KR20230126868A - A robot cleaner and control method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

A robot cleaner according to the present invention includes a traveling unit for moving a main body, a cleaning unit for performing a cleaning function, a sensing unit for detecting the surrounding environment of a cleaning area, and a wall based on information on a distance to an obstacle, and a wall located on the wall. and a control unit for extracting a passage and defining the wall passage as a virtual wall or a general passage according to the size of the wall passage.

Description

Robot cleaner and control method of robot cleaner {A ROBOT CLEANER AND CONTROL METHOD THEREOF}

The present invention relates to a robot cleaner and a control method of the robot cleaner, and relates to a technique for efficiently cleaning a cleaning area without a map.

Robots have been developed for industrial use and have been in charge of a part of factory automation.

In recent years, the field of application of robots has been further expanded, and medical robots, space robots, etc. have been developed, and household robots that can be used at home are also being made. Among these robots, those capable of driving on their own are called mobile robots. A typical example of a mobile robot used at home is a robot vacuum cleaner.

Various technologies are known for sensing an environment around the robot cleaner and a user through various sensors provided in the robot cleaner. In addition, technologies are known in which a robot cleaner learns and maps a cleaning area by itself and determines a current location on a map. A robot cleaner that cleans while driving in a cleaning area in a preset manner is known.

In addition, in the prior art (Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2017-0003764), a map (grid map) for a cleaning area is processed into a form that is easy for users to check (eg, outline change), and a cleaning command input through the map is processed. According to the above, a method for cleaning a cleaning area is disclosed.

On the other hand, in the prior art (Korean Patent Registration No. 10-1629649), as a control method of a robot cleaner, images of the surroundings are obtained while driving in a cleaning area, and based on the acquired images, each room is divided according to a rule set for each room. A technique for obtaining feature distributions, acquiring images of the surroundings at the current location, obtaining a comparison group by applying the image at the current location and a rule for each room, and determining the room at the current location of the vacuum cleaner by comparing the comparison group and the feature distribution for each room. has been initiated.

According to the prior art, in the case of cleaning a new cleaning area without a map, the boundary of the cleaning area is identified while performing wall-following driving along the wall at the corner. When exists, even a small passage due to the passage of the wall is treated as a general passage or space, and the cleaning area is divided into a plurality of areas to be cleaned.

Therefore, it is necessary to efficiently clean one area. However, if the area is divided into multiple areas for cleaning, one area cannot be cleaned at once, and the vacuum cleaner repeatedly travels back and forth, reducing the cleaning efficiency and increasing the cleaning time. do.

Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 10-2017-0003764 (published date: July 18, 2018) Korean Registered Patent No. 10-1629649 (Publication date: June 7, 2016)

A first object of the present invention is to provide a robot cleaner that efficiently divides and cleans a cleaning area.

Meanwhile, a second task is to provide a robot cleaner capable of classifying a wall passage into a virtual wall or a general passage depending on the size.

A robot cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a traveling unit for moving a main body, a cleaning unit for performing a cleaning function, a sensing unit for detecting the surrounding environment of a cleaning area, and a wall based on distance information from an obstacle, and the wall. and a controller for extracting the located wall passage and defining the wall passage as a virtual wall or a general passage according to the size of the wall passage.

Here, the control unit may extract the wall passage while causing the main body to wall-following driving.

The control unit may extract the wall passage while driving the main body.

When the main body encounters the virtual wall during the wall following driving, the control unit may control the wall following driving along the virtual wall.

The control unit may control the main body to treat the virtual wall as an obstacle and avoid it while cleaning.

After the cleaning of the cleaning area is completed, the control unit treats the virtual wall as a general passage and controls the main body to pass therethrough.

The controller may create a map of the cleaning area and register the virtual wall as a boundary of the cleaning area on the map.

After the cleaning of the cleaning area is completed, the control unit may change the virtual wall to a general passage on the map.

The control unit may define the virtual wall when the size of the wall passage is smaller than a reference value, and define the general passage when the size of the wall passage is greater than or equal to the reference value.

The control unit may extract the size and shape of the cleaning area based on the boundary, divide the main body into sectors according to the size of the cleaning area, and control the cleaning area for each sector.

In addition, the control method of the present invention includes an extraction step of extracting a wall and a wall passage located on the wall based on distance information to the obstacle; a definition step of defining the extracted wall passage as a virtual wall or a general passage according to the size of the extracted wall passage; and a traveling step in which the main body travels in a traveling method corresponding to the virtual wall and the general passage.

In the defining step, the wall passage may be defined as the virtual wall when the size of the wall passage is smaller than the reference value, and defined as the general passage when the size of the wall passage is greater than or equal to the reference value.

The extracting step may be performed while the main body is traveling or wall-following.

In addition, the present invention may further include a map generating step of generating a map of the cleaning area and registering the virtual wall or the general passage in the map.

In the driving step, the main body may perform wall-following driving along the virtual wall while wall-following driving.

Through the above solution, the present invention has advantages of efficiently setting a cleaning area, thereby reducing cleaning time and reducing energy consumption of the cleaner.

