KR101499966B1 - Robot cleaner and driving method of robot cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

The robot cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a first sensor unit for sensing dust; A driving unit for moving the driving wheels; And a first control unit for processing the detection signal of the first sensor unit as digital information to grasp the amount of dust, and controlling the driving unit to determine a moving direction and a speed.

According to the embodiment, the position, speed, suction operation, suction amount and the like can be adjusted by selecting only the portion to be cleaned, or by reducing the number of dusts, so that the cleaning time can be shortened and the cleaning cleaning efficiency can be maximized have.

A robot cleaner, a sensor unit, a manipulator, a steering mode, a communication unit, a driving unit,

Description

Technical Field [0001] The present invention relates to a robot cleaner and a driving method of the robot cleaner,

Embodiments relate to a robot cleaner and a driving method of the robot cleaner.

The robot cleaner senses a cleaning area and obstacles by a command from a control unit, and travels through a sensed cleaning area to automatically clean the sensor. When the power of the battery is exhausted, the robot cleaner moves to a predetermined position , And after returning to the original position where cleaning is performed after completion of charging, cleaning is performed.

However, since the robot cleaner is designed to travel in the entire cleaning area through a designated algorithm, it is not possible to select only the portion to be cleaned, and to specify the speed and the position according to a small amount of dust.

Therefore, it takes a long time to clean, deteriorates cleaning efficiency, and consumes a lot of power.

Embodiments provide a robot cleaner and a robot cleaner driving method capable of selectively running a cleaning area by sensing the amount of dust and shortening the cleaning time by controlling the moving speed, the suction operation or the suction amount, .

Embodiments provide a robot cleaner and a robot cleaner driving method which can control a manipulation such as a cleaning position, a moving speed, a suction operation, or an intake amount by sensing and displaying the amount of dust, which can be controlled by a controller.

The robot cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a first sensor unit for sensing dust; A driving unit for moving the driving wheels; And a first control unit for processing the detection signal of the first sensor unit as digital information to grasp the amount of dust, and controlling the driving unit to determine a moving direction and a speed.

A method of driving a robot cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: selecting a first operation mode of an automatic mode and a control mode; Controlling the driving unit and the fan motor by sensing the amount of dust in the first sensor unit when the automatic mode is selected, stopping communication with the controller, being driven by the driving algorithm, Wherein the control unit is configured to initiate communication with the controller when the control mode is selected and transmit an output control signal according to a sensing signal of the first sensor unit to the controller to display the amount of dust, And controlling the driving unit and the fan motor.

According to the embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

First, since the position, the speed, the suction operation, the suction amount, and the like can be adjusted by selecting only the portion requiring cleaning or by reducing the amount of dust, the cleaning time can be shortened and the cleaning cleaning efficiency can be maximized.

Second, since the power of the robot cleaner can be efficiently used, electricity can be saved, and the robot cleaner can be used for a long time with a single charge.

Third, the robot cleaner can be controlled by the controller, and the control operation such as the cleaning position, the moving speed, the suction operation or the suction amount can be guided by sensing and displaying the amount of dust. Therefore, it is possible to remove microscopic dust that is invisible to the naked eye, and there is an effect of inducing interest in cleaning.

The robot cleaner according to the embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Hereinafter, a detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein will be omitted when it may make the subject matter of the present invention unclear. Therefore, only the essential components directly related to the technical idea of the present invention will be described .

FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing the components of a robot cleaner 100 according to an embodiment.

1, the robot cleaner 100 includes a first sensor unit 110, a second sensor unit 120, a first control unit 130, a storage unit 140, a first communication unit 150, A first interface unit 160, a first output unit 170, a driving unit 180, a fan motor 190, and a mechanical unit 195.

The first sensor unit 110 includes an infrared ray sensor 112 and an infrared ray sensor 114. The second sensor unit 120 includes an ultrasonic wave emitting sensor 122, The first output unit 170 includes a first speaker 172 and a first light emitting diode (LED) 174.

First, the mechanism part 195 will be briefly described. However, the structure of the mechanism part 195 will not be described.

A suction head and a connection tube, which are passages through which dust is sucked, are installed on the bottom surface of the housing, and the connection tube is connected to the filter container inside the housing.

The filter container includes a filter connected to the fan motor 190 for generating a suction force and for filtering foreign substances sucked by the fan motor 190. The dust or the like sucked through the suction head is collected in the filter container through the connection pipe.

The first sensor unit 110 and the second sensor unit 120 are installed on the front surface of the housing, and a battery and a charging terminal are installed on the rear surface of the housing.

Accordingly, the robot cleaner can receive power by inserting the charging terminal into the power terminal of the charging stand fixed on the wall surface.

The first sensor unit 110 is a sensor unit for detecting dust, and the second sensor unit 120 is a sensor unit for detecting an obstacle.

