KR101667708B1 - Robot cleaner and controlling method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention divides a space into a plurality of sectors included in the space-space phase map on the basis of the space-space phase map, and performs a cleaning operation for each divided sector And a control method thereof. To this end, the robot cleaner according to the present invention includes a storage unit for storing a space-space phase map; And a controller for selecting a first one of a plurality of spaces included in the space-space phase map, dividing the selected first space into a plurality of sectors, and performing a cleaning operation for each of the plurality of divided sectors .

Robot cleaner, phase map, sector partitioning, space path planning, sector path planning

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.

In general, robots have been developed for industrial use and have been part of factory automation. In recent years, medical robots, aerospace robots, and the like have been developed, and household robots that can be used in ordinary homes are being developed.

A representative example of the domestic robot is a robot cleaner. The robot cleaner is a type of household appliance that sucks and cleanes dust or foreign matter around the robot while traveling in a certain area by itself.

In addition, the robot cleaner includes a rechargeable battery, runs by itself, and cleans any space.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a robot cleaner and a control method thereof that perform a cleaning operation for each space unit on a plurality of spaces included in the space-space phase map based on a space-space phase map.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a robot cleaner for dividing an arbitrary space into a plurality of sectors and performing a cleaning operation for each divided sector, and a control method thereof.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a robot cleaner and a control method thereof for performing a cleaning operation only for at least one arbitrary space specified by a user for a plurality of spaces included in a space-space phase map.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a robot cleaner including: a storage unit for storing a spatial-spatial phase map; And a controller for selecting a first one of a plurality of spaces included in the space-space phase map, dividing the selected first space into a plurality of sectors, and performing a cleaning operation for each of the plurality of divided sectors .

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for controlling a robot cleaner, the method comprising: a first step of selecting a first space among a plurality of spaces included in the space-space phase map based on a previously stored space-space phase map; A second step of dividing the selected first space into a plurality of sector units; A third step of performing a cleaning operation for each sector of the plurality of divided sectors; A fourth step of checking whether there is at least one uncleaned space among the spaces included in the plurality of spaces after completing the cleaning operation for the first space; And performing a second step of dividing the at least one uncleaned space into a plurality of sector units when at least one uncleaned space exists as a result of the checking.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of controlling a robot cleaner, the method comprising: establishing a space-space path plan for a plurality of spaces included in the space- ; And sequentially performing a cleaning operation on the plurality of spaces based on the established space-space path planning.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for controlling a robot cleaner, the method comprising: selecting at least one space among a plurality of spaces included in a space-space phase map displayed on a display unit; Establishing a space-space path plan for the selected at least one space; Dividing a first space of the selected at least one space into a plurality of sector units based on the established space-space path plan; Performing a cleaning operation for each sector of the divided sectors; After completion of the cleaning operation for the first space, checking whether there is a clean space in the at least one space; Performing a cleaning operation on another space included in the at least one space on the basis of the space-space path planning if the uncleaned space exists; And if the uncleaned space does not exist as a result of the checking, terminating the cleaning operation and moving to a predetermined initial position.

A robot cleaner and a control method thereof according to an embodiment of the present invention divide a space into a plurality of sectors included in the space-space phase map on the basis of a space-space phase map, Performing a cleaning operation for each divided sector by performing a detailed cleaning operation on each space, and dividing and storing information about each space, thereby increasing the efficiency of use of the storage space.

Further, the robot cleaner and the control method thereof according to the embodiment of the present invention perform a cleaning operation only for at least one arbitrary space designated by the user for a plurality of spaces included in the space-space phase map, It is possible to concentrate cleaning on a desired space, and to divide and store information on each space, thereby increasing the efficiency of use of the storage space.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like or corresponding elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and a duplicate description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a robot cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention. The robot cleaner 10 includes an input unit 110, an image sensor unit 120, a detection unit 130, A storage unit 140, a control unit 150, a display unit 160, a traveling unit 170, a cleaning unit 180, a communication unit 190, and a power unit 200.

The input unit 110 receives input of a button operation by a user, or receives an instruction or a control signal by an operation such as touching / scrolling a displayed screen.

