KR20060100971A - Automatic traveling robot system having outer recharger and controlling method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

An autonomous mobile robot system having an external charging device of the present invention and a control method thereof include: an external charging device including two charging device recognition marks installed on both left and right sides of a power supply terminal and outputting a position recognition signal; And a sensor unit detecting signals output from the two charging device recognition labels. A sensor driver to rotate the sensor unit to detect a signal from all directions; The angle between the directions of the two recognition marks and the distance between the recognition marks are calculated according to the detection signal of the sensor unit and the rotation amount of the sensor driver, and a path from the robot to the charging device is calculated using the trigonometric function with the angle and distance. And an autonomous mobile robot configured to move the robot according to the control signal of the controller according to the path. It is a useful invention that simplifies the manufacturing process and lowers the production cost by allowing movement and filling.

Robot, autonomous movement, sensor, charging

Description

Automatic traveling robot system having outer recharger and controlling method

1 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of a robot system according to the present invention;

2 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a robot and an external charging device of the robot system according to the present invention;

3 is a view showing an embodiment of a charging device recognition mark of the external charging device shown in FIG.

4 is a view showing a reflector of the charging device recognition mark shown in FIG.

5 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a robot system control method according to the present invention;

6 to 8 is a schematic diagram showing a path calculation process to the external charging device of the robot system.

*** Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawing ***

100: robot (body) 110: control unit

120: sensor unit 121: ultrasonic sensor

122: infrared sensor 123: light sensor

130: sensor driver 131: sensor drive motor driver

132: sensor drive motor 141: battery charge detection unit

142: rechargeable battery 142: charging terminal

200: external charging device 210: charging device recognition label

211: light emitting portion 212: reflector

220: power supply terminal

The present invention relates to an autonomous mobile robot system composed of a robot having a rechargeable battery and an external charging device for charging the rechargeable battery. More specifically, the external charging device capable of detecting and moving a path to the external charging device with a simple configuration is provided. An autonomous mobile robot system having a and a control method thereof.

Recently, with the development of robot technology, many household cleaning robots, dog robots, surveillance robots, etc. have been marketed.

In general, the robot cleaner refers to a device that performs a cleaning operation of sucking dust and foreign substances from the floor surface while traveling by itself within a range of working areas without a user's manipulation.

The robot cleaner uses sensors to determine the distance to obstacles such as furniture, office supplies, and walls installed in a work area such as a house or an office, and uses the determined information to drive the robot cleaner so that it does not collide with the obstacle.

Such a robot cleaner has a battery installed to supply power for driving, and it is common to use a rechargeable battery that can be recharged and used again when power is consumed. Therefore, the robot cleaner is composed of an external charging device and a system to charge the rechargeable battery when needed.

However, in order to enable the robot cleaner to automatically return to the external charging device when charging is required, the location of the external charging device should be understood.

Conventional method for the robot cleaner to determine the location of the external charging device, the external charger generates a high frequency signal, the robot cleaner receives the high frequency signal generated by the external charging device according to the intensity of the received high frequency signal Find the location of.

However, the method of tracking the position of the external charging device according to the intensity of the detected high frequency signal may change the intensity of the high frequency signal due to external factors (reflected waves, disturbing waves, etc.), and if the intensity of the high frequency signal changes There is a problem that the robot cleaner does not correctly find the connection position of the external charging device.

Patent application 10-2002-0066742 filed in order to overcome this can recognize the position of the external charging device using the upper camera installed on the main body and the position recognition mark installed on the ceiling so that the robot cleaner faces the ceiling. The connection to the external charging device is always confirmed by using the bumper signal and the contact signal between the charging terminal and the power terminal.

However, the robot cleaner system is limited in the installation place of the external charging device. That is, there was a limitation that the external charging device can be applied only when the external charging device is installed in the area capable of recognizing the position recognition mark by the upper camera of the robot cleaner. Therefore, there is a problem that it is difficult to use when the area to be worked on by the robot cleaner is larger than the area where the position recognition mark can be recognized by the upward camera.

