KR101359380B1 - Sensing Method of Robot Cleaner, Recording Medium and Robot Cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a sensor device capable of detecting external force, a robot cleaner using the same, and an external force sensing method for applying the same. The sensing device for detecting external force of the present invention includes an optical flow sensor that outputs data of an X axis travel distance and a Y axis travel distance according to the movement of the robot, and an X axis travel distance and Y axis travel distance data output from the optical flow sensor. It includes a control unit for calculating the slip progression distance and the rotation angle in the vertical direction with respect to the movement direction of the current robot. According to the present invention, it is possible to perform accurate dead reckoning by detecting a minute angle change and accurate straight driving.

Light Flow Sensor, Robot Cleaner

Description

External force sensing method of robot cleaner, recording medium recording the same and robot cleaner using the same {Sensing Method of Robot Cleaner, Recording Medium and Robot Cleaner}

1 is a block diagram of a sensing device for sensing an external force according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a block diagram of a robot cleaner capable of detecting an external force according to an embodiment of the present invention

Figure 3 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a cleaning robot according to an embodiment of the present invention

4A illustrates an optical flow sensor mounted on a robot cleaner according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

4B is a view illustrating an optical flow sensor mounted on a robot cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of determining a current position when an external force is generated according to an embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a view illustrating an optical flow sensor mounted on a robot cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

{Description of Signs of Major Parts of Drawings}

100: sensor device 101: light flow sensor

102: control unit

200: robot cleaner 201: robot control unit

202: mapping unit

The present invention relates to a sensor device capable of detecting external force, a robot cleaner using the same, and an external force sensing method for applying the same.

Recently, research and development of a technology capable of detecting an accurate position by detecting a slip by mounting an optical flow sensor on a robot has been attempted. Conventionally, since it is mounted in the same direction as the moving direction of the robot, there is a problem in that it cannot detect an external force acting perpendicularly to the traveling direction and detects fine movements in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction, so that it may be bent while traveling.

If there is no system that informs the absolute position of the robot from the outside, that is, if the robot performs position estimation by dead reckoning without external help, an error occurs and accumulates.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above problems, the object of the present invention is to detect the minute angle change of the driving direction when the robot is running to enable accurate straight running and angle rotation and to reduce the error generated when performing dead reckoning and To provide a way.

In order to achieve the above object, the sensing device for detecting the external force of the present invention includes an optical flow sensor that separates and outputs movement data for the linear motion into data about the X and Y axes when the robot moves straight. And a control unit for calculating a slip traveling distance in a vertical direction with respect to a moving direction of the robot by using the X axis travel distance and the Y axis travel distance data output from the optical flow sensor.

The external force sensing method of the robot cleaner according to the present invention uses a light flow sensor that separates and outputs movement data about the linear motion into data about the X axis and the Y axis when the robot moves in a straight motion. Computing the movement distance in the axial direction and the Y-axis direction and calculating the position of the current robot cleaner using the movement distance.

According to the present invention, the robot cleaner moves in the X-axis direction and Y-axis direction by using an optical flow sensor that separates and outputs the movement data for the linear motion into data relating to the X and Y axes when the robot moves straight. And a computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for executing the step of calculating the moving distance and the step of calculating the position of the current robot cleaner using the moving distance.

X-axis or Y-axis direction of the optical flow sensor in the present invention is characterized in that it does not coincide with the vertical direction of the linear movement direction or the linear movement direction of the robot.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, the same reference numerals are used to designate the same or similar components, and the same reference numerals will be used to designate the same or similar components. Detailed descriptions of known functions and configurations are omitted.

1 is a block diagram of a sensing device for sensing an external force according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In the above embodiment, the sensing device 100 includes an optical flow sensor (OFS) 101 and a control unit 102.

The embodiment schematically illustrates an apparatus for detecting an external force generated when the external force is generated and moved in a predetermined direction by the external force during the movement.

Referring to FIG. 1, the sensing device 100 includes an optical flow sensor 101 that detects movement of an X axis and a Y axis of a moving object, and the light flow sensor 101 includes an X axis or a Y as the moving object moves. Axis movement-related pulses are generated. The pulses can be used to know the moving distances of the X and Y axes.

Since the optical flow sensor 101 is already known to those skilled in the art, a more detailed description thereof will be omitted since there is a risk of degrading the subject matter of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a block diagram of a robot cleaner capable of detecting an external force according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In the above embodiment, the robot cleaner 200 includes a sensor unit 100, a robot control unit 201 and a mapping unit 202.

The embodiment schematically shows an apparatus capable of monitoring the robot cleaner 200 when it receives an external force during the movement.

