KR101484941B1 - Robot cleaner and control method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a robot cleaner and a control method thereof, and more particularly, to a robot cleaner employing an improved running pattern and a control method thereof. The robot cleaner cleans the zigzag traveling using the basic cleaning traveling method, and then carries out the random traveling as the finishing cleaning traveling method to clean the skipped region in the zigzag traveling. In addition, the robot cleaner performs zigzag traveling while maintaining a constant distance from the traveling route toward the wall regardless of the direction toward the wall, and an improved zigzag traveling method for maintaining a zigzag traveling pattern when an obstacle is detected during zigzag traveling .

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to a robot cleaner,

The present invention relates to a robot cleaner and a control method thereof, and more particularly, to a robot cleaner employing an improved running pattern and a control method thereof.

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a robot cleaner is a device that performs a cleaning operation by suctioning foreign substances such as dust from a floor surface while traveling an area to be cleaned by itself without user's operation.

The robot cleaner repeatedly carries out a cleaning operation while traveling in a preset driving pattern. There are zigzag driving and random driving in a typical driving pattern. When the robot cleaner meets an obstacle (for example, a wall surface) during a straight running, the zigzag riding is performed by rotating the robot 90 degrees vertically by 90 degrees. The random riding is performed when the robot cleaner is moving in an obstacle (for example, It rotates in an arbitrary direction and performs straight running again.

One aspect of the present invention relates to a robot cleaner employing a zigzag running pattern that maintains a constant distance from a traveling path toward a wall surface and maintains a zigzag running regardless of the angle at which the robot cleaner collides against a wall surface, and a control method thereof.

Another aspect of the present invention relates to a robot cleaner employing an improved zigzag running pattern for maintaining a zigzag running pattern when an obstacle is detected during a zigzag running, and a control method thereof.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a robot cleaner for cleaning a zigzag running in a basic cleaning traveling mode and a random traveling in a finishing cleaning traveling mode to clean a skipped region in a zigzag running, and a control method thereof .

To this end, the method for controlling a robot cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention is a method in which a robot cleaner performs a first travel and a first travel toward a predetermined wall surface at a certain point in a cleaning area, The first travel route and the second travel route are maintained at a predetermined interval with respect to the first travel route and the second travel route, respectively.

In this case, the angle formed by the first running path and the wall surface may be 0 to 180 degrees, and the first running path and the second running path maintain a predetermined interval with respect to each other, The first running path and the first setting path are maintained and the first running path is the second running path and the second setting path is maintained.

The second running can be performed until the length of the second running path becomes the third set distance. When the second running direction is changed and the second running path is separated from the path of the second running distance by the second set distance And may further include a third travel that travels.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of controlling a robot cleaner, comprising the steps of: following an obstacle when an obstacle is encountered during a zigzag travel, acquiring a distance between the robot cleaner and a path of a zigzag travel, The vehicle travels in a direction parallel to the zig-zag travel route before the obstacle following travel, and travels in a zigzag manner.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of controlling a robot cleaner, the robot cleaner comprising: a robot cleaner that follows an obstacle when an obstacle is encountered during a first run, acquires a distance between the robot cleaner and a first run, And the second travel can be performed when the first setting interval is reached.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for controlling a robot cleaner, the robot cleaner comprising: a robot cleaner that follows an obstacle when an obstacle is encountered during a second run, acquires a distance between the robot cleaner and a second run, And the first travel can be performed when the second setting interval is reached.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for controlling a robot cleaner, the robot cleaner comprising: a controller for controlling the robot cleaner in accordance with an obstacle following the obstacle during a second travel, And when the sum of the moved distances reaches the third set distance, the third travel can be performed.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for controlling a robot cleaner, the robot cleaner performing a following obstacle following travel when an obstacle is encountered during a third travel, And when the sum of the moved distances reaches the second setting interval, the first travel can be performed.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for controlling a robot cleaner, the robot cleaner comprising: a robot cleaner for performing a following obstacle follow-up when encountering an obstacle during a second running, The third travel can be performed at that position.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for controlling a robot cleaner, the robot cleaner comprising: a robot cleaner for performing a following obstacle follow-up when encountering an obstacle during a third run; The third travel can be performed at that position.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for controlling a robot cleaner, the robot cleaner comprising: a robot cleaner for performing a following obstacle follow-up when an obstacle is encountered during a first run; The first travel can be performed at that position.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for controlling a robot cleaner, the robot cleaner comprising: a robot cleaner for performing a following obstacle follow-up when encountering an obstacle during a second running or a third running; If the obstacle following travel distance is greater than or equal to the fourth predetermined distance, the direction of the obstacle following travel may be changed to the opposite direction.

At this time, when the first set interval is separated from any point between the point where the robot cleaner starts the obstacle follow-up travel and the direction where the obstacle follow-up travel starts, the second travel can be performed.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of controlling a robot cleaner, the robot cleaner performing an obstacle following travel when an obstacle is encountered during a second travel or a third travel, obtaining a distance between the robot cleaner and a second travel route , And when the separation distance becomes 0, it is possible to switch the direction to the opposite direction to perform the obstacle following driving.

