KR20180080403A - Method for controlling of robot purifier using a life pattern - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided is a method for controlling a robot purifier using a life pattern, which can provide a user with a more agreeable environment. The method for controlling a robot purifier using a life pattern comprises: a life pattern recognizing step (a) of recognizing a user life pattern by a pattern recognition module (511) of a control unit (500) of a robot purifier, wherein the recognized life pattern includes time and unit spaces where a user is located; a step (b) of setting a traveling schedule of the robot purifier by a travelling setting module (513) of the control unit (500) so that the robot travels in the corresponding unit space at the time contained in the life pattern in the step (a); and a step (c) of performing air purification while a driving part (250) travels according to the traveling schedule set in the step (b).

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for controlling a robot cleaner using a living pattern,

The present invention relates to a robot cleaner control method, and more particularly, to a method for controlling a robot cleaner using a user's life pattern.

A robot cleaner is widely used in which a self-propelled robot performs a cleaning function. In addition, a robot purifier that performs the function of air cleaning by an autonomous robot is also being continuously developed after Korean Utility Model No. 20-0333880.

Unlike the robot cleaner, the robot cleaner does not need to run all the floor surfaces of the use space, but instead travels to a certain point in a unit space (for example, a room, a kitchen, a living room, etc.) The air cleaning is performed.

Whether or not air in the unit space needs to be cleaned can be determined by installing a separate indicator provided with an air quality sensor for each unit space (U.S. Patent No. 9,392,920), or by a robot cleaner without an indicator, And then determining whether air cleaning is necessary through the air quality sensor included in the robot cleaner itself (Japanese Patent No. 2005-111432).

On the other hand, unlike the robot cleaner, the robot cleaner is required to be located in the unit space used by the user and to purify the air in advance.

That is, when the floor surface is contaminated due to the user or other reasons, the robot cleaner may clean the robot cleaner after the robot cleaner cleans the unit space. However, If the space is preliminarily cleaned in advance, it is possible to further protect the respirator of the user, thereby further enhancing the effect as a purifier.

(Patent Document 1) KR 20-0333880 Y1

(Patent Document 2) US 9,392,920

(Patent Document 3) JP 2005-111432

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems.

Specifically, the robot cleaner does not passively pass air after the air quality deteriorates, but recognizes the life pattern of the user and confirms the space in which the user is going to stay, so that the robot cleaner runs in advance and air is cleaned to provide a more comfortable environment to the user And to provide a control method of the robot cleaner.

According to an embodiment of the present invention for solving the above problems, (a) a pattern recognition module 511 of a controller 500 of a robot cleaner recognizes a user's life pattern, A living pattern recognition step including a time and a unit space to be located; (b) setting a travel schedule of the robot cleaner so that the travel setting module 513 of the controller 500 travels in the unit space at a time included in the life pattern in the step (a); And (c) the driving unit 250 travels according to the traveling schedule set in the step (b) to perform the air cleaning.

The step (b) may further include the steps of: (b1) setting the travel schedule of the robot cleaner so that the travel setting module 513 travels in the unit space before the time included in the life pattern in the step (a) The method comprising the steps of:

The step (a) may further include the steps of: (a1) providing a room sensor S for each unit space, detecting whether or not the room sensor S is occupied with time, And recognizing the sensed time as a life pattern in the unit space.

In addition, the room sensor S is installed in an indicator provided for each unit space, and the indicator includes the room sensor S, the air quality sensor, and the transceiver unit, and the transceiver unit is connected to the robot cleaner, It is desirable to transmit information about the air quality and the air quality.

In addition, the step (a) may further include: (a2) generating a life pattern by inputting time and unit space through the terminal (T).

In addition, it is preferable that the time of the life pattern in the step (a) includes information on the day of the week and information on the time according to the 24-hour system.

The step (a) may further comprise: (a3) if the pattern recognition module 511 recognizes a plurality of unit spaces included in the same day and time as a life pattern, To the life pattern of the day of the week and the time of day.

After step (c), the pattern recognition module 511 identifies the unit space having the highest frequency in the life pattern for a week among a plurality of unit spaces, and docks the unit space identified through the terminal T And outputting to the recommendation space.

It is preferable that the pattern recognition module 511 outputs the life pattern through the terminal T after the step (a) and before the step (b).

According to the present invention, the robot cleaner moves in advance to the unit space expected by the user to stay in the air, rather than performing post-cleaning to passively move and clean the air after the air quality is lowered, Can be prevented in advance, and a more comfortable environment can be provided to the user.

