KR20000002309A - Cleaning control device of robot cleaner and method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A control device of a cleaning for a robot cleaner is provided to improve the cleaning efficiency by maximizing the inlet power of an inlet motor in the place containing much dust by detecting the amount of dust inlet via an inlet pipe. CONSTITUTION: The control device of the cleaning for the robot cleaner comprises:a driving device(70) to control a movement of a driving robot(10); a detecting device of a driving distance(80) to detect the driving distance of the driving robot(10) moved by the driving device(70); a detecting device of obstructions(90) to detect obstructions; a control unit of the driving robot(100) to control the whole operation; a detecting device of the amount of dusts(110) to detect the amount of dusts inletted into the driving robot(10).

Description

Cleaning controller and method of robot cleaner

The present invention relates to a robot cleaner for cleaning while driving the cleaning area by itself, and in particular, the cleaning control of the robot cleaner which senses the amount of dust flowing into the cleaner and adjusts the suction power of the suction motor and the driving frequency of the robot cleaner to increase the cleaning efficiency. An apparatus and a method thereof are provided.

In general, the robot cleaner automatically cleans the cleaning area by suctioning foreign matters such as dust from the floor while driving the area to be cleaned without user's manipulation.

In the robot cleaner, when the user turns on the operation button, the left wheel and the right wheel in the robot cleaner are driven, and the robot cleaner starts to travel by itself and power is applied to the suction motor to drive the suction motor.

When the suction motor is driven, foreign substances such as dust on the bottom surface are sucked through the suction port by the suction force of the suction motor, and the foreign substances such as dust sucked through the suction port are collected in the dust collecting pack through the suction passage and are cleaned. Is performed.

By the way, in such a conventional robot cleaner, while driving the suction motor with a constant suction force while driving the cleaning area according to a preset program, it is possible to clean the place where there is little foreign matter such as dust, but where there is a lot of foreign matter such as dust. There was a problem that the cleaning efficiency is lowered because it can not be cleaned.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, it detects the amount of dust sucked through the suction pipe to repeat the dusty place many times while increasing the suction power of the suction motor to the maximum where there is a lot of dust. It is an object of the present invention to provide a cleaning controller and a method of cleaning the robot cleaner to increase the cleaning efficiency by running.

In order to achieve the above object, the cleaning control apparatus for a robot cleaner according to the present invention is a robot cleaner for collecting foreign substances, such as dust, sucked through a suction tube by suction force of a suction motor while collecting the dust in the dust collecting pack. A dust sensor for detecting the amount of dust sucked through the dust sensor, and comparing the amount of dust detected by the dust sensor with preset reference data to adjust the suction force of the suction motor and to control the driving operation of the robot cleaner. A control unit, driving means for driving the left and right motors so that the robot cleaner repeatedly runs a dusty place according to a control signal from the control unit, and a suction motor for driving the suction motor according to the suction force adjusted by the control unit. Characterized in that the drive portion.

In addition, the cleaning control method of the robot cleaner according to the present invention, in the cleaning method of the robot cleaner for collecting the foreign matter such as dust sucked through the suction pipe by the suction force of the suction motor while driving on the dust collecting pack, through the suction pipe A dust amount detecting step of detecting the amount of dust sucked and a dust amount discriminating step of determining the amount of dust where the robot cleaner runs by comparing the amount of dust detected in the dust amount detecting step with reference data preset in the controller And a suction force increasing step of increasing the suction power of the suction motor if it is determined that the amount of dust is large in the dust amount discriminating step, and a suction force reducing of reducing the suction power of the suction motor if it is determined that the amount of dust is small in the dust amount discriminating step. Characterized in consisting of steps.

1 is a front view of a robot cleaner according to the present invention;

2 is a plan view of removing the upper cover of the robot cleaner according to the present invention;

3 is a control block diagram of a cleaning controller for a robot cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention;

4 is a flowchart showing a cleaning control operation procedure of the robot cleaner according to the present invention;

<Explanation of symbols for main parts of the drawings>

10: traveling robot 14: suction pipe

16,18: Left and right wheel 20,22: Left and right motor

24, 26: Left and right encoder 32: Dust sensor

50: Handy Cleaner 54: Suction Motor

70: driving means 80: driving distance detection means

90: obstacle detection means 100: driving robot control unit

110: dust detection unit 140: cleaner control unit

150: suction motor drive unit

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

1 is a schematic front view of a robot cleaner according to the present invention, Figure 2 is a schematic plan view of the upper cover of the robot cleaner according to the present invention removed.

1 and 2, the robot cleaner according to the present invention includes a traveling robot 10 which allows the robot cleaner to drive the cleaning area by itself, and a handy cleaner 50 which sucks and cleans foreign substances such as dust. It consists of, the handy cleaner 50 is to be detachable to the traveling robot (10).