At this time, when the first set interval is separated from any point between the point where the robot cleaner starts the obstacle follow-up travel and the direction where the obstacle follow-up travel starts, the second travel can be performed.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for controlling a robot cleaner, the method comprising: performing obstacle follow-up when an obstacle is encountered during a zigzag running; and performing a zigzag running based on a path of the obstacle- Direction, and when the robot cleaner is spaced apart from the path of the zigzag running before the obstacle following running or when the forward direction of the robot cleaner is directed in a predetermined direction, the zigzag running may be switched to the opposite direction .

At this time, when the distance between the robot cleaner and the path of the zigzag travel is 0 and the forward direction of the robot cleaner faces a range within the set angle with reference to the zigzag running direction before the obstacle follow-up run, It can be determined that the vehicle has entered the opposite zone of the zigzag running direction with respect to the route.

In this case, if the direction switching frequency of the zigzag traveling is more than a predetermined number, or the zigzag traveling time is longer than the predetermined time, it may be determined that the zigzag traveling is the end time, and the cleaning may be performed as the finishing cleaning traveling mode .

The method may further include determining that the set time is determined as the end time of the random running when the set time determined in proportion to the average straight running distance of the random running elapses.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a robot cleaner including: a body forming an outer appearance of a robot cleaner; A driving wheel installed on the main body; The robot cleaner performs a first travel and a first travel toward a predetermined wall surface at a certain point in the cleaning area, and then moves the robot cleaner in a direction away from the predetermined wall surface The second travel is repeatedly performed to perform the zigzag travel, and the first travel route and the second travel route can be maintained at predetermined intervals with respect to each other.

In this case, the control unit may further cause the robot cleaner to perform the cleaning by using the finish running cleaning method as the random traveling.

1 is a top perspective view of a robot cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a bottom perspective view of a robot cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a control block diagram of a robot cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a basic zigzag running locus diagram of a robot cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a first trajectory of an obstacle evacuation route of the robot cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a second trajectory of an obstacle exit of the robot cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a third trajectory of the obstacle escape of the robot cleaner according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG.
FIG. 8 is a fourth trajectory of the obstacle escape of the robot cleaner according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG.
FIG. 9 is a fifth trajectory of the obstacle escape of the robot cleaner according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG.
FIG. 10 is a locus diagram of a sixth obstacle escape route of the robot cleaner according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG.
11 is a seventh obstacle escape travel locus of the robot cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 12 is a first zigzag running direction transition diagram of a robot cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.
FIG. 13 is a second zigzag running direction transition diagram of the robot cleaner according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG.
FIG. 14 is a random cleaning travel locus of the robot cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG.
15 is a first zigzag running locus diagram of the robot cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention.
16 is a second zigzag running locus of the robot cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention.
17 is a third zigzag running locus of the robot cleaner according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 18 is a diagram showing the overall cleaning travel path of the robot cleaner according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG.

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

FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of a robot cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a bottom perspective view of a robot cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

1 and 2, a robot cleaner 7 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a main body 10 forming an outer appearance, a driving device (not shown) installed at a lower portion of the main body 10 to move the robot cleaner 7 20 and a brush device 30, 40 for sweeping and wiping dust on the floor running by the robot cleaner 7 to perform cleaning.

In addition to the driving device 20 and the brush devices 30 and 40, the main body 10 may be provided with a contact sensor and a proximity sensor capable of detecting an obstacle. For example, the bumper 11 installed in front of the main body 10 can be used to detect an obstacle such as a wall, and an infrared sensor (or an ultrasonic sensor) installed on the bottom of the main body 10 can detect an obstacle . The main body 10 may further include a display device 12 for informing a user of information about the state or operation of the robot cleaner 7.

The driving device 20 includes a pair of driving wheels 21 and 22 installed on both sides of the center of the main body 10 to control the movement of the robot cleaner 7, 7) of the free wheel 23 is changed in accordance with the floor condition under which the movable wheel 23 moves. The free wheel 23 supports the robot cleaner 7 by stabilizing the posture of the robot cleaner 7, preventing the robot cleaner 7 from falling down, and is composed of a roller or a caster-shaped wheel.

The two side driving wheels 21 and 22 are driven forward or backward according to a command of a control unit 110 to be described later to control the movement of the robot cleaner 7. For example, the robot cleaner 7 can be moved forward or backward by driving both the drive wheels 21, 22 forward or backward. While the left driving wheel 21 is being driven backward, the right driving wheel 22 is driven forward so that the robot cleaner 7 rotates in the left direction with respect to the front, and the both driving wheels 21, The robot cleaner 7 is rotated in the right direction with respect to the front.

The brush devices 30 and 40 are composed of a main brush device 30 for sweeping or wiping dust on the floor and a side brush device 40 provided below both front side surfaces of the main body 10.

The main brush device 30 includes a drum-shaped rotary brush 31 (hereinafter referred to as a main brush) which is roller-rotated on the floor so as to sweep or wipe dust adhering to the floor, And a main brush motor 33 for driving the main brush motor.

