KR20030013010A - External charging apparatus of robot cleaner and system employing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: An external charger and its system are provided to effectively return the external charger. CONSTITUTION: A loading portion(33) loads a robot cleaner by extending through a guide wall(32). The guide wall guides the entrance of the robot cleaner. A charging terminal portion(31) is formed in one side of the loading portion and contacted to a charging terminal of a battery in the robot cleaner when the robot cleaner is loaded in the loading portion. An upper guide member(36) is supported in parallel with the loading portion at the certain height from the loading portion. An upper guide mark(37) is formed in the lower face of the upper guide member to guide the entrance of the robot cleaner into the loading portion by using a photographed image through an upper camera(14). The entrance into an external charger(30) is adjusted by comparing the image of the upper guide mark and the present upper image when the robot cleaner finishes its operation or charges after separating from the charger. Thereby, the defective errors are reduced.

Description

External charging apparatus of robot cleaner and system employing the same}

The present invention relates to an external charging device for a robot cleaner and a system thereof, and more particularly, to an external charging device for a robot cleaner and a system for efficiently returning to an external charging device.

In general, the robot cleaner refers to a device that performs a cleaning operation of sucking dust and foreign substances from the floor while driving itself in a cleaning area to be cleaned without a user's manipulation.

The robot cleaner determines the distance to obstacles such as furniture, office supplies, and walls installed in the cleaning area through the sensor, and cleans the cleaning area while controlling the collision with the obstacle using the determined information.

The robot cleaner is provided with a battery for supplying power required for driving, and is configured to be charged with an external charging device when charging is required.

In order to automatically return the robot cleaner to the external charging device when charging is required, the location of the charging device should be known.

Conventional method for the robot cleaner to track the position of the charging device, the high-frequency signal generated from the external charging device, the robot cleaner receives the high-frequency signal generated by the charging device to position the charger according to the strength of the received high-frequency signal Find it.

However, in the method for tracking the position of the charging device according to the intensity of the detected high frequency signal, the intensity of the high frequency signal may be changed by external factors (reflected waves, jammers, etc.), and the charge of the high frequency signal may be changed. It may be difficult to pinpoint the docking position to the device.

The present invention was devised to improve the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide an external charging device for a robot cleaner and a system for efficiently performing the return to the external charging device.

1 is a perspective view showing a state in which the cover of the robot cleaner applied to the present invention is removed;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a robot cleaner system to which the robot cleaner of FIG. 1 is applied.

3 is a block diagram showing the central control device of FIG.

4 is a perspective view illustrating an example of the external charging device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a separation / return process from an external charging device of the robot cleaner of FIG. 1.

<Description of the reference numerals for the main parts of the drawings>

10: robot cleaner 11: reducer

12: sensor unit 13: front camera

14: upward camera 15: drive unit

16: Storage 17: Transmitter / Receiver

18: control unit 19: battery

20: battery charge detection unit 30: external charging device

31: charging terminal 32: guide wall

33: seating portion 34: seating groove

35: power cord 36: upper guide member

37: Guide Mark 40: Remote Control

41: wireless repeater 50: central controller

In order to achieve the above object, an external charging device for a robot cleaner according to the present invention includes an upper camera installed on a main body so as to capture an upper area, and a robot cleaner capable of performing a cleaning operation while communicating wirelessly with an external device. An external charging device, comprising: a seating portion formed to extend along a guide wall guiding entry and exit of the robot cleaner so that the robot cleaner can be seated; A charging terminal unit formed at one side of the seating unit and having a terminal installed at a corresponding position to be connected to a charging terminal of the battery of the robot cleaner when the robot cleaner is seated in the seating unit; An upper guide member formed to be supported in parallel with the seating portion at a predetermined height from the seating portion; And an upper guide mark formed on a bottom surface of the upper guide member so that the robot cleaner can be guided to enter the robot cleaner by using the image captured by the upper camera.

Preferably, the upper guide member and the guide mark are predetermined in the direction of the guide wall from a position opposite to the seat so that the upper camera of the robot cleaner can be imaged by a predetermined distance from the guide wall to the seat. The length is extended.

