KR100788791B1 - The control method of cleaning action for cleaning robot - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method of controlling a cleaning robot's cleaning operation, the purpose of which is to obtain a map at the same time as the wall swing cleaning to reduce the cost and time required to create a separate map, through which the cleaning robot can proceed quickly It is to provide a cleaning operation control method.

The present invention is a charging station separation step; A cleaning robot moving step of aligning the cleaning robot separated from the charging station by moving in the wall direction; A wall swing cleaning step of moving along the wall surface of the cleaning area and cleaning the wall line by a swing motion, and detecting an obstacle by a plurality of ultrasonic sensors operated in conjunction with the swing motion to obtain a cleaning area map; A cleaning area classification step of classifying a cleaning area and an external area by the obtained map; A cleaning pattern setting step of selecting and applying a cleaning pattern for the cleaning area by calculating an area of the divided cleaning area and comparing it with a setting value; On the basis of the map obtained according to the cleaning pattern, the mobile robot is moved to a cleaning area and comprises a cleaning step for performing cleaning step by step.

Cleaning robot, map building, cleaning pattern, position recognition, swing

Description

The control method of cleaning action for cleaning robot}

1 is an exemplary block diagram showing a cleaning path control according to the present invention

2 is a conceptual diagram showing obstacle recognition according to the present invention

Figure 3 is an illustration of a mobile robot showing the ultrasonic sensor arrangement in the present invention

4 is an exemplary view showing a map generation process according to the present invention.

5 is an exemplary view showing a zigzag cleaning pattern according to the present invention

6 is an exemplary view showing a screw-type cleaning pattern according to the present invention

7 is an exemplary view showing a second cleaning step according to the present invention

8 is an exemplary view showing a cleaning process by the zigzag cleaning pattern of the present invention

9 is an exemplary view showing a cleaning process by the screw-type cleaning pattern of the present invention

10 is an exemplary view showing a schematic structure of a conventional cleaning robot

11 is an exemplary view showing a cleaning form by a conventional cleaning robot

12 is an exemplary view showing a cleaning process using a conventional cleaning robot

* Explanation of symbols for main parts of the drawings

(10): mobile robot (11): mobile robot body

(12) cleaning tool 21: the first ultrasonic sensor

22: second ultrasonic sensor 23: third ultrasonic sensor

24: fourth ultrasonic sensor 30: scanning area

(100): steering axis (200): rotation center axis

(310): outer area 320: obstacle area

330: Cleaning area 331: Primary cleaning area

333: tertiary cleaning area 400: obstacle

(410): Wall (810): Starting point

820: Uncleaned Area 830: Cleaned Area

(840): boundary line (850,860): moving coordinate

(910): boundary line (920): path coordinate

The present invention relates to a method of controlling a cleaning operation of a cleaning robot, wherein a map is obtained at the same time as a wall swing cleaning for a predetermined cleaning area, and the cleaning area and the external area and the area to be cleaned and the uncleaned area can be efficiently performed. It relates to a cleaning operation control method of the cleaning robot.

Existing domestic and foreign cleaning robots use only basic collision detection sensors to clean the whole day by simply moving the cleaning method along the wall or by moving it randomly (when the spinning ball hits the wall). There may be areas where cleaning is not possible, and because the cleaning tool is mounted inside the robot, it will not be able to clean the corners and corners of the room because it will not be cleaned at all on the wall.

In addition, the cleaning time is also very long because the cleaning method in a random manner is a situation that can be cleaned after recharging several times in the case of 40 pyeong apartment. In other words, the existing cleaning robot is a level of a simple mobile cleaner (first generation cleaning robot) rather than a robot.

Figure 10 shows the structure of such a conventional cleaning robot, the schematic configuration of the cleaning robot can be seen that there is a suction port in the rear or the front of the wheel. In addition, the width of the suction port is smaller than the width of the wheel is smaller than the width of the wheel can be seen that there is a disadvantage. In addition, the suction port is smaller than the outside size of the cleaning robot, it can be seen that the corner cleaning is difficult. Of course, it seems that the cleaning area can be increased by increasing the width of the suction port, but in reality, the battery-powered cleaning robot has a structural problem in that the suction power is weak to increase the size of the suction port.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 11, since the area smaller than the size of the cleaning robot is cleaned, the wall or the corner cannot be cleaned, and the wheel of the cleaning robot passes through the uncleaned area in the traveling direction. This causes dirt on the wheels, and when driving in the cleaned area, there is a problem of dirtying the cleaned parts again.