The input unit 110 may be a variety of devices such as a keypad, a touch screen, a jog shuttle, and a microphone.

In addition, the input unit 110 includes a button for receiving a driving mode command, a button for receiving a cleaning mode command, a button for receiving an image information imaging command, and a button for receiving a stop command.

The image sensor unit 120 captures image information under the control of the control unit 150. [

2, the image sensor unit 120 includes at least one or more image sensors 120 provided on the upper surface of the robot cleaner 10 and capable of photographing an upper portion perpendicular to the moving direction of the robot cleaner 10, Camera. That is, the image sensor unit 120 includes an image sensor such as a camera capable of photographing the upper side to generate upper image information, and objects (including obstacle information) installed on a ceiling or a wall using the upper image information, And outputs the processed image.

The image sensor unit 120 includes at least one or more cameras provided on a front surface (or a side surface) of the robot cleaner 10 and capable of capturing a forward (or side) image. In addition, the image sensor unit 120 may include at least one camera on the upper surface and the front surface of the robot cleaner 10, respectively.

The detection unit 130 is provided on a side surface of the robot cleaner 10 and detects (or detects) an object (or an obstacle) existing in a work area (or a cleaning area) do.

The detection unit 130 detects the current position information and the traveling direction information of the robot cleaner 10.

The detection unit 130 transmits a signal such as a supersonic sensor, an infrared sensor, and an RF sensor to detect the position of the obstacle and the distance between the obstacle and the obstacle A sensor for detecting an obstacle, a collision sensor for detecting an obstacle by collision with the obstacle, and the like.

The storage unit 140 stores various information such as various menu screens, a plurality of cleaning algorithms, and cleaning maps.

Also, the storage unit 140 stores various user interface (UI) and / or graphical user interface (GUI).

In addition, the storage unit 140 stores data and programs necessary for the robot cleaner 10 to operate.

In addition, the storage unit 140 stores information on location information for each traveling route, traveling direction for each traveling route, traveling algorithm for each traveling route, cleaning algorithm for each traveling route, etc. according to traveling or cleaning operation of the robot cleaner 10 .

The storage unit 140 stores various kinds of information (including map data, a cleaning algorithm, various control signals, etc.) received through the communication unit 190.

Also, the storage unit 140 stores a CAD (Computer-Aided Design) file received through the communication unit 190.

Also, the storage unit 140 stores a space-space phase map (or a room-to-room topological map) received through the communication unit 190.

Also, the storage unit 140 stores the space-space phase map created by the controller 150. [

The control unit 150 performs an overall control function of the robot cleaner 10.

The control unit 150 may control the robot cleaner 10 using the image information output from the image sensor unit 120 (or positional information recognized by a position recognition unit (not shown)). The position can be judged.

Also, the controller 150 may receive a signal transmitted from an external beacon and determine the position of the robot cleaner 10 based on the received signal.

In addition, the controller 150 determines whether or not an object included in the image information output by the image sensor unit 120 is an obstacle, and if the obstacle is determined to be an obstacle, And controls to avoid the obstacle based on the positional information of the obstacle and to travel or perform the cleaning operation.

In addition, the controller 150 determines whether the obstacle is an object detected by the detector 130. If the obstacle is determined to be an obstacle, the controller 150 confirms the position information of the obstacle, Avoiding the obstacle based on the positional information, and performing a cleaning operation.

The control unit 150 creates a cleaning map based on the position information of the obstacle located in the cleaning area and stores the cleaning map in the storage unit 140. At this time, the cleaning map may include positional information of an obstacle, position information on a moving route according to movement of the robot cleaner 10, and the like.

The control unit 150 may control various types of information of the robot cleaner 10 including the button input state inputted by the input unit 110 or the display unit 160 and the operation state of the robot cleaner 10, To be displayed on the display unit (160).

When the robot cleaner 10 performs a cleaning operation, the control unit 150 creates a cleaning map according to the movement route. In addition, when the robot cleaner 10 performs a cleaning operation based on the created cleaning map, the cleaning area is divided into a basic cleaning area in which cleaning is performed and a non-cleaning area in which cleaning is not performed. The base cleaning area and the uncleaned area.

