region is established by controlling the automatic cleaning apparatus to run to the edge of the second surface medium region and then scanning a boundary of the second surface medium region.
A device for controlling an automatic cleaning apparatus, disposed in the automatic cleaning apparatus comprising a surface medium sensor, and comprising:
a position determination module for determining, when the automatic cleaning apparatus performs cleaning in a first surface medium region, whether the automatic cleaning apparatus is located in a second surface medium region in response to that the surface medium sensor triggers a surface medium change signal; and

a navigation control module for controlling, in response to determining that the automatic cleaning apparatus is located in the second surface medium region, the automatic cleaning apparatus to leave the second surface medium region in a direction perpendicular to an edge of the second surface medium region according to a map of the second surface medium region and a current position of the automatic cleaning apparatus.
A computer-readable storage medium, storing a computer program thereon, wherein the computer program implements the method for controlling the automatic cleaning apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8 when executed by a processor.
An electronic apparatus comprising:
a processor; and

a memory for storing executable instructions of the processor,

wherein the processor is configured to:
determine, when the automatic cleaning apparatus performs cleaning in a first surface medium region, whether the automatic cleaning apparatus is located in a second surface medium region in response to that a surface medium sensor triggers a surface medium change signal; and

control, in response to determining that the automatic cleaning apparatus is located in the second surface medium region, the automatic cleaning apparatus to leave the second surface medium region in a direction perpendicular to an edge of the second surface medium region according to a map of the second surface medium region and a current position of the automatic cleaning apparatus.
The electronic apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the processor is configured to:
determine, according to the map of the second surface medium and the current position of the automatic cleaning apparatus, the edge of the second surface medium region perpendicular to a traveling direction along which the automatic cleaning apparatus enters the second surface medium region, and control the automatic cleaning apparatus to retreat in the direction perpendicular to the edge of the second surface medium region to leave the second surface medium region.
The electronic apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the processor is configured to:
determine, according to the map of the second surface medium and the current position of the automatic cleaning apparatus, the edge of the second surface medium region closest to the automatic cleaning apparatus; and

control the automatic cleaning apparatus to leave the second surface medium region in the direction perpendicular to the closest edge of the second surface medium region.
The electronic apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the processor is further configured to:
control, before controlling the automatic cleaning apparatus to leave the second surface medium region in the direction perpendicular to the closest edge of the second surface medium region, the automatic cleaning apparatus to rotate by a first angle according to an included angle between the traveling direction of the automatic cleaning apparatus and the closest edge of the second surface medium region, the first angle being related to the included angle; and

control the automatic cleaning apparatus to leave the second surface medium region in a manner of forward traveling or reversely retreating, the forward traveling or reversely retreating depending on a rotation direction of the automatic cleaning apparatus.
The electronic apparatus according to claim 12 or 14, wherein the processor is further configured to:
control, after the automatic cleaning apparatus executes a retreating operation for preset time, the automatic cleaning apparatus to rotate by a second angle and leave the second surface medium region in a manner of forward travelling in response to that the surface medium sensor is still able to detect the second surface medium region.
The electronic apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the second angle is 180 degrees.
The electronic apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the processor is further configured to: control, after determining that the automatic cleaning apparatus leaves the second surface medium region, the automatic cleaning apparatus to clean along the edge of the second surface medium region, and reacquire the map of the second surface medium region to update the map of the second surface medium region.
The electronic apparatus according to any one of claims 11 to 13, wherein the map of the second surface medium region is established by controlling the automatic cleaning apparatus to run to the edge of the second surface medium region and then scanning a boundary of the second surface medium region.