12 shows a method of cleaning by a conventional cleaning robot by a random method, which takes a lot of time since the cleaning area cannot be completely cleaned and there are many overlapping cleaning areas.

The present invention is to solve the above problems, the purpose is to obtain a map at the same time the wall swing cleaning to reduce the cost and time required to create a separate map, through which cleaning of the cleaning robot can proceed quickly cleaning work It is to provide an operation control method.

In addition, another object of the present invention is to effectively divide the cleaning area, by applying a zigzag or screw type cleaning pattern according to the area of the cleaning area, to suppress the occurrence of the uncleaned area, to minimize the overlapping cleaning area, It is to provide a method of controlling the cleaning operation of a cleaning robot that can perform an optimal cleaning operation.

In addition, the present invention is to provide a cleaning operation control method of the cleaning robot to prevent the problem of dirtying the cleaning area due to the dirt on the driving wheel during cleaning.

1 is a block diagram showing the cleaning path control according to the present invention, the present invention proceeds for the first time by taking a swing (movement) using a turret (Turret) rotatable 360 ° when exiting the charging station Charging station separation step of removing dust in the direction (S100), and cleaning robot moving step of moving and aligning the cleaning robot 10 separated from the charging station in the wall direction to maintain a predetermined distance from the wall surface in the cleaning area (S200) And the wall swing cleaning which moves along the wall of the cleaning area and cleans the wall line by the swing motion, and at the same time detects obstacles by a plurality of ultrasonic sensors operated in conjunction with the swing motion to obtain a cleaning area map. Step S300, cleaning area classification step S400 for distinguishing a cleaning area from an external area by the obtained map, and calculating the area of the divided cleaning area Cleaning pattern setting step (S500) in which the cleaning pattern for the cleaning area is selected and applied to the cleaning area by contrast with the set value, and the mobile robot is moved to the cleaning area based on the map obtained according to the cleaning pattern to perform cleaning step by step. It is to include a cleaning step (S600) to perform.

In the charging station separation step (S100), when the cleaning robot is separated from the charging station, the cleaning tool is operated by a swing operation to remove dust from the wheel so as to remove dust located in an initial traveling direction.

That is, the present invention is a turret rotated 360 degrees equipped with a suction cleaning tool protruding toward the driving direction, a plurality of distance measuring sensors installed on the turret direction of the turret and a camera installed on the turret to obtain an image of the ceiling area; When a cleaning robot equipped with a fisheye lens enters its storage device and initially exits the charging station to clean the cleaning area with reference to stored cleaning maps and ceiling maps, the wheels mounted on the lower part of the turret do not get dusted. By swinging the turret at least wider than the width of the driving wheels, the dust is sucked in and removed to clean and secure the space in the initial direction of movement of the cleaning robot.

The cleaning robot moving step (S200) is to move the cleaning robot to the initial cleaning start position, the turning step (S210) of the cleaning robot exiting the charging station turning to the right or left by a set value, and the cleaning robot Recognition step (S220) of the ultrasonic sensor to detect obstacles and the wall according to the turning, and the cleaning robot so that the distance (L) from the wall to the cleaning tool of the cleaning robot swinging the maximum to maintain the interval of 8 to 12 cm And a cleaning robot setting step (S230) for moving the wall toward the wall, and a steering angle adjusting step (S240) for adjusting a steering angle of the cleaning robot to move along the wall of the cleaning robot moved to maintain the wall at a predetermined interval. have.

That is, the cleaning robot 10 has a rotary cleaning tool 12 protruding in the driving direction, as shown in Figure 7, the cleaning tool is mounted on a turret rotating 360 degrees turret when the cleaning robot is moved The rotation of the vehicle moves while rotating at least greater than the width of the travel wheels.