The control unit 150 stores the position information and the traveling direction of the robot cleaner 10 in the storage unit 140 according to the traveling operation and / or the cleaning operation.

The control unit 150 generates a bitmap image of a binary type indicating a space to be cleaned using the CAD drawing previously stored in the storage unit 140. [

In addition, the controller 150 extracts a feature point from the generated bitmap image of the binary form.

Also, the controller 150 detects a position of a door included in the bitmap image based on the extracted minutiae.

Also, the controller 150 generates a space-space phase map for all the plurality of spaces included in the generated bitmap image based on the bitmap image, the feature point, the location information of the query, and the like.

In addition, the control unit 150 may search for any one of a plurality of spaces included in the space-space phase map based on the space-space phase map previously stored in the storage unit 140, And sets at least one rectangular range of a predetermined minimum size including all of the rectangular areas. In addition, the controller 150 divides the set one or more rectangular ranges into predetermined sectors. Here, the sector refers to a space in which the robot cleaner 10 can move freely within the sector, and the sizes of the sectors may be different from each other.

In addition, the controller 150 selects one of the divided sectors and controls the driving unit 170 and / or the cleaning unit 180 to perform a cleaning operation on the selected sector.

In addition, the controller 150 constructs (or generates) a phase map (e.g., a phase map between sectors and sectors) between the plurality of sectors, and then, based on the phase map between the plurality of configured sectors (Or establish, or set) a path plan (e.g., sector-sector path plan) between the plurality of sectors.

In addition, the controller 150 controls the sectors to sequentially perform a cleaning operation for all the sectors based on the established sector-sector path plan.

In addition, the control unit 150 may be configured to perform a path plan between the plurality of spaces based on the phase map between the plurality of spaces (for example, a space-space path planning ) Can be performed (established or set).

In addition, the controller 150 controls the cleaning operation for all the spaces in the plurality of spaces included in the space-space phase map based on the established space-space path planning.

The display unit 160 is installed on the upper surface or the side surface of the robot cleaner 10 and displays various kinds of information generated by the controller 150. Here, the display unit 160 may be a liquid crystal display (LCD), a thin film transistor-liquid crystal display (TFT LCD), an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) A display, a flexible display, a field emission display (FED), and a three-dimensional display (3D display).

Some of the display portions 160 may be transparent or light transmissive so that the display portion 160 can see the outside (or the inside of the robot cleaner 10) therethrough. This can be referred to as a transparent display, and a typical example of the transparent display is TOLED (Transparent OLED) and the like.

In addition, according to the embodiment of the robot cleaner 10, there may be two or more display units 160. For example, the robot cleaner 10 may have a plurality of display portions separated from each other on one surface (the same surface), or may be arranged on different surfaces.

Meanwhile, when the display unit 160 and a sensor (hereinafter, referred to as a 'touch sensor') for detecting a touch operation form a mutual layer structure (hereinafter referred to as a 'touch screen' It can also be used as an input device in addition to the device. The touch sensor may have the form of, for example, a touch film, a touch sheet, a touch pad, or the like.

The touch sensor may be configured to convert a change in a pressure applied to a specific portion of the display unit 160 or a capacitance generated in a specific portion of the display unit 160 into an electrical input signal. The touch sensor can be configured to detect not only the position and area to be touched but also the pressure at the time of touch. If there is a touch input to the touch sensor, the corresponding signal (s) is sent to a touch controller (not shown). The touch controller processes the signal (s) and then transmits the corresponding data to the controller 150. Thus, the control unit 150 can know which area of the display unit 160 is touched or the like.

The display unit 160 may display various contents using the user interface and / or graphical user interface included in the storage unit 140 when displaying the various information generated by the controller 150. For example, can do. Here, the content displayed on the display unit 160 includes various text or image data, a menu screen including data such as an icon, a list menu, and a combo box.

The display unit 160 displays the position information, the status information, the cleaning map, and the position information of the robot cleaner 10 according to the driving and / or cleaning operation of the robot cleaner 10 under the control of the controller 150. [ A traveling algorithm, a cleaning algorithm, and the like.