The ultrasonic wave emitting sensor 122 of the second sensor unit 120 emits ultrasonic waves, and the ultrasonic wave receiving sensor 124 receives an ultrasonic wave coming back from the obstacle.

At this time, the first controller 130 calculates the time until the ultrasonic waves are transmitted and received, and calculates the distance to calculate the distance, thereby determining the distance to the obstacle.

Meanwhile, the infrared ray sensor 112 of the first sensor unit 110 emits infrared rays, and the infrared ray sensor 114 receives infrared rays reflected by the dust.

At this time, the infrared ray is scattered by the dust, or a part of the light is absorbed by the dust, thereby changing the luminous intensity. The infrared ray is not reflected by the dust but reflected on the bottom surface and continues to proceed, so that the infrared ray sensor 114 does not detect the infrared ray.

The first sensor unit 110 is installed on the front surface of the housing and is disposed at a predetermined angle with respect to the bottom surface of the housing. Therefore, the first controller 130 has distance information from the housing to the bottom surface where the infrared rays reach.

The storage unit 140 stores the distance information, the traveling algorithm, the conversion information of the infrared amount and the dust amount, the communication algorithm with the controller (see FIG. 2), the analysis information of the operation data received from the controller, And interpretation information of the data.

The first controller 130 digitizes the infrared ray amount received from the infrared ray receiving sensor 114 and compares the infrared ray amount received from the infrared ray receiving sensor 114 with the conversion information of the storage unit 140 to determine whether dust exists on the bottom surface in front of the housing, And the amount of dust.

The first communication unit 150 performs RF wireless communication with the manipulator 200 and receives manipulation data from the manipulator 200. The first communication unit 150 transmits an output control signal to the controller 200 so that a second output unit 240 including a speaker, an LED, and the like is operated.

The first communication unit 150 includes an RF module for processing an RF signal including an antenna, a low noise amplifier, a reception filter, a high power amplifier, and a mixer, a phase synchronization circuit, an intermediate transmission / reception filter, And a baseband module for processing with a digital signal.

The first control unit 130 transmits an output control signal to the first communication unit 150 and the first output unit 170 when it is determined that there is dust in the moved position.

The first communication unit 150 is controlled to be turned on and off according to the operation mode. When the control unit 150 receives the operation data from the controller 200, ).

The first output unit 170 includes an A / D converter, an LED driver circuit, and the like. The first output unit 170 emits a warning sound through the first speaker 172 according to the output control signal, .

The first control unit 130 transmits a driving signal to control the driving unit 180. First, when an obstacle is sensed by the signal of the second sensor unit 120, The driving unit 180 may be operated according to a driving algorithm of the storage unit 130 and thirdly when driving according to operation data of the controller 200. [ As shown in FIG.

The driving unit 180 rotates the driving wheel so that the robot cleaner 100 moves in a desired direction and the first controller 130 controls the driving unit to determine the direction and speed of the robot cleaner 100 have.

The first controller 130 controls the driving power of the fan motor 190 to determine whether the fan motor 190 is operating or not, such as the amount of dust or the like, have.

The first interface unit 160 provides user interface means such as a keypad, a button, a keypad drive circuit, and the like in order to select an operation mode from a user.

When the operation data is received from the first interface unit 160, the first control unit 130 interprets the operation data according to the interpretation information of the interface operation data recorded in the storage unit 140, And controls each component by a separate operation algorithm.

2 is a block diagram schematically showing the components of the manipulator 200 for operating the robot cleaner according to the embodiment.

2, the controller 200 includes a second interface unit 210, a second control unit 220, a second communication unit 230, and a second output unit 240, The output unit 240 includes a second speaker 242 and a second LED 244.

The second communication unit 230 performs RF communication with the first communication unit 150 of the robot cleaner 100 to receive the output control signal or transmit operation data as described above.

The second interface unit 210 includes operation means such as a button, a keypad, a toggle button, a joystick, and a drive circuit so that a user can input operation data.

The operation data includes first, operation data of the driving unit 180 (movement control of the robot cleaner 100), second operation data selection data, third operation data of the fan motor, and fourth operation start / End selection data, and the like.

When the second control unit 220 receives the operation data from the second interface unit 210, the second control unit 220 converts the operation data into a data format that can be interpreted by the communication algorithm, and transmits the data packet to the second communication unit 230 do.

Meanwhile, when the second control unit 220 receives the output control signal from the second communication unit 230, the second control unit 220 transmits the output control signal to the second output unit 240.

The second output unit 240 is a component similar to the first output unit 170 provided in the robot cleaner 100, and can output a warning sound or display an LED according to the output control signal.