The traveling robot 10 includes a suction brush 12 for collecting foreign substances such as dust on the bottom surface, and a suction pipe 14 serving as a passage to transfer the dust collected through the suction brush 12 to a collection place. ), Left and right wheel motors 20 and 22 generating driving force so that the left and right wheels 16 and 18 for moving the traveling robot 10 switch forward, backward and left and right movements; Left and right encoders 24 and 26 for detecting a travel distance to the left and right sides according to the rotational speed of the left and right motors 20 and 22, and auxiliary wheels 28 for supporting the robot cleaner while allowing the robot cleaner to move freely. ), A wide sensor 30 comprising a plurality of infrared ray transmitting elements 30a and infrared ray receiving elements 30b, and the wide sensor 30 so as not to detect an obstacle in front of the traveling robot 10. Band switch 34 for detecting the obstacle that can not be installed, the suction Pipe 14 has a dust sensor 32 for sensing the amount of dust to be sucked through the suction pipe (14) is installed.

The handy cleaner 50 has a suction port 52 which is connected to the suction pipe 14 of the traveling robot 10 when coupled to the traveling robot 10, and a suction motor 54 which generates suction force to suck foreign substances such as dust. ) And a dust collecting pack 56 for collecting foreign substances such as dust sucked by the suction motor 54.

A circuit block diagram for controlling a cleaning operation of the robot cleaner configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. 3.

As shown in FIG. 3, the robot cleaner includes the traveling robot 10, the handy cleaner 50, and the handy cleaner 50 when the portable cleaner 10 is coupled to the traveling robot 10. It comprises a connector 60 consisting of a power connector 62 and a control signal connector 64 to electrically connect 50.

The traveling robot 10 may include driving means 70 for controlling forward, backward, left, and right movement of the traveling robot 10, and traveling of the traveling robot 10 moved by the driving means 70. Travel distance detecting means 80 for detecting a distance, obstacle detecting means 90 for detecting an obstacle located in front of the traveling robot 10 moved by the driving means 70, and the traveling distance detecting means ( Overall operation of the traveling robot 10 to receive the traveling distance data detected by the 80 and the obstacle detection data detected by the obstacle detecting means 90 so that the traveling robot 10 smoothly travels the cleaning area. The driving robot control unit 100 for controlling the control unit, the dust amount detecting unit 110 for detecting the amount of dust sucked into the traveling robot 10, and at the same time supplying the power required to drive the traveling robot 10 Handy cleaner 50 is coupled to the traveling robot 10 Through the electrical connector 62 of the connector portion 60 is receiving the power from external charging device 122 to supply power to the handy cleaner 50 consists of a battery 120 to be charged.

The driving means 70 includes a left wheel motor driving unit 72 for driving the left wheel motor 20 to move the robot cleaner to the right, and a right wheel for driving the right wheel motor 22 to move the robot cleaner to the left. The motor drive part 74 is comprised.

The traveling distance detecting means 80 generates a pulse signal that is proportional to the rotational speed of the left wheel 16 driven by the left wheel motor driving unit 72, that is, the rotational speed of the left wheel motor 20, thereby providing A pulse signal proportional to the rotational speed of the left wheel encoder 24 for detecting the traveling distance moving to the right and the right wheel 18 driven by the right wheel motor driver 74, that is, the rotation speed of the right wheel motor 22. It consists of a right wheel encoder 26 for detecting the traveling distance that the robot cleaner moves to the left.

The obstacle detecting means 90 includes a plurality of infrared ray transmitting elements 30a arranged horizontally and an infrared ray receiving element 30b for receiving reflected infrared rays reflected from the plurality of infrared ray transmitting elements 30a hitting an obstacle. A wide sensor (30) and a sensor driver (92) for driving the wide sensor (30) so that the wide sensor (30) can transmit infrared rays.

The driving robot controller 100 compares the amount of dust detected by the dust amount detecting means 110 with preset reference data and determines that there is a large amount of dust where the robot cleaner travels, the suction motor 54. While increasing the suction power of the maximum to generate a control signal for driving repeatedly in a dusty place many times.

The dust amount detecting means 110 is a dust sensor 32 made of a light emitting diode (LED) and a phototransistor (PT) to detect the amount of light that changes according to the amount of dust sucked into the suction pipe 14 of the traveling robot 10. ) And resistors R1 and R2 connected to the light emitting diodes LED and the phototransistor PT of the dust sensor 32, respectively.