Referring to FIG. 2, the robot cleaner 200 includes the sensing device 100 described with reference to FIG. 1 as a sensor unit. When the robot unit moves toward a specific target in order to clean a predetermined area, the sensor unit 100 recognizes this and generates a specific pulse in a moving direction. That is, when moving in the Y-axis or X-axis direction, the corresponding pulse wave is generated. In one embodiment of the present invention, the robot cleaner 200 receives an external force in the X-axis direction while moving in the Y-axis direction. Make a home.

When the robot cleaner 200 moves in the Y-axis direction, the light flow sensor 101 in the sensor unit 100 generates a pulse wave corresponding to the Y-axis movement. When the control unit 102 receives such a signal and transmits the signal to the robot control unit 201, the robot control unit 201 calculates coordinate values according to the signal and associates the map stored in the mapping unit 202 with the corresponding position.

At this time, when an external force in the X-direction occurs from the outside, the robot cleaner 200 moves diagonally. In this case, the robot cleaner 200 also generates a rotation. The calculation of the displacement factor for the rotation angle in the sensor unit 100 is omitted because it is not related to the subject matter of the present invention. That is, the argument of the present invention is to extract all the components of the X-axis or Y-axis during the linear movement of the robot to detect the minute movement, so that the movement data for the linear movement can be separated into the X-axis and the Y-axis data and output. Movement displacements in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction are measured by the light flow sensor 101. The measured data is transmitted to the control unit 102 and the control unit 102 calculates a position where the actual robot cleaner 200 moves using the data and transmits the data to the robot control unit 200. 200 associates the map stored in the mapping unit 202 with the actual location using the corresponding data.

Hereinafter, the configuration of the entire robot cleaner including the configuration disclosed in FIG. 2 will be described.

3 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a cleaning robot according to the present invention, the robot controller 201, the sub-control unit 410, the memory unit 420, the left wheel drive unit 430, the left wheel driving motor 432 ), The first and second rotation amount monitoring unit 440, 460, the right wheel drive unit 450, the right wheel drive motor 452, the cleaning drive unit 470, the dust collecting motor 472, the brush drive unit 480 ), A brush driving motor 482, the display unit 484, the remote control sensor 490, the illumination sensor 400, the charging and battery detection unit 310, the distance sensor 320, the auxiliary sensor 330, no The contact touch sensor 340, the bottom sensor 350, the light flow sensor 101 and the mapping unit 202.

The sub-control unit 410 is connected to the remote control sensor 490, the illumination sensor 400, the charging and battery detection unit 410, respectively.

In the drawing, the robot controller 201 includes a sub-control unit 410, a memory unit 420, a left wheel drive unit 430, first and second rotation amount monitoring units 440 and 460, and a right wheel drive unit 450. ), The cleaning driving unit 470, the brush driving unit 480, the display unit 484, the distance sensor 320, the auxiliary sensor 330, the contactless touch sensor 340, and the bottom sensor 350, The progress of cleaning is controlled in accordance with a predetermined cleaning algorithm.

The sub-control unit 410 is connected to the remote control sensor 490, the illumination sensor 400, the charging and battery detection unit 410, respectively, to assist the control function of the robot controller 401. For example, the sub-control unit 410 receives the remote control signal provided from the remote control sensor 490, the external brightness information provided from the illuminance sensor 400, and the battery state information provided from the charging and battery detecting unit 310, respectively. Report to the control unit 201.

The memory unit 420 is controlled by the robot control unit 201 to store a memory map generated during the cleaning robot cleaning, the current position of the cleaning robot, the size of the discharge body, the position information of the corner, and the like.

The left wheel driving unit 430 controls the driving of the left wheel driving motor 432 under the control of the robot control unit 201 to drive the left side of the cleaning robot by driving the wheel installed on the front left side.

The first rotation amount monitoring unit 440 measures the moved distance of the left wheel according to the rotation amount of the left wheel and transmits it to the robot controller 201.

The right wheel driving unit 450 controls the driving of the right wheel driving motor 452 under the control of the robot control unit 201 to drive the right movement of the cleaning robot by driving the wheel installed on the front right side.

The second rotation amount monitoring unit 460 measures the moved distance of the right wheel according to the rotation amount of the right wheel and transmits it to the robot controller 201.

The cleaning driving unit 470 controls the driving of the dust collecting motor 472 under the control of the robot control unit 201 to allow dirt or dust on the floor to enter the dust collecting chamber through a predetermined suction port or suction pipe.