Also, according to the present invention, the user can confirm his / her life pattern, and can manually set or change the traveling path of the robot cleaner.

Since the user can identify the unit space in which the user is staying the longest, the docking unit can be positioned in the space. In this case, since the robot cleaner can perform the cleaning function in the docked state, the battery use time can be shortened, which can also contribute to the battery life and durability extension.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a robot cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the robot cleaner.
FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the robot cleaner in which the method according to the present invention is implemented, and FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the robot cleaner.
5 is a conceptual diagram of a control unit of a robot cleaner in which a method according to the present invention is implemented.
FIG. 6 conceptually illustrates an example for explaining a living pattern in a method according to the present invention and a control method of a robot cleaner using the same.

There is a main facade where the air filtered by the robot cleaner is discharged. Hereinafter, this is referred to as "front ". Referring to Figs. 2 and 4, arrows are shown in the base portion, and the direction indicated by the arrow is the front. The opposite direction with respect to the front side is referred to as "back side ". 1 to 4 show the front and rear surfaces as well as the directions of the top and bottom surfaces.

The movement in the direction in which the "front" advances is referred to as "forward ", and the movement in the opposite direction is referred to as" backward ".

In addition, the "unit space" can be divided into a room (R1, R2, R3, etc.), a kitchen (K), a living room (L) have. It is to be noted that these compartments are merely illustrative and that the scope of the invention is not limited to these compartmentalized schemes.

Description of robot cleaner

1 to 4, a robot cleaner according to the present invention will be described in detail. 3 and 4 show an exploded perspective view, but some components such as a power member, a sensor, a battery, a board, and a cable mounted inside are omitted for the sake of explanation.

The robot cleaner according to the present invention can be divided into a cleaning unit 100, a traveling unit 200, and a docking unit 300.

The air purifier 100 functions to suck air, filter it, and then discharge it.

The main components of the cleaning unit 100 are protected by the upper cover 111 and the lower cover 112 and mounted inside.

The window lower cover 114 is located at a portion of the lower cover 112 which is to be coupled to the running part 200 and the window lower cover 114 is integrally formed with the window lower cover 114, The head 113 is positioned.

The outer protrusions of the gear head 113 are connected to the inner protrusions of the gear 222. Accordingly, the rotation of the cleaning unit 100 when the gear 222 rotates is possible. Further, the connector 225 passes the gear head 113 to supply power to the inside of the cleaner unit 100.

The guide fan assembly 120 is a part for cleaning the air.

The fan 121 of the guide fan assembly 120 receives power from a power member (not shown) and rotates to suck air from both sides to be filtered, and discharges the filtered air through the discharge grille 129 .

The portion where the discharge grill 129 is located constitutes the front surface of the robot cleaner. That is, the filtered air is discharged from the front surface of the robot cleaner according to the present invention. Of course, it is also possible that the discharge grill 129, which is an air discharge port, is located on the upper surface or the rear surface rather than on the front surface.

The air suction portion includes left and right guide fans 122, an air purifying filter 123, and a cover filter 124, respectively.

The cover filter 124 is a component exposed to the outside of the clean room 100 and includes a plurality of fine holes to primarily filter the air sucked and to protect the air clean filter 123.

The air purifying filter 123 may include any filter known in the art as a key component for filtering the inhaled air. For example, a deodorizing filter, a hepar filter, or the like may be included.

The guide fan 122 guides air passing through the air purifying filter 123 inward.

The driving unit 200 supports the washing unit 100 and performs an autonomous traveling function according to the condition, and is docked to receive power from the docking unit 300.

A body 210 is provided on the outer side of the traveling unit 200. The body 210 protects a battery, a board, a camera, a power member, various sensors, and the like mounted inside.

The display unit 211 is positioned on the front surface of the body 210. The display unit 211 outputs various information such as a charged state, a filter state, and a use mode.

A camera 216 is positioned on the rear surface of the body 210.

A ball bearing 221, a gear 222, an LED substrate 223 and a substrate cover 224 are provided on the inside of the traveling unit 200 and connected to the cleaning unit 100 by a connector 225. do.

The ball bearing (221) and the gear (222) allow rotation of the cleaner (100) on the driving part (200).

The gear of the gear 222 is rotatable by being connected to another gear (not shown) of a power member (not shown) inside the travel portion 200. The inside irregularities of the gear 222 are connected to the outside irregularities of the gear head 113 to rotate the cleaning unit 100.

On the LED substrate 223, a plurality of LEDs are positioned radially.