The side brush device 40 includes a rotary brush 41 (hereinafter referred to as a side brush) rotating on a horizontal plane with respect to the floor at both sides of the front portion of the main body 10 and a side brush 41 And a side brush motor 43 for rotating the motor.

3 is a control block diagram of a robot cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention. The robot cleaner includes an input unit 100, an obstacle detection unit 102, a travel distance detection unit 104, a travel direction detection unit 106, a control unit 110, A traveling driving unit 112, a cleaning device driving unit 114, and a storage unit 116.

The input unit 100 includes a plurality of buttons on an upper portion of the main body 10 or a remote controller (not shown) so as to receive a moving command or a cleaning command of the robot cleaner 7 from a user.

The obstacle detecting unit 102 is for detecting obstacles such as furniture, office equipment, and walls installed in the cleaning area where the robot cleaner 7 travels. The obstacle detecting unit 102 transmits ultrasonic waves to a route that the robot cleaner 7 travels, And detects the presence of obstacles and the direction of the obstacles. At this time, the obstacle sensing unit 102 may be composed of a plurality of infrared light emitting elements and a light receiving element, and may be configured as an infrared sensor for transmitting infrared rays and receiving reflected infrared rays.

The travel distance detecting unit 104 detects the distance traveled by the robot cleaner 7 and detects the travel distance of the robot cleaner 7 by measuring the amount of rotation of the drive wheels 21 and 22 with an encoder or the like.

The traveling direction detection unit 106 is for detecting the direction in which the robot cleaner 7 moves and the angle at which the robot cleaner 7 moves and may be constituted by a rotation angle sensor such as a gyro sensor capable of detecting the rotation angle of the robot cleaner 7 have.

The control unit 110 controls the overall operation of the robot cleaner 7. When the robot cleaner 7 receives a cleaning command, the controller 110 carries out cleaning by using the basic cleaning traveling system as zigzag traveling, skips the traveling by zigzag, So as to perform the cleaning by performing the random running as the finishing running method.

The travel driving unit 112 moves the cleaning area by itself without collision with the wall or the obstacle based on the position information recognized by the control unit 110 and the obstacle information detected by the obstacle sensing unit 102 And drives the driving wheels 21 and 22 provided at the lower portion of the robot cleaner body 10 so as to be able to change directions such as rotation.

The cleaning device driving unit 114 drives the main and side brush motors 33 and 43 to perform a cleaning operation by sucking foreign substances such as dust from the bottom of the cleaning area where the robot cleaner 7 travels in accordance with the control signal of the controller 110 .

The storage unit 116 stores a traveling pattern and a traveling route set in advance in accordance with a cleaning command of the robot cleaner 1 and obstacle information detected in the traveling process of the robot cleaner 1.

Hereinafter, the robot cleaner 1 configured as described above and its travel control method will be described in detail.

The robot cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention performs cleaning by zigzag running and cleaning by random running. Further, the robot cleaner 7 adopts an improved zigzag running method for maintaining the zigzag running pattern when an obstacle is detected during the zigzag running. First, an improved zigzag running method adopted by the robot cleaner 7 will be described.

4 is a basic zigzag running locus diagram of a robot cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 4, the basic cleaning travel of the robot cleaner 7 proceeds in the order of the first running → the fourth running → the second running → the third running → the first running →. The first running is the traveling in which the forward direction of the robot cleaner 7 at the time when the robot cleaner 7 receives the cleaning command is set as the cleaning direction and the cleaning robot 7 moves in the cleaning direction until an obstacle is detected. The fourth running is a running in which the direction changes when the obstacle is sensed during the first running and the obstacle following cruise runs from the first running line to the point where the first set interval is reached. At this time, it is preferable to set the first setting interval within the range of the width (Wmin +? 2: maximum) of the width of the main brush unit (Wmin +? 1: minimum) plus the width of the main brush unit and the width of the side brush unit Do. The determination as to whether or not the robot cleaner 7 has moved to the point at which the robot cleaner 7 has moved to the first setting interval can be obtained by a method of accumulating the distance using the obstacle following travel distance and the rotation angle. And travels in a direction opposite to the traveling direction by the third predetermined distance. At this time, it is preferable that the third set distance Lmax is set to 3 m, which is calculated in consideration of the size of a room of a general household. However, when the size of the room is small or large, the third set distance Lmax may be set to a length smaller than or greater than 3 m. And the third travel is a travel in which the direction after the second travel is switched and moved from the second travel line to a point at which the second setting interval becomes the second setting interval.

B "," c ", and" d "are respectively performed before the first, fourth, second, and third runs. The rotation a is to make a left turn until the forward direction of the robot cleaner 7 becomes the cleaning direction after the third running. Rotation b makes a right turn until the front obstacle sensor does not detect an obstacle. In this case, the fourth running of the obstacle-following cruise is performed. In the fourth cruise, if the left-side obstacle sensor does not detect the obstacle by performing the rotation b, the left-side obstacle sensor performs the left turn until the obstacle is detected again. And a right turn is performed until the left side obstacle sensor does not detect an obstacle. The rotation c is a right rotation until the forward direction of the robot cleaner 7 becomes the opposite direction of the cleaning direction after the fourth running. The rotation d is to make a left turn until the forward direction of the robot cleaner 7 after the second running is 90 degrees to the left with respect to the direction opposite to the cleaning direction.