In addition, in order to provide a device for location recognition of a charging device, including a system for location recognition using a camera, it is expensive and complicated in the manufacturing process, resulting in an increase in robot manufacturing cost.

An object of the present invention for solving the above problems is to provide a robot with automatic charging technology with a simpler structure and a lower manufacturing cost to be commercialized robot with automatic charging technology.

The object as described above, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the external charging device including two charging device recognition mark and the power supply terminal is installed on the left and right sides of the power supply terminal to output a position recognition signal; And a sensor unit detecting signals output from the two charging device recognition labels. A sensor driver to rotate the sensor unit to detect a signal from all directions; The direction of the two recognition marks, the angle between the robot and the distance between the recognition marks are calculated according to the detection signal of the sensor unit and the rotation amount of the sensor driver, and the angle and distance from the robot to the charging device are calculated using the trigonometric function. A controller for calculating a path; And, the robot driving unit for moving the robot in accordance with the control signal by the path; An autonomous mobile robot composed of; It is achieved by an autonomous mobile robot system having an external charging device comprising a.

The autonomous mobile robot may include: a charging battery charged in contact with the power supply terminal and supplying power for driving the robot; And a battery charge detection unit for detecting a charge amount of the battery and applying a detection signal to the control unit when a charge amount of the battery is detected or less than a predetermined amount. It is preferable to further include.

Preferably, the charging device recognition label is composed of a plate-shaped light emitting unit and a conical reflector installed in contact with a vertex on the light emitting unit, and the plate-shaped light emitting unit is composed of an LED to output a pulse signal.

Preferably, the sensor unit is composed of an infrared sensor for detecting the position of the two recognition labels and an ultrasonic sensor for detecting the distance to the recognition label.

Preferably, the sensor driver rotates the sensor unit to the left and right, and the controller detects the direction of the recognition label and the distance to the recognition label using the maximum value by converting the AD signal detected by the sensor during the rotation time. .

The control unit calculates an angle between the direction from the robot to the charging device identification mark by using the rotation amount of the sensor driver between the position at which the output value of the infrared sensor becomes a predetermined level or more while rotating by the sensor driver. And calculating the distance to the charging device recognition label by using the output value of the ultrasonic sensor at a position where the output value of the infrared sensor becomes a predetermined level or more, and the distance between the charging device recognition label and the angle. The path from the robot to the charger.

On the other hand, in accordance with another embodiment for achieving the object of the present invention, an autonomous mobile robot including an external charging device having a charging device location mark and a power terminal and a robot body to charge the charging battery by moving to the external charging device. The system includes the steps of: a) checking a charge amount of the rechargeable battery and starting a moving mode with the charging device if it is determined to be less than a predetermined amount; b) driving the sensor driver and the sensor to rotate the sensor and sensing a pulse of the recognition mark; c) detecting the direction of the recognition label and the distance to the recognition label using the signal detected in step b); d) calculating a path using the distance and angle detected in step c); And e) driving the robot driver to move along the path; It is achieved by an autonomous mobile robot system control method comprising a.

Preferably, after performing step e), f) charging step; And g) moving to an initial position along the route when the charging is completed; It further includes.

Preferably, in the step c), the sensor is composed of an infrared sensor and an ultrasonic sensor, using the detection signal of the ultrasonic sensor to detect the distance to the recognition label, rotate and sense the pulse of the recognition label The detection signal of the infrared sensor is used to detect the angle between the directions to the recognition mark.

The infrared sensor rotates from side to side and senses the pulse of the recognition label, converts the sensed signal to AD, and detects the positions of the two recognition labels using the maximum value, and turns the sensor driver between the recognition labels. Preferably, the robot detects the angle between the two recognition mark directions in the robot.