In addition, the said guide mark is predetermined length by the straight line strip | belt.

In addition, the robot system according to the present invention in order to achieve the above object is an external charging device, a battery installed on the main body so as to charge in combination with the external charging device, and the upper camera to capture the upper area is A robot cleaner system having a robot cleaner installed on a main body and configured to perform a cleaning operation while communicating wirelessly with an external device, wherein the external charging device extends along a guide wall that guides the entry and exit of the robot cleaner. A seating portion formed to allow the robot cleaner to be seated thereon; A charging terminal unit formed at one side of the seating unit and having a terminal installed at a corresponding position to be connected to a charging terminal of the battery of the robot cleaner when the robot cleaner is seated in the seating unit; An upper guide member formed to be supported in parallel with the seating portion at a predetermined height from the seating portion; And an upper guide mark formed on a bottom surface of the guide member to guide the robot cleaner to the seating portion, wherein the robot cleaner is stored with the image captured by the upper camera when the robot cleaner returns to the external charging device. The entrance to the seating portion of the external charging device is adjusted while comparing with the upper guide mark of the external charging device.

The robot cleaner includes a battery charge detection unit for detecting a charge amount of a battery installed on the main body so as to be coupled to the external charging device; And a controller configured to control a driving unit to control driving of the wheels to stop performing the operation and return to the external charging device when the charge request signal is received from the battery charge detection unit.

In addition, the control unit controls the drive unit to return to the external charging device when the operation is completed.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in more detail an external charging device and a robot cleaner system applying the same according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

1 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which a cover of a robot cleaner applied to the present invention is removed, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a robot cleaner system to which the robot cleaner of FIG. 1 is applied.

Referring to the drawings, the robot cleaner 10 includes a suction unit 11, a sensor unit 12, a front camera 13, an upper camera 14, a driving unit 15, a storage device 16, and a transmission / reception unit ( 17), a control unit 18 and a battery 19.

The suction part 11 is provided on the main body 10a so that the dust | floor of the floor which opposes while collecting air may be collected. Such a suction part 11 may be configured by various known methods. As an example, the dust collecting unit 11 includes a suction motor (not shown) and a dust collecting chamber for collecting dust sucked through a suction port or a suction pipe formed to face the floor by driving the suction motor.

The sensor unit 12 transmits a signal to the outside and the obstacle detection sensor 12a disposed at predetermined intervals around the side of the body to receive the reflected signal, and the mileage detection capable of measuring the mileage distance. The sensor 12b is provided.

In the obstacle detection sensor 12a, a plurality of infrared light emitting elements 12a1 for emitting infrared rays and light receiving elements 12a2 for receiving reflected light are vertically paired and arranged along the outer circumferential surface thereof. Alternatively, the obstacle detection sensor 12a may emit an ultrasonic wave, and an ultrasonic sensor configured to receive the reflected ultrasonic wave may be applied. The obstacle detecting sensor 12a is also used to measure the distance from the obstacle or the wall.

The traveling distance detection sensor 12b may be a rotation detection sensor for detecting the rotation speed of the wheels 15a to 15d. For example, the rotation detection sensor may be an encoder installed to detect the rotation speed of the motor (15e) (15f).

The front camera 13 is installed on the main body 10a so as to capture the front image and outputs the captured image to the controller 18.

The upper camera 14 is provided on the main body 10a so as to capture an image from above, and outputs the captured image to the control unit 18.

The driving unit 15 rotates two wheels 15a and 15b provided at both sides of the front, two wheels 15c and 15d and two wheels 15c and 15d at the rear, respectively. A timing belt (15g) is provided so as to transmit power generated by the motor (15e) (15f) and the rear wheel (15c) (15d) to be driven to the front wheel. The driver 15 independently drives the respective motors 15e and 15f to rotate in the forward / reverse direction according to the control signal of the controller 18. In the directional rotation, the rotation speed of each motor may be driven differently.

The transmitter / receiver 17 transmits the data to be transmitted through the antenna 17a and transmits the signal received through the antenna 17a to the controller 18.