Accordingly, the user can know the position of fine dust while checking the first output unit 170 or the second output unit 240, and can centrally clean the position by operating the manipulator 200 .

Hereinafter, a method of driving the robot cleaner 100 according to the embodiment will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a method of driving the robot cleaner 100 according to the embodiment.

First, the user selects the first operation mode by operating the first interface unit 160 or the second interface unit 210 of the robot cleaner 100 (S100).

The first mode of operation may be classified into an "automatic mode" and a "control mode". The automatic mode is a mode in which the robot cleaner 100 itself controls movement and suction amount. And the amount of movement and suction of the robot cleaner 100 is controlled by the robot cleaner 100.

If the automatic mode is selected, the first control unit 130 turns off the power of the first communication unit 150 to stop the operation (S105), and accesses and executes the driving algorithm recorded in the storage unit 140 S110).

Then, the user operates the first interface unit 160 to select the second operation mode (S115).

The second cleaning mode can be divided into a "selective cleaning mode" and a "full cleaning mode". The selective cleaning mode controls the operation power of the fan motor 190 according to a signal from the first sensor unit 110 And the normally full cleaning mode is a mode for adjusting the suction amount of the fan motor 190 according to a signal from the first sensor unit 110. [

The first controller 130 operates the first sensor unit 110 and the second sensor unit 120 when the selective cleaning mode is selected, and starts the movement by the traveling algorithm.

The first controller 130 turns on the fan motor 190 when it judges that there is dust at a predetermined position and turns off the fan motor 190 when it judges that there is no dust. off (S120).

Meanwhile, when the entire cleaning mode is selected, the first controller 130 operates the first sensor unit 110, the second sensor unit 120, and the fan motor 190, .

Accordingly, the first controller 130 maintains the operation of the fan motor 190 while moving the entire area, and adjusts the driving power of the fan motor 190 according to the dust amount.

As the driving power is adjusted, the fan motor 190 can control the suction amount (S125).

In step S120, the suction amount control function of the fan motor 190 may be performed, and the direction and speed of the driving unit 180 may be controlled according to the dust amount.

Thereafter, when it is determined that the traveling algorithm is terminated and the cleaning of the entire area is completed, the first controller 130 turns off the power of each component and enters a standby state (Yes in S164).

The first control unit 130 turns on the power of the first communication unit 150 at step S130 when the steering mode is selected at step S100, And sets up a wireless channel with the second communication unit 230 in step S135.

Then, the user operates the first interface unit 160 or the second interface unit 210 to select the third operation mode (S140).

The third operation mode may be classified into a "partial control mode" and a "total control mode". In the partial control mode, only the driving unit 180 is controlled by the controller 200, Is a case in which the driving unit 180 and the fan motor 190 are controlled together by the controller 200.

The first controller 130 controls the first sensor unit 110, the second sensor unit 120, the first output unit 170, and the fan motor 190, Analyzes the operation data received through the first communication unit 150, and transmits a control signal to the driving unit 180. [

The first controller 130 informs the user by operating the first output unit 170 or the second output unit 240 when dust is detected at a predetermined position.

At this time, the first control unit 130 transmits different control signals according to the amount of dust, and the first output unit 170 or the second output unit 240 transmits voice signals, Can be output.

In addition, as described above, the first controller 130 can control the suction amount of the fan motor 190 according to the amount of dust (S145).

The user operates the second interface unit 210 in accordance with the display of the first output unit 170 or the second output unit 240 and the robot cleaner 100 moves between cleaning zones (S155).

The first control unit 130 operates the first sensor unit 110, the second sensor unit 120 and the first output unit 170 when the overall control mode is selected, 1 communication unit 150 and transmits a control signal to the driving unit 180 and the fan motor 190. [

The first controller 130 informs the user by operating the first output unit 170 or the second output unit 240 when dust is detected at a predetermined position.

At this time, the first control unit 130 transmits different control signals according to the amount of dust, and the first output unit 170 or the second output unit 240 transmits voice signals, (S150).

The user operates the second interface unit 210 in accordance with the display of the first output unit 170 or the second output unit 240 and the robot cleaner 100 moves between cleaning zones And the suction operation can be selectively performed (S160).

The first control unit 130 may control the suction amount of the fan motor 190, the speed and direction of the driving unit 180 according to the dust amount.

Thereafter, when a cleaning termination command is received from the controller 200, the first controller 130 turns off the power of each component and enters a standby state.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments, but, on the contrary, It will be understood that various modifications and applications other than those described above are possible. For example, each component specifically shown in the embodiments of the present invention can be modified and implemented. It is to be understood that all changes and modifications that come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

1 is a block diagram schematically illustrating the components of a robot cleaner according to an embodiment.

2 is a block diagram schematically illustrating components of a manipulator for operating a robot cleaner according to an embodiment;

3 is a flowchart showing a driving method of the robot cleaner according to the embodiment.