The brush driver 480 controls the driving of the brush driving motor 482 under the control of the robot controller 201, and drives the brush installed on the floor of the cleaning robot to sweep dirt or dust on the floor or carpet. Turn your back.

The display unit 484 displays various states of the cleaning robot or information related to the cleaning time under the control of the robot controller 201.

The distance sensor 320 is composed of three sensors, respectively installed in front and left and right of the cleaning robot. Each sensor transmits a signal to the outside and receives the reflected signal to detect and report the distance of the wall or obstacle around the cleaning robot to the robot controller 201.

The auxiliary sensor 330 is composed of eight infrared sensors composed of an infrared light emitting element that emits infrared light and a light receiving element that receives the reflected light, three on the front left and right sides of the cleaning robot, the bottom left and right 1 of the cleaning robot. A total of eight will be installed. The auxiliary sensor 330 assists the distance sensor 320 to more smoothly drive the cleaning robot.

The contactless touch sensor 340 is a collision sensor and detects and reports an obstacle, a wall, a sudden collision, etc. which the distance sensor 320 and the auxiliary sensor 330 do not detect and reports to the robot controller 201.

The floor sensor 350 is installed on the left and right sides of the floor of the cleaning robot, respectively, so that the cleaning robot does not fall to the stairs or the pit of the floor.

Since the light flow sensor 101 and the mapping unit 202 have been described above with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, detailed descriptions thereof will be omitted. In addition, a sensor unit for sensing a displacement with respect to the rotation angle may be further provided.

The light flow sensor 101 may be located at various positions, but may be generally located at the center of the robot cleaner 200 as shown in FIG. 4A.

4A illustrates an optical flow sensor mounted on a robot cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4B illustrates an optical flow sensor mounted on a robot cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

While the optical flow sensor 101 of the related art is mounted such that the Y-axis component is coincident with the direction of the linear movement of the robot, the optical flow sensor 101 mounted on the robot cleaner according to the embodiment of the present invention is a robot. It is mounted at an angle so that the straight running direction of X and Y-axis do not coincide with each other. Although the optical flow sensor is mounted at an angle of 45 degrees, it is not necessarily limited thereto. The movement data of the X-axis and Y-axis components can be separated and output from the robot's straight motion direction. To this end, the X-axis or Y-axis direction of the optical flow sensor may be mounted in a variety of angles that do not coincide with the vertical direction of the linear movement direction or the linear movement direction of the robot.

Since the component data of the X-axis and the Y-axis in the direction of the linear movement of the robot can be separated and extracted from the obliquely mounted optical flow sensor, it can be detected when the micro bend progresses while driving.

Hereinafter, the process of determining the exact position of the external force occurs when moving as follows.

5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of determining a current position when an external force is generated according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Step 501 is a process of calculating the current X-axis and Y-axis coordinates, and calculates the current coordinates using pulse waves generated by the light flow sensor.

If the moving distance in the X-axis direction of the robot cleaner moved is X`, X` can be calculated from the values of the delta pulse OFS _x on the x axis and the delta pulse OFS _{y on} the y axis as follows.

X` = cosθOFS _x -sinθOFS _y

In this case, θ represents the rotation angle formed by the robot's straight motion direction and the Y-axis direction of the optical flow sensor. That is, when the light flow sensor is mounted obliquely with respect to the robot's direction of direct movement, it refers to the degree of inclination with respect to the direction of movement of the robot.

Also, since the pulse / distance values of OFS _x and OFS _y must be the same, adjust the initial values equally before substituting the above formula. It can be adjusted mainly in mm units.

Assuming that the movement distance in the Y-axis direction of the robot cleaner moved to Y`, Y` can be calculated from the values of the delta pulse OFS _x on the x axis and the delta pulse OFS _{y on} the y axis as follows.

Y` = sinθOFS _x + cosθOFS _y

Step 502 is a process of calculating the current position, and the exact position can be determined by calculating the x, y axis position currently moved by the above equations.

Figure 7 shows the light flow sensor of the robot cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the above formula, the components of the X-axis and Y-axis are obtained as delta pulse values in the light flow sensor inclined by the linear motion direction and θ of the robot, and the movement distance in the X-axis direction and the movement distance in the Y-axis direction can be obtained using the same. have.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. It can be understood that

As described above, according to the present invention, since the conventional X-axis or Y-axis direction is mounted to coincide with the driving direction, it is impossible to detect fine movement in the driving direction and the vertical direction, thereby improving the mounting form of the optical flow sensor, which has difficulty in traveling straight. By providing an optical flow sensor that detects fine movements that obstruct straight traveling, accurate straight driving is possible and accurate dead reckoning can be performed.