In addition, the handy cleaner 50 is provided with a switch for on / off operation of the operation of the robot cleaner, the operation unit 130 for converting the switch operation by the user to the corresponding electrical signal, and the operation unit Control the overall operation of the handy cleaner 50 according to the cleaning start signal input from the 130 and at the same time start cleaning with the traveling robot control unit 100 through the control signal connector 64 of the connector unit 60. A cleaner controller 140 for outputting a signal, a suction motor driver 150 for driving the suction motor 54 to suck foreign substances such as dust according to a control signal from the cleaner controller 140, and the handy cleaner ( It is composed of a battery 160 that is charged by receiving power from the battery 120 of the traveling robot 10 through the power connector 62 of the connector 60 to supply the power required to drive 50. All.

Hereinafter, the effect of the cleaning control device and method of the robot cleaner configured as described above will be described.

4 is a flowchart showing a cleaning control operation procedure of the robot cleaner according to the present invention, in which S denotes a step.

First, when the user couples the handy cleaner 50 to the travel robot 10, the suction port 52 of the handy cleaner 50 communicates with the suction pipe 14 of the travel robot 10, and the connector 60 of the connector 60 is connected. Power lines of the traveling robot 10 and the handy cleaner 50 are connected to each other through the power connector 62, and the traveling robot 10 and the handy cleaner 50 are connected to the control signal connector 64 of the connector 60. Signal lines are connected to each other.

As described above, when the power supply lines of the traveling robot 10 and the handy cleaner 50 are connected to each other, power is supplied from the battery 120 of the traveling robot 10 to the handy cleaner 50 so as to carry out the handy cleaner 50. While the battery 160 is charged, power is supplied to drive the handy cleaner 50.

As described above, even when the handy cleaner 50 is detached from the traveling robot 10 as the battery 160 of the handy cleaner 50 is charged, the handy cleaner is powered by the power charged in the battery 160 of the handy cleaner 50. 50 can operate independently.

That is, when the user operates the operation unit 130 to input the cleaning start signal to the cleaner control unit 140, the cleaner control unit 140 controls the suction motor driving unit 150 to drive the suction motor 54 to perform a handy cleaner ( 50) is working.

On the other hand, when the user operates the operation unit 130 in a state in which the handy cleaner 50 is coupled to the traveling robot 10, a cleaning start signal corresponding thereto is input to the cleaner control unit 140, and thus the cleaner control unit (in step S1). 140 determines whether the cleaning start signal is input, and if the cleaning start signal is not input (NO), the operation of step S1 or less is repeated until the cleaning start signal is input.

As a result of the determination in step S1, when the cleaning start signal is input (YES), the process proceeds to step S2 and the cleaner controller 140 moves the control robot controller 100 through the control signal connector 64 of the connector unit 60. Outputs a cleaning start signal.

Therefore, the traveling robot controller 100 outputs a control signal for controlling the running of the robot cleaner to the driving means 70.

Accordingly, the left wheel motor driving unit 72 and the right wheel motor driving unit 74 of the driving unit 70 receive the control signals output from the traveling robot control unit 100 to receive the left wheel motor 20 and the right wheel motor 22. By driving, the left and right wheels 16 and 18 switch forward, backward, and movement to the left and right, and the robot cleaner starts to travel.

In this case, the left wheel encoder 24 generates a pulse signal proportional to the rotational speed of the left wheel 16 according to the driving of the left wheel motor 20, and outputs a pulse signal to the traveling robot controller 100, and in the right wheel encoder 26. A pulse signal proportional to the rotational speed of the right wheel 18 according to the driving of the right wheel motor 22 is generated and outputted to the traveling robot controller 100.

In addition, the plurality of wide sensors 30 arranged horizontally in front of the traveling robot 10 transmit infrared rays through the infrared transmitting element 30a, and the infrared rays transmitted from the infrared transmitting element 30a hit an obstacle. Receives the reflected infrared rays through the infrared receiving element 30b to detect an obstacle located in front of the robot cleaner moved by the driving means 70.

Therefore, the driving robot control unit 100 receives the pulse signals output from the left and right wheel encoders 24 and 26 to calculate the travel distance traveled by the robot cleaner, and detects the obstacle detected by the wide sensor 30. The robot cleaner cleaner receives the data to determine the output amounts of the left and right wheel motors 20 and 22 so as to smoothly travel the cleaning area without departing the cleaning path.

As described above, at the same time as the robot cleaner runs the cleaning area, the cleaner controller 140 outputs a control signal for driving the suction motor 54 to the suction motor driver 150.

Accordingly, the suction motor driver 150 drives the suction motor 54 according to a control signal output from the cleaner controller 140.

At this time, since the suction port 52 of the handy cleaner 50 communicates with the suction brush 12 through the suction pipe 14 of the traveling robot 10, the suction port 52 is sucked by a strong vacuum suction input driven by the suction motor 54. As foreign matters such as dust collected by the brush 12 are sucked through the suction pipe 14, the dust is collected in the dust collecting pack 56 through the suction port 52 of the handy cleaner 50 and is cleaned.