According to the present invention, the position of the external charging device is detected using a rotating sensor without expensive equipment such as an autonomous mobile robot using a conventional camera or a high frequency transceiver and the path to the external charging device is calculated using a trigonometric function. In addition, since the process can be moved, the process can be simplified and the unit cost can be reduced.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the same elements in the figures are represented by the same numerals wherever possible. In addition, detailed descriptions of well-known functions and configurations that may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention will be omitted.

The present invention consists of an external charging device and a robot body to receive a pulse of the light emitting device using a charging device recognition label having a light emitting element and a rotating light receiving sensor to detect the position of the charging device recognition mark, using the robot By calculating the path from the main body to the external charging device, the robot body automatically moves to the external charging device to perform charging when it needs to be charged.

1 to 3, the autonomous robot system includes a robot, a charging device identification mark, and an external charging device.

The robot 100 includes a robot driver 150, a sensor unit 120, a sensor driver 130, a controller 110, a charge battery 142, a battery charge detector 141, and a charge terminal 143.

The robot driving unit 150 is composed of a motor 152 for driving the wheel installed in the lower portion of the main body and a robot driving driver 151 for driving the motor 152. The robot driving driver 151 rotates each motor for rotating the wheels in a forward or reverse direction according to a control signal of the controller 110. The running direction can be determined by controlling the number of rotations of the motor for rotating the respective wheels differently.

The sensor unit 120 includes an ultrasonic sensor 121, an infrared sensor 122, and an AD converter 123 for converting the output signals of the ultrasonic sensor 121 and the infrared sensor 122 for distance measurement or obstacle detection. Include. The sensor unit 120 is installed on the upper surface of the robot body so as to detect the positions of the charging device recognition marks 210a and b of the external charging device 200. The sensor unit 120 detects a pulse of the charging device recognition mark 210 while rotating by the sensor driver 130 to be described later. The ultrasonic sensor 121 emits an ultrasonic wave and detects a distance by using an ultrasonic signal that is reflected and input. The infrared sensor 122 receives light emitted from the charging device recognition mark 210 and outputs a detection signal. The detection signal of the infrared sensor 122 is input to the AD converter 123 and is converted to AD and then applied to the controller 110.

The sensor driving unit 130 includes a sensor driving motor 132 for rotating the sensor and a sensor driving motor driver 131 for driving the motor. The sensor drive motor 132 preferably uses a step motor. The sensor unit 120 is rotated left and right according to the control signal of the controller 110.

The charging battery 142 is installed on the main body and is connected to the charging terminal 143 installed on one part of the main body. Therefore, when the charging terminal 143 is connected to the power supply terminal 220 of the external charging device, the charging battery 142 is charged by a commercial AC power supply. That is, when the robot main body 100 is connected to the external charging device 200, the charging of the robot from the power supply terminal 220 of the external charging device 200 is connected to the power input through the power cord connected to the commercial AC power supply. It is supplied to the charging battery 142 through the terminal 143.

The battery charge detector 141 detects the charge of the rechargeable battery 142, and transmits a charge request signal to the controller 110 when the detected charge reaches the set lower limit level.

When the robot 100 main body waits in a state in which the robot 100 is connected to the external charging device 200 when the robot waits for work, it is possible to maintain the charging amount of the charging battery 142 within a predetermined range.

The controller 110 controls the elements of the robot. The control unit outputs a control signal to the sensor driving motor driver 131 to control the rotation of the sensor unit 120, and calculates the direction and distance of the charging device recognition mark 210 as described below, and the path to the charging device. And outputs a control signal to the robot driving motor driver 151 to move the robot along the path so that charging can be performed.

The controller 110 detects the direction of the charging device recognition label 210 by using the detection signal input when the sensing signal sensed while the infrared sensor 122 rotates left and right is AD converted. That is, when the infrared sensor 122 rotates from side to side, the sensing signal sensed by AD is applied to the control unit 110, and the control unit 110 detects the rotation angle of the sensor driver 130 in which the maximum value is detected among the result values. do. The rotation angle at which two maximum values are detected from the two charging device recognition labels 210 is detected so that the angle θ between the two directions is detected.