The battery 19 is installed on the main body 10a so as to be charged through a battery charging power supply terminal (not shown) installed outside the main body 10a so as to be combined with and detachable from an external charging device (see FIG. 4). That is, as shown in FIG. 4, when the robot cleaner 10 is coupled with the external charging device 30, the external charging in which the power introduced through the power cord 35 that can be combined with the commercial AC power is interconnected. It is supplied from the power supply terminal 31 of the device 30 to the battery 19 via the charging terminal of the battery.

The battery charge detection unit 20 detects the charge of the battery 19 and generates a charge request signal when the detected charge reaches the set lower limit level.

The controller 18 processes the signal received through the transmitter / receiver 17 and controls each element. When a key input device (not shown) is further provided on the main body 10a in which a plurality of keys are provided for manipulating the function setting of the device, the controller 18 processes the key signal input from the key input device.

The controller 18 controls each element to wait while charging in a coupled state with the external charging device 30 during the non-working. When the non-working in the standby state coupled with the external charging device 30, it is possible to maintain the charge amount of the battery 19 within a certain range.

The controller analyzes the image captured by the upper camera 14 upon returning to the external charging device 30 after performing the work away from the external charging device 30 to smoothly enter and dock the external charging device 30. do.

An external charging device 30 for allowing the robot cleaner 10 to enter the external charging device 30 will be described with reference to FIG. 4.

Referring to the drawings, the external charging device 30 includes a seating portion 33, a charging terminal 31, and an upper guide member 36 which are integrally formed.

The seating part 33 is formed to extend along a guide wall 32 having a front open to guide the entry and exit of the robot cleaner 10, and a groove 34 is provided to allow the robot cleaner 10 to be seated. The groove 34 is formed on a position corresponding to the wheel 15 at the seating position.

The rear wall of the seating part 33 has a terminal at a corresponding position so that the robot cleaner 10 can be connected to the charging terminal of the battery 19 of the robot cleaner 10 when the robot cleaner 10 is seated at the seating position 33. (31) is provided. The terminal 31 is connected to the power cord 35 through an internal transformer and a power cable. Internal transformers may be omitted.

The upper guide member 36 is formed to be supported in a '-' shape in parallel with the seating portion 33 at a predetermined height that does not interfere with the robot cleaner 10 seated on the seating portion 33.

The length of the horizontal portion parallel to the seating portion 33 of the upper guide member 36 can be captured by the upper camera 14 of the robot cleaner 10 for a predetermined distance from the guide wall 32 to the seating portion 33. It is formed to extend a predetermined length in the direction of the guide wall 32 from the position opposite to the seating portion (33).

At the bottom of the upper guide member 36, a guide mark 37 is formed on the bottom surface of the upper guide member 36 so as to easily identify the image when the image is captured by the upper camera 14 so that the robot cleaner 10 can be guided to the entrance. . Preferably, the guide mark 37 is formed in black, and the remaining portion of the bottom surface of the guide member 36 is treated in white.

The robot cleaner 10 seated on the external charging device 30 receives an initial or work instruction signal so that the return to the external charging device 30 can be efficiently performed using the guide mark 37 information after the work is performed. When stored, the image of the guide mark 37 above the charging device 30 captured by the upper camera 14 in the state of being coupled to the external charging device 30 is stored in the storage device 16.

Here, the work request signal includes a cleaning operation or a monitoring operation through the cameras 12 and 14.

When the controller 18 of the robot cleaner 10 completes the indicated task or receives a charge request signal from the battery charge detector 20 during the operation, the movement trace information stored when the robot cleaner 10 is separated from the external charging device 30 and / Alternatively, the position and direction of the external charging device 30 may be calculated using the information of the peripheral image information captured and stored by the cameras 13 and 14 during the departure process, and the external charging device 30 may be used using the calculated information. The driving unit 15 is controlled to return to.

In the case of departure and return from the external charging device 30, the target position is determined using the current position recognized by the comparison of the travel distance measured from the encoder with the image captured by the current camera 13 and 14 and the stored image. It is preferable to control the driving unit 15 to track the driving route.