On the other hand, according to the amount of dust sucked through the suction pipe 14, the light generated from the light emitting diode (LED) of the dust sensor 32 is cut off to change the amount of light received by the phototransistor (PT), in step S4 The amount of dust sucked through 14 is detected by the dust sensor 32 installed in the suction pipe 14 and output to the traveling robot controller 100.

That is, when dust is not sucked through the suction pipe 14, the light generated from the light emitting diode LED of the dust sensor 32 is received in the phototransistor PT as it is and the phototransistor PT is turned on. When the phototransistor PT is turned on, since the low level voltage signal is input to the input terminal P1 of the traveling robot controller 100, the driving robot controller 100 determines that there is no dust in the current cleaning path.

On the other hand, when the dust is sucked through the suction pipe 14, the light generated from the light emitting diode (LED) of the dust sensor 32 does not hit or bump the dust particles change the amount of light received by the phototransistor (PT) Therefore, when the phototransistor PT is turned off or turned on, and the phototransistor PT is turned off or turned on, a high or low level voltage signal is repeatedly input to the input terminal P1 of the traveling robot controller 100. The driving robot controller 100 detects the amount of dust in the current cleaning path according to the input high or low signal period.

Therefore, in step S5, the traveling robot control unit 100 determines whether the detected amount of dust is larger than the preset reference data, and if the amount of detected dust is larger than the reference data (YES), the current cleaning is performed. After determining that there is a lot of dust in the path, the control unit 100 moves to the left and right motor driving units 72 and 74 to drive the left and right motors 20 and 22 to determine where there is much dust. Run repeatedly several times.

At the same time, the driving robot control unit 100 outputs a suction force increase signal to the cleaner control unit 140 through the control signal connector 64 in step S7.

Accordingly, the cleaner controller 140 controls the suction motor driver 150 to increase the suction power of the suction motor 54 to the maximum (a predetermined value according to the program), thereby increasing the cleaning efficiency.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S5 that the detected amount of dust is not larger than the reference data (NO), it is determined that there is less dust in the current cleaning path, and the process of controlling the robot proceeds to step S8. The suction force reduction signal is output to the cleaner controller 140 through the control signal connector 64.

Therefore, the cleaner controller 140 may control the suction motor driver 150 to reduce the suction power of the suction motor 54, thereby reducing the power consumption of the suction motor 54, thereby achieving a power saving effect.

Subsequently, in step S9, the robot cleaner finishes the driving of the cleaning area and determines whether the cleaning is completed. If the cleaning is not completed (NO), the robot cleaner returns to the step S2 and the robot cleaner is cleaned until the cleaning is completed. Steps S2 and below are repeated to perform cleaning while traveling in the area.

As a result of the determination in step S9, when the cleaning is completed (YES), the process proceeds to step S10 and the traveling robot control unit 100 controls the left and right motor driving units 72 and 74 to control the left and right motors 20 and 22. ) And at the same time outputs a cleaning completion signal to the cleaner control unit 140 through the control signal connector (64).

Accordingly, the cleaner controller 140 controls the suction motor driver 150 to stop the suction motor 54 and the cleaning operation of the robot cleaner is terminated.

According to the cleaning control apparatus and method of the robot cleaner according to the present invention as described above, by detecting the amount of dust sucked through the suction pipe and repeated a number of times while increasing the suction power of the suction motor to the maximum where there is a lot of dust. By running, the cleaning efficiency is increased.

Claims (3)

In the robot cleaner which collects the foreign matter such as dust, which is sucked through the suction pipe by the suction power of the suction motor while driving by itself, in the dust collecting pack, A dust sensor for detecting an amount of dust sucked through the suction pipe; A control unit for controlling the driving operation of the robot cleaner while controlling the suction force of the suction motor by comparing the amount of dust detected by the dust sensor with preset reference data; Drive means for driving the left and right wheel motors so that the robot cleaner repeatedly drives a dusty place according to a control signal from the controller; Cleaning controller of the robot cleaner, characterized in that the suction motor driving unit for driving the suction motor in accordance with the suction force adjusted by the control unit. In the cleaning method of the robot cleaner which collects the foreign matter such as dust which is sucked through the suction pipe by the suction power of the suction motor to the dust collecting pack while driving by itself, A dust amount sensing step of detecting an amount of dust sucked through the suction pipe; A dust amount discrimination step of determining the amount of dust where the robot cleaner runs by comparing the amount of dust detected in the dust amount detection step with reference data preset in the controller; A suction power increasing step of increasing the suction power of the suction motor when it is determined that the amount of dust is large in the dust amount discriminating step; And a suction force reduction step of reducing the suction force of the suction motor when it is determined that the amount of dust is small in the dust amount discrimination step. The method of claim 2, And when the amount of dust is determined in the dust amount discriminating step, driving the left and right motors in the control unit so that the robot cleaner repeatedly runs to a place with a lot of dust.