Even if the robot cleaner 7 travels at a certain angle with respect to the wall surface, the robot cleaner 7 can travel while maintaining the zigzag running pattern while maintaining a predetermined gap with respect to the travel route. In FIG. 4, after the first driving, the vehicle makes a rightward turn and follows the obstacle following the obstacle. However, the first traveling may make a left turn, and the zig-zag driving may be set in the opposite direction. In this case, the above a, b, c and d revolutions may be set to rotate in opposite directions, respectively.

5 is a first trajectory of an obstacle evacuation route of the robot cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a diagram illustrating a case in which the robot cleaner 7 detects an obstacle, and even if the robot follows the obstacle, there is a small obstacle to return to the traveling line before the obstacle is followed.

In FIG. 5, when the robot cleaner 7 detects an obstacle during the first travel, the robot cleaner 7 performs the obstacle following travel in the right direction of the obstacle. When the robot cleaner 7 encounters the first travel route again, the robot cleaner 7 performs the first travel again. The determination as to whether or not the path of the first travel is to be reacquired while performing the obstacle-following driving is performed using a rotation angle sensor such as a gyro sensor and an encoder. That is, an obstacle following travel distance is obtained using an encoder, and a forward rotation angle of the robot cleaner 7 is obtained using a gyro sensor. Obtaining the obstacle following distance and the rotation angle can easily calculate the distance that the robot cleaner 7 is separated from the distance traveled in the first travel direction and the route of the first travel. Specifically, when the distance is 0, it is judged that the route of the first travel has been met again.

In principle, when the robot cleaner 7 detects an obstacle during the first travel, the robot cleaner 7 switches to the fourth travel and performs the obstacle following travel until it meets the second travel route corresponding to the next travel line. However, when there is an obstacle as shown in FIG. 5, the traveling line following the obstacle does not meet the traveling line of the second traveling. Accordingly, when the robot cleaner 7 switches to the first travel and follows the obstacle, if it is determined that the first travel line is encountered, the robot cleaner 7 returns to the first travel again, thereby returning to the zigzag travel pattern. Here, the first 'running is substantially the same as the fourth running, but is referred to as the first running to distinguish the case of returning to the first running.

 The obstacle follow-up is also performed in the same manner in the second running and the third running performed after the fourth running. However, if an obstacle is detected during the third or fourth travel, the obstacle follow-up travel is performed in the left direction of the obstacle.

In FIG. 5, although the obstacle following driving is limited to the left or the right according to each running, it is also possible to perform the obstacle following driving in all directions or the obstacle following driving in any direction.

6 is a second trajectory of an obstacle exit of the robot cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The robot cleaner 7 shown in Fig. 6 travels along the path of the robot cleaner 7 in a zigzag manner while following the obstacle, And a straight-ahead running of the next step is performed at that position when the vehicle meets the straight-ahead running route. As shown in the figure, there are two cases in which, when the obstacle is followed by the obstacle in the second traveling, the obstacle is followed by the third traveling route, which is the next stage, and the next traveling route is the first traveling route. However, when the obstacle is followed by the obstacle while sensing the obstacle during the third travel, the route of the first travel, which is the next step, is encountered.

When the robot cleaner 7 detects an obstacle while performing the second travel, the robot cleaner 7 performs the rotation d 'and then performs the third travel, which is the obstacle following travel. When the robot cleaner 7 encounters the third travel route corresponding to the next travel route, And performs the third travel. The rotation d 'is to make a left turn until no obstacle is detected by the front obstacle sensor. And the third running is performed following the obstacle follow-up from the second running route to the second setting interval after performing the rotation d '. At this time, if the obstacle is not detected by the obstacle sensor on the right side after performing the rotation d 'as in the fourth running, the obstacle follower runs rightward until the obstacle is detected again, and if the obstacle is not detected again, Is repeatedly performed. The determination as to whether or not the vehicle has reached the traveling line of the first traveling is performed using the gyro sensor and the encoder as described above.

If the robot cleaner 7 detects the obstacle during the second travel or the third travel, the robot cleaner 7 performs the d 'rotation and makes the third travel, which is the obstacle following travel. When the robot cleaner 7 has encountered the first travel route corresponding to the next travel route 1 travel.

FIG. 7 is a third trajectory of the obstacle escape of the robot cleaner according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG.

7 shows that when the robot cleaner 7 detects an obstacle while performing the second travel or the third travel and follows the obstacle, the robot cleaner 7 deviates from the zigzag travel direction when the forward direction of the robot cleaner 7 is directed to a certain direction And a new third run in parallel with the third run, which would have been executed if the obstacle was not encountered at that position, is assumed.