Claims (12)

An optical flow sensor that separates and outputs movement data on the linear motion into data about the X and Y axes when the robot performs the linear motion; And And a controller configured to calculate a slip traveling distance in a vertical direction with respect to a straight motion direction of the current robot by using the X axis travel distance and the Y axis travel distance data output from the optical flow sensor. The sensing device of claim 1, wherein the X-axis or Y-axis direction of the optical flow sensor does not coincide with the vertical direction of the linear motion direction or the linear motion direction of the robot. When the robot moves straight, the optical flow sensor that separates and outputs the movement data on the linear movement into data about the X and Y axes, and the X and Y axis travel distance data output from the optical flow sensor. A sensor unit including a control unit configured to calculate a slip traveling distance in a vertical direction with respect to the current linear motion direction of the robot; A mapping unit including map information on a current cleaning area; And And a robot controller configured to match a current position recognized by the sensor unit and coordinates with a map stored in the mapping unit. The robot cleaner of claim 3, wherein the X-axis or Y-axis direction of the optical flow sensor does not coincide with the vertical direction of the linear motion direction or the linear motion direction of the robot. When the robot moves in a straight motion, the movement distance in the X- and Y-axis directions of the robot cleaner is moved using an optical flow sensor that separates and outputs the movement data for the straight motion into data about the X and Y axes. Calculating; And The external force sensing method of the robot cleaner comprising the step of calculating the position of the current robot cleaner using the moving distance. The method according to claim 5, wherein the X-axis or Y-axis direction of the optical flow sensor does not coincide with the vertical direction of the linear movement direction or the linear movement direction of the robot. The method of claim 5, wherein the method for calculating the moving distance (X`) in the X-axis direction in which the robot cleaner moves using the optical flow sensor is as follows. X` = cosθOFS _x -sinθOFS _y (Where X` is the moving distance in the X-axis direction of the robot cleaner, OFS <sub>x</sub> is the x-axis delta pulse, OFS <sub>y</sub> is the y-axis delta pulse, and θ is the direction of the robot's straight motion and the Y-axis of the light flow sensor). The rotation angle formed by the direction. However, the initial pulse / distance values of OFS <sub>x</sub> and OFS <sub>y</sub> are the same.) The method of claim 5, wherein the method for calculating the moving distance (Y`) in the Y-axis direction of the robot cleaner using the optical flow sensor is as follows. Y` = sinθOFS <sub>x</sub> + cosθOFS <sub>y</sub> (Where Y` is the moving distance in the Y-axis direction of the robot cleaner, OFS _x is the x-axis delta pulse, OFS _y is the y-axis delta pulse, and θ is the direction of the robot's straight motion and the Y-axis of the light flow sensor). The rotation angle formed by the direction. However, the initial pulse / distance values of OFS _x and OFS _y are the same.) When the robot moves in a straight motion, the movement distance in the X- and Y-axis directions of the robot cleaner is moved using an optical flow sensor that separates and outputs the movement data for the straight motion into data about the X and Y axes. Calculating; And A computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program relating to an external force sensing method of a robot cleaner comprising calculating a position of a current robot cleaner using the moving distance. 10. The program according to claim 9, wherein the X-axis or Y-axis direction of the optical flow sensor does not coincide with the vertical direction of the linear motion direction or the linear motion direction of the robot. Computer-readable recording media. 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the method for calculating the moving distance (X`) in the X-axis direction in which the robot cleaner moves by using the optical flow sensor is a program related to the external force sensing method of the robot cleaner, characterized by the following equation. A computer-readable recording medium that records the data. X` = cosθOFS _x -sinθOFS _y (Where X` is the moving distance in the X-axis direction of the robot cleaner, OFS <sub>x</sub> is the x-axis delta pulse, OFS <sub>y</sub> is the y-axis delta pulse, and θ is the direction of the robot's straight motion and the Y-axis of the light flow sensor). The rotation angle formed by the direction. However, the initial pulse / distance values of OFS <sub>x</sub> and OFS <sub>y</sub> are the same.) 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the method for calculating the moving distance Y` in the Y-axis direction of the robot cleaner by using the optical flow sensor is performed by the following equation. A computer-readable recording medium that records the data. Y` = sinθOFS <sub>x</sub> + cosθOFS <sub>y</sub> (Where Y` is the moving distance in the Y-axis direction of the robot cleaner, OFS _x is the x-axis delta pulse, OFS _y is the y-axis delta pulse, and θ is the direction of the robot's straight motion and the Y-axis of the light flow sensor). The rotation angle formed by the direction. However, the initial pulse / distance values of OFS _x and OFS _y are the same.)

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