The controller 110 detects the distance to the recognition label 210 using the detection signal of the ultrasonic sensor 121. The distances Y and Z to the recognition labels 210a and b are obtained using the detection signal of the ultrasonic sensor 121 when the detection signal of the infrared sensor 122 is detected at a predetermined level or more.

In addition, the controller 110 may determine the angle θ between the directions in which the recognition label 210 is detected, the distances Y, Z to the recognition labels 210a and b, and the set charging device recognition label 210 as described below. The distance between the charging unit recognition mark 210 and the path to the charging unit recognition label 210 is calculated using the trigonometric function X.

The external charging device 200 includes a power supply terminal 220 and the charging device recognition mark 210. The power supply terminal 220 is connected to the power cord through an internal transformer and a power cable and is connected to the charging terminal 143 of the robot to supply power to the charging battery 142. The power supply terminal 220 is connected to a commercial AC power supply, and is installed at the same height as the charging terminal 143 of the robot.

The charging device recognition mark 210 is installed on the front of the main body of the external charging device so that the robot 100 can recognize the position of the external charging device 200 using the sensor unit 120. At this time, the charging device recognition mark 210 is preferably installed on both left and right sides of the power supply terminal 220 so that the robot 100 can be easily connected to the power supply terminal 220.

As shown in FIG. 2, the charging device recognition mark 210 includes a plate light emitting unit 211 and a conical reflector 212 installed on the plate light emitting unit 211 so as to contact a vertex. The light emitting unit 211 is composed of a predetermined number of LEDs and a cover for emitting the light of the LED, the conical reflector 212 is a lapping process after polishing a predetermined metal rod in a conical shape as shown in FIG. To form. It is preferable to use SM45C as the metal rod, and when using the reflector, the infrared detection distance is extended to 170 to 200 cm. The light emitting unit 211 preferably outputs a pulse signal at a predetermined cycle so that the light receiving unit can distinguish the disturbance from the signal.

Since the reflector 212 is formed in a cone shape and the vertices of the cone are installed to contact the cover of the plate light emitting unit 211, the light of the LED passing through the cover is reflected by the reflector and radiated in all directions by 360 °. In general, the light of the LED is emitted with a direction of about 30 degrees to the front, the reflector 212 extends a narrow range of the front 30 ° of the LED to 360 ° to detect the signal in any direction . That is, as shown in FIG. 3, the light output from the light emitter 211 travels upward in the direction of the arrow a and is reflected by the conical reflector 212 so that the light path is changed and then spreads in all directions.

Hereinafter, a process in which the robot 100 detects a path to the external charging device 200 and connects to the power terminal in the robot system will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7.

When a work instruction signal such as a cleaning task or a security task is input, the robot 100 performs the indicated task. When the battery charge detection unit 141 detects the battery charge from time to time and determines that the charge level is required, the battery charge detection unit 141 applies the charge request signal to the controller 110 and, when the charge request signal is input, starts the movement mode to the external charging device 200 ( S10). The charge request signal may be input by the user using an input device from the outside.

When the charging movement mode is started, the control unit 110 applies a control signal to the sensor driver 130 and the sensor unit 120 to perform sensing while the sensor unit 120 rotates left and right (S20). That is, when the charge request signal is applied to the control unit 110, the control unit 110 inputs a control signal to the sensor unit driving motor drive 131 and the sensor unit 120 to provide the sensor driving motor 132 and the sensors 121 and 122. ) Is driven. The charging device recognition mark 210 senses the pulse of the charging device recognition mark 210 by sensing the light while the LED of the light emitting unit 211 emits light at a predetermined cycle, and the sensor unit 120 rotates from side to side. . The signal output from the sensor unit 120 is applied to the AD converter 123 and is converted into AD and then input to the controller 110 (S30).