If the robot cleaner 7 detects an obstacle while performing the second travel, the robot cleaner 7 performs the d 'rotation after the obstacle is followed by the third travel, which is the obstacle following travel, and then the third travel or first travel route corresponding to the next travel route If the front direction of the robot cleaner 7 belongs to the range within the first set angle with respect to the direction opposite to the cleaning direction, that is, the direction of the second travel, if the robot cleaner 7 has not encountered an obstacle at that position, And performs the third travel.

In this case, although the first setting angle may be an arbitrary value, it is preferable that the first setting angle is 90 deg. In particular, as shown in Fig. 7, the case where the first setting angle is + 90 degrees is a case where the running direction of the robot cleaner 7 deviates from the zigzag running direction. In the case of zigzag running in the direction opposite to that shown in Fig. 7, the case where the first setting angle is -90 deg. Is a case where the running direction of the robot cleaner 7 deviates from the zigzag running direction.

The determination as to whether or not the forward direction of the robot cleaner 7 belongs to the range within the first set angle with respect to the direction opposite to the cleaning direction is performed using the rotation angle sensor. That is, the robot cleaner 7 accumulates and calculates the rotational angle in the forward direction using the rotational angle sensor during the obstacle-following running, and determines whether the rotational angle is in the range within the first set angle.

  Likewise, if the robot cleaner 7 detects an obstacle during the third travel, the robot cleaner 7 performs the d 'rotation after the obstacle is followed by the third travel, which is the obstacle following travel, before the robot cleaner 7) belongs to the range within the first set angle with respect to the direction of the cleaning direction, that is, the direction of the second running, if the obstacle is not encountered at that position, a new third running parallel with the third running . In this case, although the first setting angle may be an arbitrary value, it is preferable that the first setting angle is 90 deg.

FIG. 8 is a fifth trajectory of an obstacle escape route of the robot cleaner according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG.

In FIG. 8, when the robot cleaner 7 detects an obstacle during the first travel, the robot cleaner 7 performs the d 'rotation after the obstacle is followed by the first travel which is the obstacle following travel and the first travel after the obstacle following travel, If the forward direction of the robot cleaner 7 falls within the range of the second setting angle with respect to the cleaning direction, that is, the first driving direction, it is determined that the obstacle is not encountered at that position, And performs a new first running in parallel with the first running.

At this time, although the second setting angle may be an arbitrary value, it is preferable that the second setting angle is ± 90 °. Especially, as shown in Fig. 8, when the third set angle is -90 degrees, the running direction of the robot cleaner 7 deviates from the zigzag running direction. In the case of zigzag running in the direction opposite to that shown in Fig. 8, the case where the third set angle is + 90 degrees is a case where the running direction of the robot cleaner 7 deviates from the zigzag running direction.

FIG. 9 is a fourth trajectory of an obstacle exit of a robot cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG.

FIG. 9 is a view showing that when the robot cleaner 7 detects an obstacle during the second travel or the third travel and follows the obstacle, the robot cleaner 7 is determined to deviate from the zigzag travel pattern when the forward direction of the robot cleaner 7 is directed to a certain direction The direction of the vehicle is reversed and the vehicle follows the obstacle.

That is, if the robot cleaner 7 detects an obstacle while performing the second travel or the third travel, the robot cleaner 7 performs the d 'rotation and then makes the third travel, which is the obstacle following travel, That is, if it is within the range of the second set angle with reference to the direction of the first travel, the traveling route of the virtual first travel is set at that position, the direction is switched to the opposite direction, The second travel corresponding to the next travel route is performed. At this time, although it can be set as above on the virtual first travel route, it can be set to any point between the point where the direction of the obstacle following traveling starts and the direction where the obstacle following traveling starts and the obstacle following traveling starts. In Fig. 9, for example, a virtual first travel route is set at a point where the direction starts reversely.

The determination as to whether the forward direction of the robot cleaner 7 is within a range within the second set angle based on the cleaning direction may be made by using a rotation angle sensor such as a gyro sensor to perform a second running or a third running And the rotation angle is calculated from the rotation angle.

At this time, although the second setting angle may be an arbitrary value, it is preferable that the second setting angle is ± 90 °. In particular, as shown in Fig. 9, the case where the second setting angle is -90 deg. Is a case where the running direction of the robot cleaner 7 deviates from the zigzag running direction. In the case of zigzag running in the direction opposite to that shown in Fig. 9, the case where the second set angle is + 90 degrees is a case where the running direction of the robot cleaner 7 deviates from the zigzag running direction.

FIG. 10 is a locus diagram of a sixth obstacle escape route of the robot cleaner according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG.

FIG. 10 is a view showing a state in which when the robot cleaner 7 determines that the obstacle following traveling distance of the robot cleaner 7 becomes too long in the case where the robot cleaner 7 detects an obstacle during the second traveling or the third traveling and follows the obstacle, And the road is followed by the obstacle.