In addition, when the guide mark 37 is imaged from the upper camera 14 by almost reaching the external charging device 30, the entry into the seating portion 33 is adjusted by using the image information of the guide mark 37 which has been captured.

That is, when the robot cleaner 10 almost reaches the external charging device 30, the upper guide mark 37 is imaged on the upper camera 14, and the upper guide mark using the guide mark position information in the screen recognized and recognized. 37 enters while adjusting the forward trajectory to the seating portion 33 of the external charging device 30 so as to follow the set trajectory within the screen. As such, when the external charging device 30 is almost reached, the mounting error may be easily mounted using the image information of the upper guide mark 37 to reduce the docking error rate.

In the above description, an example in which the controller 18 directly analyzes the upper image and performs docking to the charging device by itself is described.

According to another aspect of the present invention, in order to reduce the operational processing burden for the control of the return to the charging device 30 of the robot cleaner 10, the image stored above the charging device 30 and the control of the return of the robot cleaner 10 to the outside. A robotic cleaner system is built to handle at.

To this end, the robot cleaner 10 is configured to wirelessly transmit the upper image captured by the upper camera 14 to the outside, and operate according to a control signal received from the outside, and the remote controller 40 controls the operation and charging. A series of controls, including return to device 30, control the robot cleaner 10 wirelessly.

The remote controller 40 includes a wireless repeater 41 and a central controller 50.

The wireless repeater 41 processes the radio signal received from the robot cleaner 10 and transmits the radio signal to the central controller 50 through a wire, and wirelessly transmits the signal received from the central controller 50 through the antenna 42. Is sent to the robot cleaner 41.

The central control unit 50 is constructed of a conventional computer, an example of which is shown in FIG. Referring to the drawings, the central control unit 50 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 51, a ROM 52, a RAM 53, a display unit 54, an input unit 55, The storage device 56 and the communication device 57 are provided.

The storage device 56 is provided with a robot cleaner driver 56a that controls the robot cleaner 10 and processes a signal transmitted from the robot cleaner 10.

When the robot cleaner driver 56a is executed, the robot cleaner 10 provides a menu for setting the control through the display device 54, and the menu item selected by the user for the provided menu can be executed by the robot cleaner. Process. Preferably, the menu includes a cleaning operation and a monitoring operation as a large category, and a plurality of menus that can be supported by a device to be applied, such as a work target area selection list and a work method, are provided as a sub selection menu for the large category.

When the robot cleaner driver 56a receives a work instruction signal through the input device 55 by the set work timing or by the user, the robot cleaner driver 56a is first coupled to the charging device 30 to wait for the upper camera 14 of the robot cleaner 10 to be waiting. The charging device upper image captured by the robot cleaner 10 is received from the robot cleaner 10, and the received charging device 30 upper image is stored in the storage device 56. Thereafter, the robot cleaner driver 56a controls the robot cleaner 10 so that the indicated work can be performed. The control unit 18 of the robot cleaner 10 controls the driving unit 15 and / or the dust collecting unit 11 according to the control information received from the robot cleaner driver 56a through the wireless repeater 41, and is currently the upper camera. The upward image picked up by 14 is transmitted to the central controller 50 via the wireless repeater 41.

When the battery charge request signal or the work completion signal is received from the robot cleaner 10 during the job control through the wireless repeater 41, the robot cleaner driver 56a corresponds to the location of the charging device stored in the storage device 56. By comparing the upper image information and the image received and received by the current upper camera 14 to track the position of the external charging device 30, the robot through the process as described above to return to the external charging device 30 The cleaner 10 is controlled.

Hereinafter, the charging device tracking process of the robot cleaner will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 5.

In the following description, the robot cleaner 10 is combined with the charging device 30 to be described as an initial state.

First, it is determined whether a work order has been received (step 100).

If it is determined that the work order has been received, the indicated work is performed (step 110).

Before performing the work instruction, an image including the guide mark 37 above the external charging device 30 may be captured and stored each time.