The display unit 160 may display information on the movement path of the robot cleaner 10 stored in the storage unit 140 under the control of the controller 150. [

The robot cleaner 10 may further include an audio output unit (not shown) for outputting audio information included in various types of information generated by the controller 150. Here, the audio output unit may be a speaker.

The voice output unit may output positional information, status information, a cleaning map, a traveling algorithm, and the like of the robot cleaner 10 according to the running and / or cleaning operation of the robot cleaner 10 under the control of the controller 150. [ , A cleaning algorithm, and the like.

The traveling unit 170 includes at least one wheel, and drives the at least one wheel by a driving unit such as a motor.

In addition, the travel unit 170 performs travel operations such as movement, stop, direction change, etc. under the control of the control unit 150. [

In the traveling unit 170, sensors such as encoders may be connected.

The cleaning unit 180 is provided on a lower surface of the robot cleaner 10 and absorbs foreign substances below the robot cleaner 10 while the robot cleaner 10 is moving or stopping under the control of the controller 150, And performs an operation.

In addition, the cleaner 180 may include an air purifier for purifying contaminants in the air.

The communication unit 190 performs mutual connection with external terminals such as a remote controller, a mobile terminal, and an information providing center by a wire / wireless communication method. Here, the wireless Internet technology includes a wireless LAN (WLAN), a Wi-Fi, a wireless broadband (Wibro), a World Interoperability for Microwave Access (Wimax), a High Speed Downlink Packet Access, IEEE 802.16, Long Term Evolution (LTE), Wireless Mobile Broadband Service (WMBS), and the like. The short range communication technology may include Bluetooth, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), Infrared Data Association (IrDA), Ultra Wideband (UWB), ZigBee, and the like.

Also, the communication unit 190 receives various kinds of information (including control signals, cleaning map information, etc.) transmitted from the external terminal.

Also, the communication unit 190 receives a CAD drawing file for an arbitrary space such as a room, a building, etc., transmitted from the external terminal.

Also, the communication unit 190 receives the space-space phase map transmitted from the external terminal.

The power supply unit 200 stores (or charges) power supplied from the external power supply.

In addition, the power source unit 200 includes a battery configured by a single device, or a plurality of batteries form one pack (battery pack).

In addition, when the plurality of batteries are provided, the power source unit 200 may include a plurality of batteries connected in series, and at least one safety switch may be included between the plurality of batteries.

In addition, the power source unit 200 may be supplied with power by the external power supply device and a wire / wireless charging method. That is, the power supply unit 200 may be directly connected to the external power supply device by a component such as a power outlet, or the power supply unit 200 and the external power supply unit may each include a transmitter / The power source unit 200 may be charged using any one of a magnetic resonance coupling method, an electromagnetic induction method, and a radiowave method. That is, the power supply unit 200 and the external power supply unit may be configured to be able to charge wirelessly, and the configurations of the receiving unit and the transmitting unit according to the wireless charging may be configured by those having ordinary skill in the art So that the function can be performed.

In this way, the space is divided into detailed sectors in each space unit for a plurality of spaces included in the space-space phase map based on the space-space phase map, and a cleaning operation is performed for each of the divided sectors , A detailed cleaning operation for each space can be performed.

In this way, the space is divided into detailed sectors in each space unit with respect to the plurality of spaces included in the space-space phase map on the basis of the space-space phase map, and information on the divided sectors is stored So that the use efficiency of the storage space can be increased.

In this manner, for the plurality of spaces included in the space-space phase map, the cleaning operation is performed only for at least one arbitrary space designated by the user, so that the user can perform concentrated cleaning for the desired space.

Hereinafter, a method of controlling the robot cleaner according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6. FIG.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling a robot cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

First, the controller 150 determines whether any one of the plurality of spaces (for example, rooms) included in the phase map for an arbitrary space such as a house or a building stored in the storage unit 140, Sets at least one rectangular area having a predetermined minimum size including all the cleaning areas of the corresponding space for the at least one rectangular area, and divides the set at least one rectangular area into predetermined sector units. Here, the sector refers to a space in which the robot cleaner 10 can move freely within the sector, and the sizes of the sectors may be different from each other.