The control unit 110 determines the direction of the charging device recognition label 210 by using the signal of the sensor unit 120 that is AD converted and input (S40), that is, the rotation angle at which the maximum value of the sensed pulse is detected. Detect. Two directions are detected according to the number of charging device recognition labels 210. Then, the distance from the ultrasonic sensor 121 signal value to the charging device recognition mark 210 in the direction in which the maximum value is detected is obtained. Therefore, the angle θ between the charging device recognition labels 210a and 210b and the distances Z and Y to the charging device recognition labels 210a.b are detected based on the position of the robot 100.

Accordingly, the controller 110 may determine an angle θ between the charging device recognition label directions, a distance from the robot 100 to the recognition labels 210a and 210b, and a distance X between the recognition labels 210a and 210b. Obtaining the angles (α, β) between the robot 100 by using, the control unit 110 is the angle between the direction of the charging device recognition signs (210a, b) and the robot 100 detected in the step (α, The path from the robot 100 to the charging device 200 is calculated using β, θ), the distances Y and Z, and the distance X between the charging device recognition marks 210a and b (S50). .

The path may be derived using the trigonometric functions X / sinθ = Y / sinα, Ysinθ = Xsinα, β = 180 ° -α-θ as shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, and recognize the charging device close to the robot 100. When the angle β between the front cover 210b and the robot 100 is 90 °, when the angle β is greater than 90 °, the calculation is divided into cases smaller than 90 °.

When the angle β between the recognition mark 210b and the robot 100 is 90 °, as shown in FIG. 5, the robot 100 is positioned forward at a right angle to the recognition mark 210b, so that the robot is left X. / 2 That is, move to the left by 1/2 of the distance between the identification mark and move forward by the distance Y between the identification mark 210b and the robot to reach the charging device, and connect the charging terminal to the power terminal to charge the rechargeable battery. To be done.

When the angle β between the recognition mark 210b and the robot 100 is smaller than 90 °, as shown in FIG. 6, the position of the robot body 100 is a horizontal component between both recognition marks 210a and b. You can see the location. Therefore, when the movement path is calculated using the trigonometric function, the robot 100 may move to X / 2-Ycosβ to the left and move to Ysinβ to the front to reach the charging device.

When the angle β between the recognition mark 210b and the robot 100 is greater than 90 °, the robot 100 is positioned as shown in FIG. 7. When the path is calculated using the trigonometric function, the robot body 100 reaches the charging device when Ysin (180-β) moves forward X / 2 + Ycos (180-β) to the left.

The controller 110 drives the motor 152 by applying a control signal to the robot driving motor drive 151 according to the path when the path is derived through the operation in step S50 (S60). The controller 110 controls the robot driving motor driver 151 to change the rotation speed of the motor 152 so that the direction in which the charging terminal 143 of the robot 100 is located coincides with the driving direction. When the motor 100 is driven according to the control signal, the robot 100 moves to the charging device 200 while rotating the charging terminal 143 in the same direction as the driving direction of the path, so that the charging terminal 143 is the power terminal. Connected to 220, the charge is made to the rechargeable battery (S70).

When it is determined that the battery charge detection unit 141 is charged at a predetermined level or more by checking the battery charge amount (S80), the robot is reversed according to the path calculated in step S50 by applying a control signal to the robot driving motor driver 151. To be moved. When the robot is moved back to its original position, the robot continues its work.

According to the embodiment of the present invention described above, since the robot automatically calculates a path to an external charging device with a simple part and configuration, the robot moves and charges according to the path, thereby simplifying the process while reducing the number of parts of the product. Can reduce the production cost.

In the above, specific preferred embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made by any person having ordinary skill in the art without departing from the gist of the present invention attached to the claims. .