In addition, the turret is integrally connected to the body portion 11 of the cleaning robot, is installed on the upper portion of the moving means including the wheel is installed to rotate independently of the wheel. In addition, the rotating means of the turret may be rotated using a conventional rotating means such as a moving means including a lower wheel and a rotating shaft (not shown) for rotating the turret mounted thereon and a motor (not shown) for rotating the turret. It is enough.

The suction member of the cleaning tool 12 for sucking the object to be cleaned is the same as the suction principle of a conventional suction type vacuum cleaner, and such a conventional suction principle or configuration itself is not a right object of the present invention.

In addition, the cleaning tool 12 is shown as a suction type structure having a rectangular structure in the drawings, it is sufficient if the suction type with the suction port, the external shape itself of such a cleaning tool itself is not limited in the present invention.

In addition, the cleaning tool may be integrally rotated with the turret, or may be rotated by itself without being integrally rotated with the turret. Suction cleaning tools of conventional known vacuum cleaners are known in various types such as fixed or rotary type. In the present invention, the turret does not limit whether the cleaning tool itself is rotated, since the turret swings the cleaning tool accordingly according to the present invention so as to achieve the object of the present invention.

In addition, the distance to the wall (L) is to prevent the collision between the wall and the cleaning robot according to the swing operation of the cleaning robot and considering the scanning area of the ultrasonic sensor, the optimum distance to prevent the formation of the map, cleaning efficiency and collision Condition.

The wall swing cleaning step (S300) is to obtain the map data for the cleaning area at the same time as the first cleaning for the cleaning area, swinging the rotary cleaning tool at a predetermined angle in a stationary state and at the same time cleaning when swinging Swing step (S310) for detecting the obstacle by a plurality of ultrasonic sensors installed on the robot, and the obstacle detected by the swing step to maintain the distance between the cleaning robot and the wall so that the cleaning robot can be moved along the wall surface A steering angle calculation step (S320) of calculating a steering angle of the cleaning robot, a moving step of adjusting the steering angle of the cleaning robot according to the calculated steering angle, moving the cleaning robot by a predetermined distance along the wall, and stopping (S330); Through the repeating step (S340) of repeating the swinging step, the calculating step, and the moving step a plurality of times, while maintaining the distance (L) to the wall, cleaning the wall area At the same time that acquires the map data for the cleaning area.

In addition, the cleaning robot, as shown in Figure 2, a plurality of ultrasonic sensors 21, 22, 23 are installed in the body portion 11 of the cleaning robot connected to the turret rotated 360 °, the ultrasonic sensor 21 It is to improve the resolution of the ultrasonic sensor by operating the ultrasonic sensor (21, 22, 23) while swinging the body portion 11, 22, 23 is installed in place.

That is, Figure 2 shows a conceptual view showing the obstacle recognition according to the present invention, the present invention performs a wall cleaning by the swing operation of the cleaning robot, at the same time, a plurality of installed on the body portion 11 of the cleaning robot swinging By measuring the ultrasonic sensors 21, 22, and 23, obstacles on the front and both sides of the cleaning robot traveling direction are simultaneously sensed to obtain map data.

The ultrasonic sensors 21, 22, and 23 are installed on the cleaning robot body 11 to be rotated integrally during the swing operation of the body, and both sides of the cleaning robot 100 in the same direction and steering axis as the steering shaft 100 of the cleaning robot. A plurality of ultrasonic sensors are installed to be symmetrical.

That is, as shown in Figure 3, the first ultrasonic sensor 21 is installed along the steering shaft 100 so as to be located in front of the front end with respect to the traveling direction of the cleaning robot, and detects the direction perpendicular to the steering shaft The cleaning robot so as to be positioned between the third ultrasonic sensors 23 respectively installed on the body 11 of the cleaning robot and the first and third ultrasonic sensors 21 and 23 so as to sense a direction of 45 ° with respect to the steering shaft. Second ultrasonic sensors 22 are respectively installed on the body portion 11 of the are installed.

In addition, the first, second, and third ultrasonic sensors 21, 22, and 23 are installed at the body portion 11 of the cleaning robot so as to have the same height.

In addition, the body portion 11 of the cleaning robot is connected to the turret is rotated 360 ° infinitely, preferably 45 to 60 degrees to the left and right with respect to the steering axis 100 on the basis of the rotation center axis (200). It is designed to swing at 45 °.