4A and 4B, the controller 150 controls the first space 501 of the first space 501 among the phase maps 500 of the current collector, One or more minimum size rectangular areas 511, 512 including all the cleaning areas are set. 4C, the controller 150 divides the one or more rectangular ranges 511 and 512 into a plurality of sector units 521, 522, 523, 524, 525, 526, 527, 528, 529, 530) (S110).

Thereafter, the controller 150 controls the driving unit 170 and / or the cleaning unit 180 to perform a cleaning operation on any one of the plurality of sectors divided in the sector unit.

At this time, when performing the cleaning operation for the first sector, the controller 150 performs a boundary exploration of the sector, and then performs internal cleaning of the sector. In addition, the controller 150 controls the zig-zag path, the contour following, and the constrained inverse distance path (CIDT path) when cleaning the corresponding sector. The cleaning operation can be performed.

The control unit 150 may display the positional information of the robot cleaner 10 and the status information of the robot cleaner 10 on the display unit 160 in step S120.

Thereafter, the controller 150 determines whether there is a clean sector among the divided sectors (S130).

As a result of the determination, if there is at least one uncleaned sector among the plurality of divided sectors, the controller 150 determines whether any one of the at least one uncleaned sector (or the second unheated sector, (S140), and controls the traveling unit 170 and / or the cleaning unit 180 to perform the cleaning operation on the second sector. That is, when there is at least one unscratched sector among the plurality of divided sectors, the controller 150 repeatedly performs the steps S120 to S140, As shown in FIG.

At this time, the controller 150 can perform sector-sector path planning for the divided sectors.

That is, the controller 150 constructs a phase map between the sector and the sector, and then performs a path plan between sectors and sectors based on the phase map between the configured sectors and the sectors.

4D, the control unit 150 may set the center point of each of the plurality of sectors 521, 522, 523, 524, 525, 526, 527, 528, 529, Is defined as a node 531 having a unique index and a boundary section connected to an adjacent sector is defined as an edge 532 or 533. In this case, the edge has information on the indexes of two nodes connected to both sectors, and when both edges have both information, the edge is referred to as an exploded 532, and when there is only information of one node, the edge is an unexplored word unexplored (533). In addition, for a complete cleaning of the first space containing the plurality of sectors, all edges must have an attribute of the exploit, and when all of the edges have attributes of the exploit, a complete phase map for the first space Lt; / RTI >

After that, the controller 150 constructs a phase map for the first space, and then performs a sector-sector path plan for running a plurality of sectors included in the first space.

For example, as shown in FIG. 4E, the controller 150 performs a path plan for each sector according to a connection relationship between the sectors for a plurality of sectors included in the first space 501 .

In this case, the controller 150 selects an edge connected to another sector in an arbitrary sector where the robot cleaner 10 is currently located and moves to the corresponding edge (or a corresponding node) Expose word edge is connected to a node of a sector where the unexplained word edge is located, a cost according to the position of the at least one unexplored word edge is defined and a distance transform is performed to the edge having the lowest cost. To the corresponding edge.

Another method for the controller 150 to select an edge connected to another sector in an arbitrary sector where the robot cleaner 10 is currently located and move to the edge is as shown in FIG. If there is no unexplored word edge connected to the node corresponding to the sector 521 in which the cleaner 10 is located, a Dijkstra Algorithm is applied to find the edge closest to the current node among all unexplored word edges ( 541) and moves to the nearest edge to the target path using the distance transform (542 path), and moves to the target node along the boundary of the sector (543 path).

As shown in FIG. 4E, the control unit 150 controls the plurality of sectors included in the first space 501 in the order of ① → ② → ③ → ④ → ⑤ → ⑥ → ⑦ → ⑧ → ⑨ → ⑩ in the order of sector to sector.

In addition, the control unit 150 creates a cleaning map based on the cleaned space, information on the cleaned space, and the topological map among the plurality of spaces according to the cleaning operation, Or may be stored in the display unit 140 or displayed on the display unit 160.

If it is determined in step S130 that there is no clean sector among the plurality of divided sectors, the controller 150 determines whether a space that is not cleaned is included in the plurality of spaces included in the phase map (S150).