Claims (13)

In the robot cleaner, A first sensor unit for sensing dust; A driving unit for moving the driving wheels; And And a first control unit for processing the detection signal of the first sensor unit as digital information to grasp the dust amount and determining the moving direction and speed by controlling the driving unit, Wherein the first control unit includes: Wherein the robot cleaner senses a location of dust in a region spaced a predetermined distance from the robot cleaner according to the detection result of the first sensor unit and moves the robot cleaner to a position of the detected dust. The method according to claim 1, And a second sensor unit for detecting an obstacle, Wherein the first control unit processes the sensing signal of the second sensor unit as digital information, and controls the driving unit to determine a moving direction and a speed. The method according to claim 1, Wherein the first sensor unit includes an infrared ray emitting sensor and an infrared ray receiving sensor, Wherein the first control unit processes the received infrared ray amount into digital information and converts it into dust amount information. 3. The method of claim 2, Wherein the second sensor unit includes an ultrasonic wave emitting sensor and an ultrasonic wave receiving sensor, Wherein the first control unit calculates the time until the ultrasonic wave is transmitted after the ultrasonic wave is transmitted to determine the distance to the obstacle. The method according to claim 1, Wherein the first sensor unit is installed on the front surface of the housing with a predetermined inclination angle toward the bottom surface, Wherein the first controller calculates the position of the dust sensed by the first sensor unit based on the inclination angle. The method according to claim 1, A first communication unit that performs wireless communication with the controller, receives the operation data, and transmits the output control signal transmitted from the first controller according to the detected dust amount, thereby causing the controller to display the dust amount; A first interface unit for selecting an operation mode according to an operation combination of the components; A traveling algorithm for sequentially traveling the entire cleaning area, a conversion information of an amount of infrared rays and a dust amount, a communication algorithm with the controller, And a storage unit for storing at least one of analysis information of the received operation data, operation algorithm for each mode, and analysis information of the first interface unit operation data. The method according to claim 1, And a first output unit for displaying a dust amount by at least one of audio and video signals according to an output control signal transmitted from the first control unit according to the detected dust amount. The method according to claim 1, And a fan motor for providing a suction force of dust, Wherein the first control unit processes the sensing signal of the first sensor unit as digital information to grasp the amount of dust, and controls the fan motor to determine the on / off or suction power level of the fan motor. 7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the manipulator A second interface unit for receiving operation data from a user; A second output unit for displaying a dust amount with at least one of audio and video signals; A second communication unit that performs wireless communication with the first communication unit, transmits the operation data, and receives the output control signal; And a second control unit configured to transmit the operation data to the second communication unit in the form of communication data, and to process the output control signal into an analog signal and transmit the processed analog signal to the second output unit. Selecting a first operating mode of the automatic mode and the steered mode; Controlling the driving unit and the fan motor by sensing the amount of dust in the first sensor unit when the automatic mode is selected, stopping communication with the controller, being driven by the driving algorithm, Wherein the control unit is configured to initiate communication with the controller when the control mode is selected and transmit an output control signal according to a sensing signal of the first sensor unit to the controller to display the amount of dust, Controlling the driving unit and the fan motor, Wherein the step of controlling the driving unit and the fan motor by sensing the amount of dust in the first sensor unit comprises: Detecting a position of dust in a region spaced a predetermined distance from the robot cleaner according to the detection result of the first sensor unit; And moving the robot cleaner to a position of the detected dust. 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the control step when the automatic mode is selected comprises: Stopping communication with the manipulator; Executing the traveling algorithm; Selecting a second operation mode of the selective cleaning mode and the full cleaning mode; Controlling the on / off state of the fan motor and the direction and speed of the driving unit according to a sensing signal of the first sensor unit when the selective cleaning mode is selected; And controlling the suction force of the fan motor, the direction and speed of the driving unit by the sensing signal of the first sensor unit when the whole cleaning mode is selected. 11. The method according to claim 10, wherein when the steering mode is selected, Initiating communication with the manipulator; Selecting a third operation mode of some steering mode and full steering mode; Wherein the first sensor unit is operated when the control mode is selected, the suction force of the fan motor is controlled by the sensing signal of the first sensor unit, and the output control signal is transmitted to the controller, Controlling the direction and speed of the driving unit according to operation data; Wherein the first sensor unit is operated and the output control signal is transmitted to the controller when the entire control mode is selected, and on / off of the fan motor, the direction of the drive unit, the speed And controlling the robot cleaner. 11. The method according to claim 10, wherein when the steering mode is selected, Wherein the first controller of the robot cleaner generates the output control signal and transmits the output control signal to the first output unit and the second output unit of the robot cleaner displays the amount of dust through the speaker or the LED. .

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