In other words. When the robot cleaner 7 detects an obstacle during the second travel or the third travel, the robot cleaner 7 performs the d 'rotation and then performs the third travel, which is the obstacle following travel. At this time, when the obstacle following traveling distance reaches the fourth predetermined distance, the traveling route of the virtual first traveling is set at the position and the direction is changed to the opposite direction to perform the third traveling, which is the obstacle following traveling, The second travel corresponding to the next travel line is performed when the first set interval is reached from the travel route of the travel. At this time, the virtual first running line can be set as described above, but it can be set to any point between the point where the direction of the obstacle following driving starts and the direction where the obstacle following driving starts, and the point where the obstacle following driving starts. In Fig. 10, for example, a virtual first running line is set at a point where the direction starts reversely.

The measurement of the obstacle following travel distance is performed using an encoder, and the determination as to whether the first set travel distance from the virtual first travel route is performed using the gyro sensor and the encoder as described above. At this time, although the fourth setting distance can be set to any value, it is generally preferable that the fourth setting distance is twice the first setting interval or the second setting interval.

11 is a seventh obstacle escape travel locus of the robot cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

11 is a diagram showing a case where when the robot cleaner 7 detects an obstacle during the second travel or the third travel and follows the obstacle following the obstacle, the obstacle following travel distance of the robot cleaner 7 becomes too long, And when it is judged that it is a meeting, it is assumed that the direction is reversed to follow the obstacle.

That is, if the robot cleaner 7 detects the obstacle during the second travel or the third travel, the robot cleaner 7 performs the d 'rotation after the obstacle is followed by the third travel, which is the obstacle following travel, The second traveling corresponding to the next traveling route is performed when the first traveling route is the first predetermined distance from the traveling line of the second traveling before the third traveling, which is the obstacle following traveling, do. 11 shows a case in which the route of the second travel before the obstacle follow-up is encountered. However, when the virtual first travel route corresponding to the previous step or the second travel route before the obstacle follow the route, As shown in FIG. At this time, the traveling route of the second travel before the obstacle following travel is performed by determining whether the distance from the second travel is 0 as described above.

FIG. 12 is a first zigzag running direction switching diagram of a robot cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 12, it is determined that the robot cleaner 7 has encountered an obstacle following the obstacle during the zigzag travel, entered the opposite zone of the zigzag travel direction on the basis of the path of the zigzag travel before the obstacle following travel during the obstacle- When the robot cleaner 7 is spaced apart from the path of the zigzag running before the obstacle following running or when the forward direction of the robot cleaner 7 is directed in a predetermined direction, the zigzag running is switched in the opposite direction. At this time, when the robot cleaner 7 and the path of the zigzag running are at a distance of 0 and the forward direction of the robot cleaner 7 faces the set angle range based on the zigzag running direction before the obstacle following running, It is judged that the vehicle has entered the area opposite to the zigzag traveling direction on the basis of the route of the zig-zag travel before the obstacle-following cruise. This will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 12, the robot cleaner 7 displays the point where the first traveling path that is parallel to the first traveling corresponding to the traveling route before the fourth traveling, not the next traveling route, meets the first traveling route, . When this point is encountered, the robot cleaner 7 must return to the first running again, but can not perform the first running in the same direction as the obstacle following running due to the direction of the obstacle. That is, when it is detected that the forward direction of the robot cleaner 7 is directed to the right with respect to the direction opposite to the first running before the obstacle following running, it is determined that the robot cleaner 7 enters the opposite zone of the zigzag running direction. At this time, when the direction of the zigzag running is changed and the second running after the fourth running is performed in the same direction as the conventional first running, it can be trapped by the obstacle.

Therefore, in the case where the predetermined distance from the traveling route of the first travel before the obstacle following travel is separated, or when the forward direction of the robot cleaner is directed in the predetermined direction, the second travel is performed in the same direction as the conventional first travel, This is done by switching the driving direction to the opposite direction. 12, it is shown that the obstacle-following running is performed until the first set interval is moved from the first traveling route to the opposite area, and then the second traveling is performed by switching the direction.

At this time, it is easy to determine whether the robot cleaner 7 meets the first travel route again by using the obstacle following travel distance and rotation angle obtained from the gyro sensor and the encoder as described above. That is, it is performed by finding a point where the distance between the first travel route and the robot cleaner 7 becomes zero. In addition, whether the direction of the front of the robot cleaner 7 is directed in a predetermined direction can be known by accumulating and calculating the rotation angle during the obstacle follow-up running.

FIG. 13 is a second zigzag running direction transition diagram of the robot cleaner according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG.

13, it is judged that the robot cleaner 7 has entered the area opposite to the zigzag running direction as in the case of Fig. 12, but the time when the zigzag run is switched and performed is not a distance from the first running route And the forward direction of the robot cleaner 7 is directed in a predetermined direction.

That is, the robot cleaner 7 enters the area opposite to the zigzag running direction during the fourth running, which is the obstacle following cruising, and the forward direction of the robot cleaner 7 is the direction of the first traveling before the obstacle following It is determined that there is a high possibility that the second travel can not proceed in the direction opposite to the cleaning direction as shown in FIG. 13, and the second travel is made to travel in the cleaning direction and the traveling is zigzag .