The cleaning robot of the present invention made as described above, when the swing operation of the cleaning robot body portion 11 around the rotational center axis 200, the rotary cleaning tool 12 is operated to clean the moving direction of the cleaning robot. At the same time, since each ultrasonic sensor detects an obstacle according to the installation direction of the first, second, third and third ultrasonic sensors 21, 22, and 23 in conjunction with the swing operation, the cleaning operation and the map acquisition can be performed simultaneously. Can be.

In the cleaning area classification step S400, the map data obtained by the first cleaning may be included in the obstacle area 320, the external area 310 located outside the obstacle area, and the cleaning area located inside the obstacle area 320. As shown in FIG. 4, the cleaning area 330 is a primary cleaning area 331 that is cleaned by the wall swinging step, and the other part is a tertiary cleaning area 333. To separate.

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The cleaning pattern setting step (S500) is to set the cleaning pattern for the tertiary cleaning area 333, and selectively perform the zigzag cleaning pattern and the screw cleaning pattern according to the area and condition of the tertiary cleaning area. . That is, when the measured area value is smaller than the area setting value, compared to the measured area of the tertiary cleaning area and the preset area setting value of the cleaning robot, a screw type cleaning pattern for efficient small area cleaning is performed and the area setting is performed. If the measured area value is larger than the value, the zigzag cleaning pattern is effective to clean a large area.

The cleaning step (S600) is to perform the cleaning by moving to the cleaning area 330 by the set cleaning pattern, the third cleaning step (S610) for cleaning the third cleaning area 333 according to the selected cleaning pattern, After the cleaning of the third cleaning area is completed, the second cleaning step (S620) to move along the edge of the wall to clean the space between the wall surface and the first cleaned. In addition, the cleaning step is cleaning while continuing the swing operation of the turret continuously if necessary.

The third cleaning step (S610) is performed by a zigzag cleaning pattern or a screw cleaning pattern, and the zigzag cleaning pattern is suitable for cleaning a relatively large cleaning area, as shown in FIG. 5, and a cleaning robot. During this swing movement, it moves to zigzag and performs cleaning.

The screw type cleaning pattern is suitable for cleaning a relatively small cleaning area, and as shown in FIG. 6, the cleaning robot rotates in the center direction from the outside to perform cleaning.

At this time, the cleaning robot 10 to proceed with the cleaning is to measure the magnetic position and to correct the posture when moving. That is, the image acquisition step of acquiring the image of the ceiling area through the camera and the fisheye lens of the running cleaning robot to express a specific element; An image contrast step of comparing the obtained ceiling image with a specific element of a ceiling map previously input / set; The magnetic position is measured and the posture is corrected through the posture correction step of determining the actual position based on the image contrast and correcting it to match the set value when it differs from the set value.

Specific examples of the specific elements of the cleaning map are objects that prevent the movement of the robot, that is, obstacles that hinder walls, furniture, and other driving.

Specific examples of the specific elements of the ceiling map are the straight lines, the distances between the straight lines, the angles of the straight lines, the length of the straight lines, the diameter of the circles, and the like obtained from the ceiling image.

The second cleaning step (S620) corresponds to the corner cleaning, and as shown in FIG. 7, an area closest to the wall surface on which cleaning is not performed by the first cleaning or the third cleaning (8-12 cm from the wall surface). Clean the space between them, and close the wall as much as possible but avoid the collision by PID or fuzzy control method.

At this time, the cleaning robot is to move the cleaning tool while maintaining the angle with the wall by keeping the cleaning tool in close contact with the wall surface without swinging the turret left and right.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 8 illustrates a cleaning process of a tertiary region according to a zigzag cleaning pattern, and after moving to a starting point 810 after finding an initial point to start zigzag cleaning according to the map data acquired by the wall swing cleaning step. Perform the cleaning. At this time, the point to move the next cleaning robot from the starting point is calculated by using the data of the generated map data (cleaned area, external area, uncleaned area, obstacle area), and the zigzag cleaning pattern The cleaning area is to minimize the overlapping portion of the primary cleaning area within the range where no uncleaned area is generated.