As a result of the checking, if there is at least one space that is not cleaned among the plurality of spaces, the controller 150 may perform sector division for any second space among the at least one space, (S110 to S140) for performing operations such as confirming the presence of a cleaning sector and completing the cleaning for all undamaged sectors. That is, when there is at least one uncleaned space among the plurality of spaces, the controller 150 repeatedly performs the steps S140 through S110, And performs an operation.

At this time, the controller 150 may perform a path planning between the space-space (or the room-room) for the plurality of spaces.

That is, the control unit 150 performs a space-space path plan based on the phase map of the current collector.

4A, when the cleaning of one room (or one space) is completed, the controller 150 controls the space-space phase map (or the room-to-room ) Phase map) to determine the next room to clean. That is, the control unit 150 determines whether the first space 501, the second space 502, the third space 503, the fourth space 504, A space-space path plan can be established in the order of the fifth space 505 → the sixth space 506.

At this time, the search for the next room to be cleaned is performed by searching for an unexplored word edge by a depth-first search, and a width-first search method may be used.

If the next room to be cleaned is determined, the control unit 150 performs the steps (S110 to S160) after shifting to the corresponding room (for example, using sector-sector path planning in step S150) And performs a cleaning operation on the corresponding room.

If the unexploited word edge is not found at the time of searching the room, the controller 150 determines that all the cleaning operations for the plurality of spaces have been completed.

In addition, the controller 150 may store various information on the position information of the robot cleaner 10, the status information of the robot cleaner 10, and the cleaning map to be created, And displayed on the display unit 160 (S160).

If it is determined that there is no unclean space among the plurality of spaces, the controller 150 determines that all cleaning operations for the plurality of spaces included in the phase map are completed, (Step S170).

In the above-described embodiment, the controller 150 controls to perform a cleaning operation on all the spaces included in the space-space phase map. However, it is also possible that the plurality of spaces included in the space- It is possible to perform control to perform a cleaning operation for the specific space only for at least one specific space selected by the user's input.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the control unit 150 may divide an arbitrary space included in the space-space phase map into a plurality of sectors, and then, for each of the plurality of sectors, Performing a cleaning operation on each sector, completing a cleaning operation on a plurality of sectors included in the arbitrary space, and performing a cleaning operation on another arbitrary space included in the space-space phase map And performs a cleaning operation on all the plurality of spaces included in the space-space phase map.

On the other hand, the controller 150 establishes a space-space path plan for all the plurality of spaces included in the space-space phase map, and creates a space-space path plan based on the established space- And performs a cleaning operation on each of the plurality of sectors included in the arbitrary space by performing path planning between the sector and the sector for each of the plurality of sectors to perform a cleaning operation on the plurality of sectors included in the arbitrary space The cleaning operation may be performed on any other space according to the space-space path plan, and the cleaning operation may be performed on all the plurality of spaces included in the space-space phase map. That is, the controller 150 may perform a cleaning operation for each space in a plurality of spaces included in the space-space phase map in various orders.

5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of generating a spatial-spatial topology map according to an embodiment of the present invention.

First, the control unit 150 sets a segment layer for an area to be cleaned with respect to a CAD drawing transmitted from an external terminal and stored in the storage unit 140, and sets a binary type (bitmap image) of the type shown in FIG.

6A, the control unit 150 may include a point (or an initial position) 601 at which the charging stand of the robot cleaner 10 is placed on the CAD drawing stored in the storage unit 140, (Or space) connected to the bitmap image is set as a cleaning area to generate a binary bitmap image (S510).

Then, the controller 150 extracts feature points from the generated bitmap images of the binary type. At this time, the controller 150 can extract feature points on the bitmap image by using various methods such as extracting feature points using a mask.

For example, the controller 150 extracts a convex feature point 611 and a concave feature point 612, respectively, as shown in FIG. 6B. When there are a plurality of convex feature points within a predetermined distance from the convex feature points, the controller 150 may combine the convex feature points and represent the convex feature points as one convex feature point. Here, the convex feature points and the concave feature points may be defined as corner feature points (S520).

Then, the control unit 150 detects a door position based on the extracted minutiae.