At this time, although the second setting angle may be an arbitrary value, it is preferable that the second setting angle is ± 90 °. In particular, as shown in FIG. 13, when the second set angle is -90 degrees, the running direction of the robot cleaner 7 deviates from the zigzag running direction. In the case of zigzag running in the direction opposite to that shown in Fig. 9, the case where the third set angle is + 90 degrees is a case where the running direction of the robot cleaner 7 deviates from the zigzag running direction.

FIG. 14 is a random locus diagram of the robot cleaner according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG.

In Fig. 14, the random running is performed by repeating the running R, the rotation rL or the rotation rR, and the running R is maintained in the direction of the robot cleaner 7 at present and when the left obstacle is sensed first, If the right obstacle is detected first, the rotation rL is performed. Rotation rR does not stop after stopping the left obstacle until it is not detected the left obstacle, but makes an additional right turn by an arbitrary angle between 0 and 120˚. Rotation rL does not stop after left turn until it does not detect the right obstacle, ° to the left.

15 is a first zigzag running locus of the robot cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention. 16 is a second zigzag running locus of the robot cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention. 17 is a third zigzag running locus of the robot cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention. 15 to 17, the robot cleaner 7 changes the zigzag running direction when the robot cleaner 7 meets a predetermined condition as described with reference to Figs. 12 and 13 during zigzag running. As will be described later, the robot cleaner 7 judges that the zigzag running is finished when the number of direction changes of the zigzag running is more than a predetermined number. It is preferable to set the predetermined number of times to three times in consideration of the size of a room in a typical home. As shown in Figs. 15 to 17, when the zigzag running direction is changed three times, it is determined that the zigzag running is the end time, and the routine is switched to the random running shown in Fig.

FIG. 18 is a view showing the entire cleaning traveling path of the robot cleaner according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG.

In Fig. 18, the robot cleaner 7 performs cleaning by zigzag running and cleaning by random running. In the random driving, the area skipped in the zigzag running can be cleaned by using the finishing cleaning driving method. At this time, the finishing cleaning traveling method means cleaning the skipped region in the zigzag traveling by the random traveling method. Although the random running may be performed before the zigzag running, in general, it is preferable that the robot cleaner 7 carries out the cleaning by the zigzag running method and then the random running by the finishing cleaning running method. Hereinafter, the traveling time and the traveling end judgment method of the zigzag running and the random running will be described.

The robot cleaner 7 judges that the zigzag running is finished when the number of direction changes of the zigzag running is more than a predetermined number. Further, the robot cleaner 7 may judge that the zigzag running time is the end time of the zigzag running when the time is longer than the predetermined time. Considering the size of a room in a typical home, it is preferable to set the predetermined number of times to three. However, if the size of the room is small or large, the number of settings can be set to a value smaller or larger than three times. Also, it is preferable that the predetermined time is set to about 20 minutes to 30 minutes in consideration of the size of a room in a typical home. However, if the size of the room is small or large, the time may be shorter or longer.

The robot cleaner 7 can determine the end of the random running when a predetermined time determined in proportion to the average straight running distance of the random running has elapsed. The average straight running distance of the random driving is proportional to the size of the room, so if the average straight driving distance is short, the vehicle runs for a short time. If the average straight driving distance is long, the vehicle runs for a long time. The average straight running distance corresponds to an average of the running distances of R running in Figure 12. Considering the size of a room in a typical home, it is preferable to perform the random running from a minimum of 5 minutes to a maximum of 20 minutes. However, it can be further increased or decreased considering the size of the room. It is also possible to determine that the random running is the end of the random run when the number of direction changes of the random run is more than a predetermined number or when the random run time is more than a certain time.

With the above configuration, the robot cleaner 7 maintains the zigzag running pattern while maintaining a predetermined distance from the running path that hits the wall surface at any angle, and adopts the improved zigzag running pattern to meet the obstacle The zigzag running pattern is maintained. In addition, after zigzag driving, cleaning is performed by random driving to maximize cleaning coverage.

10: Body 11: Bumper
21: left drive wheel 22: right drive wheel
23: free wheel 30: main brush device
40: side brush device 100: input part
102: Obstacle detecting unit 104: Odometer detecting unit
106: running direction detecting unit 110:
112: traveling driving part 114: cleaning device driving part
116:

Claims (24)