According to the present invention, it is possible to automatically calculate and move a path to an externally located charging device with a simple configuration without having complicated parts and sensors, such as an autonomous mobile robot, and to reduce the production cost by producing a charge. The effect is to simplify the process.

Claims (10)

An external charging device including a power supply terminal and two charging device recognition labels installed at left and right sides of the power terminal to output a position recognition signal; And A sensor unit detecting signals output from the two charging device recognition labels; A sensor driver to rotate the sensor unit to detect a signal from all directions; The angle between the direction from the robot to the two recognition marks and the distance from the recognition mark are calculated according to the detection signal of the sensor unit and the rotation amount of the sensor driver, and from the robot at the angle and distance using a trigonometric function. A controller for calculating a path to the charging device; And a robot driver for moving the robot according to a control signal of the controller along the path. An autonomous mobile robot composed of; Autonomous mobile robot system having an external charging device comprising a. The method of claim 1, The autonomous mobile robot may include: a charging battery charged in contact with the power supply terminal and supplying power for driving the robot; And a battery charge detection unit for detecting a charge amount of the battery and applying a detection signal to the control unit when a charge amount of the battery is detected or less than a predetermined amount. Autonomous mobile robot system having an external charging device further comprising a. The method of claim 1, The charging device recognition mark is an autonomous mobile robot system having an external charging device, characterized in that the plate-shaped light emitting unit and the conical reflector is installed in contact with the vertex on the light emitting unit. The method of claim 3, wherein The plate-shaped light emitting unit is an autonomous mobile robot system having an external charging device, characterized in that composed of LED to output a pulse signal. The method of claim 1, The sensor unit, an autonomous mobile robot system having an external charging device, characterized in that consisting of an infrared sensor for detecting the direction of the two recognition marks and an ultrasonic sensor for detecting the distance to the recognition mark. The method of claim 5, The controller controls the angle between the direction from the robot to the charging device recognition mark by using the rotation amount of the sensor driver between the position at which the output value of the infrared sensor becomes a predetermined level or more while rotating by the sensor driver. And calculating a distance to the charging device recognition label by using the output value of the ultrasonic sensor at a position where the output value of the infrared sensor becomes a predetermined level or more, and the distance between the charging device recognition labels, and the Autonomous mobile robot system having an external charging device, characterized in that for calculating the path from the robot to the charging device from the angle. In the autonomous mobile robot system comprising an external charging device having a charging device location mark and a power terminal and a robot body for moving the external charging device to charge the charging battery, a) checking a charging amount of the rechargeable battery and starting a moving mode with the charging device when it is determined to be less than a predetermined amount; b) driving the sensor driver and the sensor to rotate the sensor and sensing a pulse of the recognition mark; c) detecting an angle between a direction from the robot to the recognition mark and a distance from the recognition mark using the signal sensed in step b); d) calculating a path to the charging device using the distance and angle detected in step c); And e) driving the robot driver to move along the path; Autonomous mobile robot system control method having an external charging device comprising a. The method of claim 7, wherein After performing step e), f) charging step; And g) moving to an initial position along the route when the charging is completed; Autonomous mobile robot system control method having an external charging device further comprising a. The method of claim 7, wherein In the step c), the sensor is composed of an infrared sensor and an ultrasonic sensor, the infrared sensor for detecting the distance to the charging device recognition label using the detection signal of the ultrasonic sensor, rotates and senses the pulse of the recognition label Autonomous mobile robot control system having an external charging device, characterized in that for detecting the angle between the direction from the robot to the two recognition markers using the detection signal. The method of claim 9, The infrared sensor rotates from side to side and senses the pulse output from the recognition mark, and the sensed signal is converted into AD and input to the controller, and the controller uses the rotation amount of the sensor driver to detect two maximum values. Autonomous mobile robot control system having an external charging device, characterized in that for calculating the angle between the direction to the recognition mark.

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