That is, the controller 150 determines whether there is an arbitrary second convex feature point within a predetermined distance of any first convex feature point among the detected one or more convex feature points and whether there is an obstacle between the two convex feature points If the second convex feature point exists within a predetermined distance from the first convex feature point and there is no obstacle between the two convex feature points, it is determined that the door is located between the two convex feature points.

6C, a second convex feature point 622 exists within a predetermined distance of the first convex feature point 621, and the second convex feature point 622 exists between the two convex feature points 621 and 622. In this case, It is determined that there is a door 623 between the two convex feature points 621 and 622. In this case,

6C, the controller 150 includes a plurality of convex feature points 625 and 626 within a predetermined distance of the third convex feature point 624, and a plurality of convex feature points 625 and 626 exist between the convex feature points 624. In other words, It is determined that the respective doors 627 and 628 are present between the convex feature points 624 and 625 and 624 and 626 when no obstacle exists in the first and second convex feature points 624 and 625 and 624 and 626 ).

Thereafter, the controller 150 generates (or creates) a space-space phase map (or a room-phase phase map) for all the plurality of cleaning areas (or a plurality of spaces).

That is, the controller 150 creates a phase map for the space-space by selecting one space for the plurality of spaces and connecting the space with the space sharing information on the corresponding space .

6D, the controller 150 controls the third space 503, the second space 502, the third space 503, and the third space 503 based on the initial position of the third space 503, The first space 501, the third space 503, the fourth space 504, the third space 503, the fifth space 505, and the third space 503, Check the relationship.

In addition, the controller 150 sets the center points 631, 632, 633, 634, and 645 of the respective spaces as representative pointers. At this time, each representative pointer includes information on the connection relation with the corner feature points included in each space (S540).

In the above embodiment, a method of generating (or creating) a spatial-spatial topological map by using a CAD drawing including spatial information on an arbitrary space such as a house or a building has been described. In the above embodiment, the method of generating the space-space phase map by the control unit 150 included in the robot cleaner 10 using the CAD drawing has been described. However, the space- The robot cleaner 10 may store the space-space phase map, and use the stored space-space phase map.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Therefore, the embodiments disclosed in the present invention are intended to illustrate rather than limit the scope of the present invention, and the scope of the technical idea of the present invention is not limited by these embodiments. The scope of protection of the present invention should be construed according to the following claims, and all technical ideas within the scope of equivalents should be construed as falling within the scope of the present invention.

1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a robot cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a view illustrating a robot cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling a robot cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4A to 4F illustrate a method of controlling a robot cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of generating a spatial-spatial topology map according to an embodiment of the present invention.

6A to 6D are diagrams illustrating a method of generating a spatial-spatial topological map according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Claims (14)