Wherein the first traveling and the second traveling are repeatedly performed in a direction away from the predetermined wall surface after performing the first traveling toward the predetermined wall surface at any one point of the cleaning area,
Wherein the first travel route and the second travel route are maintained at predetermined intervals,
If the vehicle meets an obstacle during traveling of either one of the first and second traveling,
If the distance between any one of the traveling paths and the robot cleaner is equal to "0" during the following obstacle-following traveling, the traveling is performed, and if the distance is equal to the predetermined interval, And the other of the first and second motors is driven. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the angle formed by the first running path and the wall surface is between 0 and 180 degrees. 3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the first travel route and the second travel route are maintained at predetermined intervals,
Wherein the second travel route maintains a first setting interval with the first travel route,
Wherein the first travel route maintains a second setting interval with the second travel route. The method of claim 3,
And the second travel is performed until the length of the second travel route becomes the third predetermined distance. 5. The method of claim 4,
Further comprising: a third running mode in which the direction after the second running is changed and the running is continued until the second running path is separated from the path of the second running by a second set interval. 6. The method of claim 5,
When the obstacle meets the obstacle during the zigzag running,
A distance between the robot cleaner and the zigzag running path is obtained,
And when the distance is 0, the robot travels in a direction parallel to the zigzag travel route before the obstacle following travel and zigzag travels. 6. The method of claim 5,
If an obstacle is encountered during the first travel,
A distance between the robot cleaner and the first travel path is obtained,
And the second travel is performed when the separation distance reaches a first setting interval. 6. The method of claim 5,
If the obstacle is encountered during the second travel,
A distance between the robot cleaner and the second travel path is obtained,
Wherein the first traveling is performed when the separation distance reaches a second setting interval. 6. The method of claim 5,
If the obstacle is encountered during the second travel,
When the sum of the distance of the second travel and the distance traveled by the robot cleaner in the direction of the second travel during the obstacle following travel becomes a third set distance, the third travel is performed Way. 6. The method of claim 5,
If the obstacle is encountered during the third travel,
Wherein the first traveling is performed when the sum of the distance of the third travel and the distance traveled by the robot cleaner in the direction of the third travel during the obstacle following traveling becomes the second setting interval Way. 6. The method of claim 5,
And when the second obstacle is encountered, following the obstacle following the obstacle,
Wherein the robot cleaner performs the third travel at a position where the forward direction of the robot cleaner falls within a predetermined angle range with reference to the direction of the second travel. 6. The method of claim 5,
When the third obstacle is encountered during the third running,
And when the forward direction of the robot cleaner falls within a predetermined angle range with respect to the direction of the third travel, the third travel is performed at the position. 6. The method of claim 5,
When the first obstacle in the running is encountered, the vehicle follows the obstacle following the obstacle,
Wherein when the forward direction of the robot cleaner falls within a predetermined angle range with respect to the direction of the first travel, the first traveling is performed at the position. 6. The method of claim 5,
If the obstacle is encountered in the second running or the third running,
If the forward direction of the robot cleaner falls within a predetermined angle range based on the direction of the second travel or the third travel, or if the obstacle following travel distance is equal to or greater than the fourth predetermined distance, And a control unit for controlling the robot cleaner. 15. The method of claim 14,
The robot cleaner performs the second travel when the first set interval is separated from any point between a point where the robot cleaner starts the obstacle following travel and a point where the direction is reversed and the obstacle following travel starts. A control method of the robot cleaner. 6. The method of claim 5,
If the obstacle is encountered in the second running or the third running,
A distance between the robot cleaner and the second travel path is obtained,
Wherein when the distance is 0, the direction is reversed to perform the obstacle following traveling. 17. The method of claim 16,
The robot cleaner performs the second travel when the first set interval is separated from any point between a point where the robot cleaner starts the obstacle following travel and a point where the direction is reversed and the obstacle following travel starts. A control method of the robot cleaner. 6. The method of claim 5,
If the obstacle is encountered during the zigzag running, the vehicle follows the obstacle following the obstacle,
It is determined that the robot cleaner has entered the zone opposite to the zigzag running direction on the basis of the path of the zigzag running before the obstacle following running,
Wherein the robot cleaner is operated in a direction opposite to the obstacle follower when the robot cleaner is spaced apart from the path of the zigzag running before the obstacle following running or when the forward direction of the robot cleaner is directed in a predetermined direction . 19. The method of claim 18,
When the distance between the robot cleaner and the path of the zigzag running is 0 and the forward direction of the robot cleaner faces a range within a set angle with respect to the zigzag running direction before the obstacle following running, And judging that the robot has entered the region opposite to the zigzag running direction on the basis of the zigzag running route before driving. 20. The method of claim 19,
Further comprising determining that the zigzag running is to be terminated when the number of turns of the zigzag running is equal to or greater than a predetermined number of times or the time of the zigzag running is equal to or longer than a predetermined time. 21. The method of claim 20,
Further comprising performing cleaning in a finishing cleaning traveling manner in the random traveling. 22. The method of claim 21,
Further comprising determining the end time of the random running when a set time determined in proportion to the average straight running distance of the random running elapses. A body forming an outer appearance of the robot cleaner;
A driving wheel installed on the main body; And
And a control unit controlling the drive wheels to make the main body go straight or run,
The robot cleaner repeatedly performs a second running in a direction away from the predetermined wall surface after performing a first running and a first running toward a predetermined wall surface at a certain point in a cleaning area so as to perform a zigzag running , The first travel route and the second travel route are maintained at predetermined intervals,
Wherein the control unit follows an obstacle when the obstacle meets the obstacle during one of the first and second traveling, and if the distance between any one of the traveling and the body during the obstacle following traveling is equal to "0 & And performs the traveling of any one of the first and second traveling when the distance is equal to the predetermined distance. 24. The method of claim 23,
Wherein the controller is further configured to cause the robot cleaner to perform a cleaning operation in a finishing cleaning traveling mode.

Images