A substrate cover 224 is placed over the LED substrate 223 to protect it. A reed switch (not shown) is provided at one side of the substrate cover 224. A magnet is located in the gear 222, and a correct position can be confirmed by using a reed switch (not shown). It is also possible to use a microswitch or optical sensor to confirm the position.

The connector 225 is allowed to pass through the gear head 113 to a portion protruding toward the cleaning unit 100 when the cleaning unit 100 and the traveling unit 200 are engaged. A slip ring wire (not shown) is provided inside the connector 225 so that the cable connecting the traveling unit 200 and the cleaning unit 100 can be prevented from twisting even when the cleaning unit 100 is rotated 360 degrees, It is also possible to prevent the cable from being twisted by setting the forward rotation and the reverse rotation to be repeated without the slip ring wire.

As described above, the connector 225 connects the cleaner 100 and the traveling unit 200, prevents separation or departure of the cleaner 100 from the traveling unit 200, The center of the station 100 is maintained.

A base 230 is positioned on the lower surface of the traveling unit 200.

The base 230 is provided with a main wheel 231 for moving the traveling part 200 by an electrical signal of the driving part 250 and auxiliary wheels 232 for supporting the traveling part 200.

(Not shown) for switching the traveling direction of the robot cleaner may be further connected to any one of the main wheel 231 and the auxiliary wheel 232. [

The driving unit 250 receives power from a charged battery (not shown) and transmits power to the main wheel 231, although it is not shown in FIGS.

The base 230 is provided with a docking groove 233 into which the docking part 300 can be inserted and the main body connecting terminal 238 is provided in the docking groove 233. The main body connection terminal 238 can be connected to the docking connection terminal 308 of the docking unit 300.

The docking groove 233 is formed to face the rear surface of the robot cleaner.

The docking unit 300 receives electric power from the outside through a wire and supplies power to a battery (not shown) in the traveling unit 200 through the docking connection terminal 308.

The sensor may be provided in any one of the docking unit 300 or the traveling unit 200 and the identifier may be provided in the other. Thus, the distance between the docking unit 300 and the robot cleaner can be checked.

Meanwhile, the robot cleaner according to the present invention can transmit and receive information to and from an indicator (not shown) provided for each unit space.

The indicator is provided with a room sensor (S), an air quality sensor, and a transmission / reception unit.

The room sensor (S) senses whether or not the unit space is occupied, and the air quality sensor senses the air quality of the unit space.

The sensed presence of occupant and the air quality are transmitted to the robot cleaner. For example, the indicator provided in the living room L can detect whether or not the living room is occupied, and can detect the air quality of the living room and transmit the information to the robot cleaner.

When the transferred air quality is equal to or less than a preset reference value, the robot cleaner can be called to perform the air cleaning function of the corresponding space.

Information on whether or not a person is attending is used for life pattern recognition as will be described later.

The control unit 500 will be described with reference to FIG.

The controller 500 provided in the robot cleaner can transmit or receive information about whether or not the occupant is seated with the occupant sensor S provided in the unit space or provided with an indicator or without an indicator.

In addition, information can be exchanged with the terminal T used by the user.

The control unit 500 includes a pattern recognition module 511, a space sensing module 512, a travel setting module 513, and a database 519.

The pattern recognition module 511 recognizes the life pattern based on whether the occupant is sensed by the occupant sensor S or information input from the terminal T. [ Details will be described below.

The space detection module 512 detects and senses the space provided with the robot cleaner by unit space.

The travel setting module 513 sets the travel of the robot cleaner according to the recognized life pattern and transmits it to the drive unit 250 of the travel unit 200 so that the robot cleaner is driven.

In the database 519, recognized life patterns are stored.

Explanation of life pattern recognition and control method of robot cleaner using it

First, the pattern recognition module 511 of the controller 500 of the robot cleaner automatically recognizes the user's life pattern.

For this, as described above, the room sensor S is provided for each unit space, and the room sensor S senses whether or not the room sensor S is occupied with time, and the time when the room recognition module 511 detects the occupant It is recognized as a living pattern in space.

The perceived life pattern includes the time and unit space in which the user is located. Here, it is preferable that the time includes information on the day of the week and information on the time according to the 24-hour clock.

For example, it can be set as shown in the upper drawing of Fig.

Life pattern no.1: Monday from 0:00 to 6:00, room (R1)

Life pattern no.2: Mondays from 6:00 to 7:00, kitchen (K)

Living pattern no.3: Monday 17:00 ~ 18:00, Kitchen (K)

Living pattern no.4: Mondays from 18:00 to 21:00, living room (L)

Life pattern no.5: Monday 21st to 24th, room (R1)

In another embodiment, the user may manually input the time and unit space through the terminal T to set the life pattern.