When cleaning by the zigzag cleaning pattern, as shown in (b) and (c) of FIG. 8, in the case of a map having a corner portion, an uncleaned area 820 is generated. In the tertiary cleaning area, the cleaned area and the uncleaned area are subdivided into different colors.

When the uncleaned area 820 occurs as described above, the cleaning robot cleans up to the top of the map, and then updates the entire map of the cleaning robot to clean the cleaned area 830 and the uncleaned area 820. After the inspection, the cleaning robot may be moved to the uncleaned area 820 to perform cleaning according to the zigzag cleaning pattern.

That is, when an area not cleaned by the update of the entire map is inspected, the boundary line 840 between the primary cleaning area (wall swing cleaning) and the tertiary cleaning area (tertiary cleaning area) is found, and the boundary line 840 Move the cleaning robot to the moving coordinates of the uncleaned area at the point where) ends, and perform the cleaning. At this point, two moving coordinates 850 and 860 are generated as shown in (d) of FIG. 8, and the cleaning robot is moved to a double close moving coordinate, thereby cleaning zigzag as shown in (e) of FIG. 8. You can do it with a pattern.

At this time, while cleaning, the position recognition and posture correction of the cleaning robot is performed by contrast between various sensors, the set ceiling image information, and the acquired clean image information.

9 shows a cleaning process of the tertiary region according to the screw type cleaning pattern, and finds the boundary line 910 between the cleaned region and the uncleaned region according to the map data obtained by the wall swing cleaning step. The cleaning robot generates a plurality of path coordinates 920 to be moved while cleaning robots at intervals of 15 to 20 cm on the boundary line 910, and the cleaning robot is moved along the generated path coordinates 920 according to the swing motion. Perform the cleaning. If the boundary line, coordinate generation and cleaning are repeated a number of times, the cleaning area is narrowed more and more inwardly, such as a screw form, and finally the cleaning can be completed.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described specific preferred embodiments, and various modifications can be made by any person having ordinary skill in the art without departing from the gist of the present invention claimed in the claims. Of course, such changes will fall within the scope of the claims.

As described above, the present invention obtains a map at the same time as the first cleaning and obtains information on obstacles by detecting a plurality of ultrasonic sensors according to the swing motion, so that accurate map data information can be obtained and overall cleaning time can be obtained. It can be shortened.

In addition, the area to be cleaned and the area not to be cleaned by primary cleaning are cleaned, and the interior space is cleaned by the third cleaning, and the cleaning of the cleaning area is removed by removing the fine dust in the corner by the second cleaning. Since the cleaning area can be efficiently subdivided, the cleaning operation can be performed quickly.

In addition, since the cleaning pattern can be selected and proceeded according to the size of the cleaned space, the occurrence of the uncleaned area is eliminated, and the optimal cleaning operation according to each space can be performed.

In addition, the cleaning robot of the present invention is a cleaning tool protrudes to the outside to clean the wall and the edge of the dust most accumulated in the house, in particular can clean around the obstacles.

In addition, the present invention is to use the map data obtained by the first cleaning and other information at the same time in parallel, synchronous movement technology and ultrasonic array sensor technology and vision processing technology that can be moved in any direction with a small position error Using the robot has a lot of effects, such as cleaning robot can recognize the location of the home efficiently.

Claims (11)