At the time of performing the operation, the cleaning device is driven to be separated from the charging device 30 first, and then the driving unit 11 is driven while driving the cleaning area. Alternatively, if a monitoring operation instruction has been received, the camera moves to the monitoring destination from the charging device 30, and photographs the area to be monitored with the cameras 12 and 14, and transmits or records it to the outside.

Next, it is determined whether the work is completed (step 120).

If it is determined in step 120 that the task has not been completed, it is determined whether charging is necessary (step 130).

If the operation is completed or it is determined that charging is necessary, a return to the charging position is performed (step 140).

As described above, the return trajectory is preferably calculated and adjusted using the driving trajectory information after the departure and the stored image information.

In operation 150, it is determined whether the charging position is an entry image from the upper image photographed during the restoration process. Here, the determination of whether the charging position is the entrance image is determined based on whether there is a part of the guide mark in the upper image currently captured when the external charging device 30 is almost reached along the return trajectory.

If it is determined that the currently captured image is not the charging position entry image, the robot 10 is driven for a predetermined distance (step 160).

Then, if it is determined that the currently captured upper image is part of the stored guide mark image, it is combined with the charging device by correcting the entry trajectory if necessary using the recognized guide mark image information (step 170).

As described so far, according to the external charging device and the system of the robot cleaner according to the present invention, the guide mark above the charging device stored when the robot cleaner is separated from the charging device when the indicated work is completed or when charging is required during the operation By comparing the image with the current upper image, the entry to the external charging device can be adjusted to reduce the coupling error to the charging device.

Claims (6)

In the external charging device of the robot cleaner which is installed on the main body so that the upper region can be captured to perform a cleaning operation while communicating wirelessly with the external device, A seating portion formed to extend along a guide wall guiding the entry and exit of the robot cleaner so that the robot cleaner may be seated thereon; A charging terminal unit formed at one side of the seating unit and having a terminal installed at a corresponding position to be connected to a charging terminal of the battery of the robot cleaner when the robot cleaner is seated in the seating unit; An upper guide member formed to be supported in parallel with the seating portion at a predetermined height from the seating portion; And an upper guide mark formed on a bottom surface of the upper guide member so that the robot cleaner can be guided to enter the robot cleaner by using the image captured by the upper camera. External charging device. The guide wall of claim 1, wherein the upper guide member and the guide mark are located at positions opposite to the mounting portion so that the upper camera member and the guide mark can be captured by the upper camera of the robot cleaner with a predetermined distance from the guide wall to the mounting portion. External charging device for a robot cleaner, characterized in that the predetermined length extends in the direction. The external charging device for a robot cleaner according to claim 2, wherein the guide mark has a predetermined length formed by a straight line band. An external charging device, a battery installed on the main body for charging in combination with the external charging device, and an upper camera installed on the main body for capturing an upper area, perform wireless cleaning while communicating with an external device wirelessly. In the robot cleaner system provided with the robot cleaner which became possible, The external charging device A seating portion formed to extend along a guide wall guiding the entry and exit of the robot cleaner so that the robot cleaner may be seated thereon; A charging terminal unit formed at one side of the seating unit and having a terminal installed at a corresponding position to be connected to a charging terminal of the battery of the robot cleaner when the robot cleaner is seated in the seating unit; An upper guide member formed to be supported in parallel with the seating portion at a predetermined height from the seating portion; And an upper guide mark formed on a bottom surface of the guide member to guide the robot cleaner to the seating portion. When the robot cleaner returns to the external charging device, the robot cleaner adjusts the entry of the external charging device to the seating part while comparing the image captured by the upper camera with the stored upper guide mark of the external charging device. Robot cleaner system. The method of claim 1, wherein the robot cleaner A battery charge detector detecting a charge of a battery installed on the main body so as to be coupled to the external charger; And a controller configured to control the driving unit to control the driving of the wheels to stop performing the operation when the charging request signal is received from the battery charge detection unit and to return to the external charging device. The robot cleaner system according to claim 5, wherein the controller controls the driving unit to return to the external charging device when the performing operation is completed.