A storage unit for storing a space-space phase map; And A controller for selecting a first one of a plurality of spaces included in the space-space phase map, dividing the selected first space into a plurality of sectors, and performing a cleaning operation for each of the plurality of divided sectors ≪ / RTI & Wherein, A plurality of nodes each having a central point in a sector as a unique index are set for each of the plurality of sectors, An edge that is a boundary between adjacent sectors is classified into an exploded edge having both node information for both sectors or an unexplored edge having only node information for one sector, Establishing a sector-sector path plan for the segmented plurality of sectors based on the edge classification, The sector-sector path planning includes: Wherein the robot cleaner is set to have a minimum cost based on the cost given to the edge according to the position of the robot cleaner. The apparatus of claim 1, And performs a cleaning operation by controlling the traveling unit and the cleaning unit based on the established sector-sector path plan. The apparatus of claim 1, Space path planning for the plurality of spaces and sequentially performing cleaning operations on all the spaces included in the plurality of spaces based on the established space- . The apparatus of claim 1, Establishing a space-space path plan for at least one space selected by user input among the plurality of spaces, and performing a cleaning operation for the at least one space based on the established space- . 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the spatial- The control unit controls the CAD drawing to convert the bitmap image into a binary bitmap image, extracts the minutiae included in the converted bitmap image, and extracts a door included in the bitmap image based on the extracted minutiae, ), And is generated based on the bitmap image, the feature point, and the position information of the door. A first step of selecting a first space among a plurality of spaces included in the space-space phase map based on a previously stored space-space phase map; A second step of dividing the selected first space into a plurality of sector units; A third step of performing a cleaning operation for each sector of the plurality of divided sectors; A fourth step of checking whether there is at least one uncleaned space among the spaces included in the plurality of spaces after completing the cleaning operation for the first space; And And a second step of dividing the at least one uncleaned space into a plurality of sector units if at least one uncleaned space exists as a result of the checking, The second step comprises: Setting at least one rectangle of a predetermined minimum size size including all the cleaning areas of the first space; Dividing the set one or more rectangular ranges into a plurality of sector units; And A plurality of nodes each having a central point in a sector as a unique index are set for each of the plurality of sectors, An edge that is a border between adjacent sectors is classified into an exploded edge having both node information for both sectors or an unexplored edge having only node information for one sector In addition, In the third step, And establishing a sector-sector path plan for the segmented plurality of sectors based on the edge classification, The sector-sector path planning includes: Wherein the robot cleaner is set to have a minimum cost based on the cost given to the edge according to the position of the robot cleaner. 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the space- Converting the pre-stored CAD drawing into a bitmap image in a binary form; Extracting feature points included in the converted bitmap image; Detecting location information of a query included in the bitmap image based on the extracted minutiae; And And generating the space-space phase map based on the bitmap image, the minutiae point, and the position information of the door. delete 7. The method of claim 6, And controlling the traveling unit and the cleaning unit based on the established sector-sector path plan to perform a cleaning operation. 7. The method of claim 6, Establishing a space-space path plan for the plurality of spaces; And Performing a cleaning operation on the first space based on the established space-space path plan, and performing a cleaning operation on the un-cleaned space if the un-cleaned space exists, A control method of the robot cleaner. The method according to claim 6, Further comprising a sixth step of terminating the cleaning operation and moving to a predetermined initial position when the uncleaned space does not exist as a result of the checking. Establishing a space-space path plan for a plurality of spaces included in the space-space phase map based on the pre-stored space-space phase map; And And sequentially performing a cleaning operation on the plurality of spaces based on the established space-space path planning, The step of performing a cleaning operation on the plurality of spaces may include: Selecting a specific space among the plurality of spaces; Dividing the selected specific space into a plurality of sector units; Establishing a sector-sector path plan for the plurality of sectors; And And performing a cleaning operation for a plurality of sectors included in the specific space based on the established sector-sector path plan, Wherein the dividing into the plurality of sector units comprises: A plurality of nodes each having a central point in a sector as a unique index are set for each of the plurality of sectors, An edge that is a border between adjacent sectors is classified into an exploded edge having both node information for both sectors or an unexplored edge having only node information for one sector In addition, The step of establishing the sector-sector path plan comprises: And establishing a sector-sector path plan for the segmented plurality of sectors based on the edge classification, The sector-sector path planning includes: Wherein the robot cleaner is set to have a minimum cost based on the cost given to the edge according to the position of the robot cleaner. delete Selecting at least one space by user input among a plurality of spaces included in the space-space phase map displayed on the display unit; Establishing a space-space path plan for the selected at least one space; Dividing a first space of the selected at least one space into a plurality of sector units based on the established space-space path plan; Performing a cleaning operation for each sector of the divided sectors; After completion of the cleaning operation for the first space, checking whether there is a clean space in the at least one space; Performing a cleaning operation on another space included in the at least one space on the basis of the space-space path planning if the uncleaned space exists; And And if the uncleaned space does not exist, terminating the cleaning operation and moving to a predetermined initial position, Wherein the dividing into the plurality of sector units comprises: A plurality of nodes each having a central point in a sector as a unique index are set for each of the plurality of sectors, An edge that is a border between adjacent sectors is classified into an exploded edge having both node information for both sectors or an unexplored edge having only node information for one sector In addition, The step of performing the cleaning operation for each sector may include: Establishing a sector-sector path plan for the plurality of divided sectors based on the edge classification, and performing the cleaning operation based on the established sector-sector path plan, The sector-sector path planning includes: Wherein the robot cleaner is set to have a minimum cost based on the cost given to the edge according to the position of the robot cleaner.

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