A charging station separation step of removing dust in an initial traveling direction by taking a swing operation using a turret rotatable 360 ° when exiting the charging station; A cleaning robot moving step of moving and aligning the cleaning robot separated from the charging station in the wall direction to maintain a predetermined distance from the wall surface in the area to be cleaned; A wall swing cleaning step of moving along the wall of the area to be cleaned and cleaning the wall line by a swing motion, and simultaneously detecting obstacles by a plurality of ultrasonic sensors operated in conjunction with the swing motion to obtain a cleaning area map; The cleaning area is divided into a cleaning area and an external area based on the obstacle area by the obtained map, and the cleaning area is divided into a primary cleaning area that is cleaned by a wall swing cleaning step and an uncleaned third cleaning area. Classification step; A cleaning pattern setting step of selecting and applying a cleaning pattern for the third cleaning region by calculating an area of the divided tertiary cleaning region and comparing it with a setting value; And a cleaning step of performing a cleaning step by step by moving the mobile robot to a cleaning area based on the map obtained according to the cleaning pattern. The method of claim 1; The cleaning robot moving step is a turning step of turning the cleaning robot exiting the charging station to the right or left by a set value, A recognition step of detecting an obstacle and a wall in an area to be cleaned by an ultrasonic sensor according to the turning of the cleaning robot; A cleaning robot setting step of moving the cleaning robot in the wall direction so that the distance L from the wall to the cleaning tool of the cleaning robot swinged to the maximum maintains a distance of 8 to 12 cm; And a steering angle adjustment step of adjusting a steering angle of the cleaning robot to move the cleaning robot moved along the wall surface to maintain the wall at a predetermined interval. The method of claim 1; The wall swing cleaning step includes a plurality of ultrasonic sensors installed on the cleaning robot at the same time as the cleaning is performed by swinging the cleaning robot body and the rotary cleaning tool integrally by the rotation of the turret integrally connected to the cleaning robot body in the stationary state. Swing step to detect the obstacle by, A steering angle calculation step of recognizing an obstacle detected by the swinging step and calculating a steering angle of the cleaning robot to move the cleaning robot along the wall by maintaining a distance between the cleaning robot and the wall; A moving step of adjusting the steering angle of the cleaning robot according to the calculated steering angle and moving the cleaning robot by a predetermined distance along the wall to stop the moving robot; Cleaning operation control method of the cleaning robot, characterized in that consisting of a repeating step of repeating the swing step, the calculation step, the moving step a plurality of times. delete The method of claim 1; In the cleaning pattern setting step, when the measured area value is smaller than the area setting value, compared to the measured area of the tertiary cleaning area and the area setting value preset in the cleaning robot, a screw type cleaning pattern is performed that is effective for small area cleaning. And, when the measured area value is larger than the area setting value, the cleaning operation control method of the cleaning robot, characterized in that it is set to perform an zigzag cleaning pattern that is effective for cleaning a large area. The method of claim 5; After the zigzag cleaning pattern is cleaned, the entire map of the cleaning robot is updated to inspect the cleaned area and the uncleaned area, and when the uncleaned area is inspected, the first cleaning area (wall swing) Cleaning) and the 3rd cleaning area (3rd cleaning area), find the boundary line, move the cleaning robot to the moving coordinates of the uncleaned area as the end point of the boundary line, and then perform the operation again with a zigzag cleaning pattern Cleaning operation control method of the cleaning robot, characterized in that. The method of claim 5; The screw cleaning pattern finds a boundary line between the cleaned and uncleaned areas according to the map data obtained by the wall swing cleaning step, and moves the cleaning robot at a interval of 15 to 20 cm above the boundary while cleaning. And generating a plurality of path coordinates, wherein the cleaning robot is moved along the generated path coordinates to perform cleaning according to the swing motion. The compound according to any one of claims 1,2,3,5,6,7, The cleaning robot may include a first ultrasonic sensor installed along a steering shaft so as to be positioned in front of the front end with respect to the moving direction of the cleaning robot, and a third ultrasonic sensor installed on the body of the mobile robot to detect a direction perpendicular to the steering shaft. And second ultrasonic sensors respectively disposed on the body of the mobile robot so as to be positioned between the first and third ultrasonic sensors, respectively, and installed on the body of the mobile robot so as to sense a direction of 45 ° with respect to the steering shaft. How to control the cleaning operation of the cleaning robot. The method of claim 8; The cleaning robot is connected to a turret rotated 360 ° infinity, the cleaning operation control method for a cleaning robot, characterized in that the swinging movement in the range of 45 ° to 60 ° to the left and right with respect to the steering axis relative to the center of rotation. The method of claim 1; The cleaning step includes a third cleaning step of cleaning the third cleaning area according to the selected cleaning pattern, and cleaning the space between the wall and the first cleaning area by moving along the wall edge after the cleaning of the third cleaning area is completed. Cleaning operation control method of the cleaning robot, characterized in that consisting of a second cleaning step to perform. The method of claim 10; The second cleaning step is a cleaning robot control method of the cleaning robot, characterized in that the cleaning tool having a suction hole in close contact with the wall surface while maintaining the angle with the wall without moving the turret swing left and right to clean.

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