On the other hand, if usage continues, a number of different life patterns can be recognized. In this way, when the pattern recognition module 511 recognizes a plurality of unit spaces included in the same day and time as a life pattern, the unit space having the highest frequency among the day and time is recognized as a life pattern of the day of week and time .

Next, the travel schedule of the robot cleaner is set such that the travel setting module 513 of the control unit 500 travels in the unit space at the time included in the life pattern. Accordingly, the driving unit 250 travels according to the set travel schedule to perform air cleaning.

Here, it is preferable to travel to the unit space before the time included in the life pattern. It is to purify air before user's use.

For example, referring to FIG. 6, the robot cleaner is moved to the kitchen K in advance at 5:50 on Monday for "Monday 6 to 7:00, kitchen K" in "life pattern no. 2" So that air cleaning can be performed.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the pattern recognition module 511 may output the life pattern to the user via the terminal T. [ The user may add, modify, or delete the life pattern using the terminal T. [

In another embodiment of the present invention, the pattern recognition module 511 may identify a unit space having the highest frequency in a life pattern for a week among a plurality of unit spaces, and output the unit space to the docking recommendation space.

Since the robot cleaner can perform the cleaning function while being docked in the unit space where the docking unit 300 is located, it is a function of recommending the unit space in which the user is most staying as the docking recommended space.

In the example shown in FIG. 6, the living room L will be recommended as a docking recommended space.

While the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the following claims. It will be appreciated that embodiments are possible. Accordingly, the scope of protection of the present invention should be determined by the claims.

100:
111: upper cover
112: Lower cover
113: Gear head
114: window bottom cover
120: guide fan assembly
121: Fans
122: Guide fan
123: Air clean filter
124: Cover filter
129: Discharge Grill
200:
210: Body
211:
216: camera
221: Ball bearing
222: gear
223: LED substrate
224: substrate cover
225: Connector
230: Base
231: The main wheel
232: Auxiliary wheels
233: Docking groove
238: Body connection terminal
250:
300:
308: Docking connection terminal
500:
511: Pattern recognition module
512: Space sensing module
513: Travel setting module
519: Database
S: House sensor
T: terminal

Claims (9)

(a) recognizing a user's life pattern by the pattern recognition module 511 of the controller 500 of the robot cleaner, wherein the recognized life pattern includes a time and a unit space in which the user is located;
(b) setting a travel schedule of the robot cleaner so that the travel setting module 513 of the controller 500 travels in the unit space at a time included in the life pattern in the step (a); And
(c) The driving unit 250 travels according to the traveling schedule set in the step (b) to perform air cleaning.
Control method of robot cleaner.
The method according to claim 1,
The step (b)
(b1) setting the travel schedule of the robot cleaner so that the travel setting module (513) travels in the unit space before the time included in the life pattern in the step (a)
Control method of robot cleaner.
The method according to claim 1,
The step (a)
(a1) A room sensor S is provided for each unit space. The room sensor S senses whether or not the room sensor S is occupied with time, and the time at which the pattern recognition module 511 detects the room occupant Recognizing it as a life pattern,
Control method of robot cleaner.
The method of claim 3,
The occupant sensor S is installed in an indicator provided for each unit space,
The indicator includes the room sensor (S), an air quality sensor, and a transceiver unit,
Wherein the transmission / reception unit transmits to the robot cleaner information on the occupancy of the unit space and the air quality,
Control method of robot cleaner.
The method of claim 3,
The step (a)
(a2) generating a life pattern by inputting time and unit space through the terminal (T)
Control method of robot cleaner.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the time of the life pattern in the step (a) includes information on the day of the week,
Control method of robot cleaner.
The method according to claim 6,
The step (a)
(a3) When the pattern recognition module 511 recognizes a plurality of unit spaces included in the same day and time as a life pattern, the unit space having the highest frequency among the days and time is selected as a life pattern of the day of week and time ≪ / RTI >
Control method of robot cleaner.
The method according to claim 6,
After the step (c)
The pattern recognition module 511 further includes a step of checking a unit space having the highest frequency in a life pattern for a week among a plurality of unit spaces and outputting the unit space identified through the terminal T to a docking recommendation space doing,
Control method of robot cleaner.
The method according to claim 1,
After the step (a), before the step (b)
Further comprising the step of the pattern recognition module (511) outputting a life pattern through the terminal (T)
Control method of robot cleaner.

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