In addition, in determining the boundary of the cleaning area, the present invention treats a small passage of the wall as a virtual wall and treats a large passage as a general passage, so that the robot cleaner passes through the small passage of the wall to clean inefficiently. has the advantage of preventing

In addition, the present invention has an advantage that when moving to another cleaning area after completing cleaning of the cleaning area, the virtual wall is treated as a general passage again, so that the robot cleaner can move to another cleaning area and continue cleaning.

1 is a perspective view illustrating a robot cleaner 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention and a charging stand for charging the robot cleaner.
2 is an elevational view of the robot cleaner of FIG. 1 viewed from above.
3 is an elevational view of the robot cleaner of FIG. 1 viewed from the front;
4 is an elevational view of the robot cleaner of FIG. 1 viewed from a lower side.
FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a control relationship between major components of the robot cleaner of FIG. 1 .
6 is a diagram showing a map for explaining the wall and the wall passage of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a view showing a map in which wall passages in FIG. 6 are registered as virtual walls and general passages.
8A to 8C are diagrams illustrating a process of setting a cleaning area and moving to another cleaning area.
9 is a flowchart illustrating a control method of a robot cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In the relative comparison expressed linguistically/mathematically throughout this description, 'less than or equal to (less than)' and 'less than (less than)' are degrees that can be easily substituted for each other from the point of view of a person skilled in the art, and 'greater than or equal to' (more)' and 'greater than (exceeding)' are degrees that can be easily substituted for each other from the standpoint of a person skilled in the art, and it is of course that there is no problem in exerting the effect even if they are substituted in implementing the present invention.

The mobile robot 100 of the present invention refers to a robot capable of moving by itself using wheels and the like, and may be a home helper robot and a robot vacuum cleaner.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 5 , the robot cleaner 100 among mobile robots will be described as an example, but is not limited thereto.

The robot cleaner 100 includes a body 110. Hereinafter, in defining each part of the main body 110, the part facing the ceiling in the driving area is defined as the upper part (see FIG. 2), and the part facing the floor in the driving area is defined as the bottom part (see FIG. 4). And, of the part forming the circumference of the body 110 between the upper and lower surfaces, the part facing the driving direction is defined as the front part (see FIG. 3). In addition, a portion facing the opposite direction to the front portion of the main body 110 may be defined as a rear portion. The main body 110 may include a case 111 forming a space in which various parts constituting the robot cleaner 100 are accommodated.

The robot cleaner 100 includes a sensing unit 130 that senses a surrounding situation. The sensing unit 130 may detect information outside the robot cleaner 100 . The sensing unit 130 detects users around the robot cleaner 100 . The sensing unit 130 may detect objects around the robot cleaner 100 .

The sensing unit 130 may detect information about the cleaning area. The sensing unit 130 may detect obstacles such as walls, furniture, and cliffs on the driving surface. The sensing unit 130 may detect information about the ceiling. The sensing unit 130 may include an object placed on the driving surface and/or an external upper object. The external upper object may include a ceiling or a lower surface of furniture disposed in an upward direction of the robot cleaner 100 . The robot cleaner 100 may map a cleaning area through information detected by the sensing unit 130 .

The sensing unit 130 may detect information about a user around the robot cleaner 100 . The sensing unit 130 may detect the location information of the user. The location information may include direction information about the robot cleaner 100. The location information may include distance information between the robot cleaner 100 and the user. The sensing unit 130 may detect a direction of the user toward the robot cleaner 100 . The sensing unit 130 may detect a distance between the user and the robot cleaner 100 .

The location information may be directly obtained by detection of the sensing unit 130 or may be obtained through processing by the control unit 140 .

The sensing unit 130 may include an image sensing unit 135 that senses a surrounding image. The image sensor 135 may detect an image in a specific direction with respect to the robot cleaner 100 . For example, the image sensor 135 may detect an image in front of the robot cleaner 100 . The image detector 135 captures the driving area and may include a digital camera. The digital camera is an image sensor (eg, CMOS image sensor) including at least one optical lens and a plurality of photodiodes (eg, pixels) forming images by light passing through the optical lens. and a digital signal processor (DSP) that composes an image based on the signals output from the photodiodes. The digital signal processor can generate not only still images, but also moving images composed of frames composed of still images.

The sensing unit 130 may include a distance sensing unit 131 that detects a distance to a wall around it. The distance between the robot cleaner 100 and the surrounding walls may be detected through the distance sensor 131 . The distance detector 131 detects the distance to the user in a specific direction of the robot cleaner 100 . The distance sensor 131 may include a camera, an ultrasonic sensor, an IR (infrared ray) sensor, or a LIDAR sensor.

The distance sensor 131 may be disposed on the front part of the main body 110 or may be disposed on the side part.

The distance detector 131 may detect surrounding obstacles. A plurality of distance detectors 131 may be provided.

The sensing unit 130 may include a cliff detection unit 132 that detects whether a cliff exists on the floor in the driving area. A plurality of cliff detection units 132 may be provided.

The sensing unit 130 may further include a lower image sensor 137 that acquires an image of the floor.

The robot cleaner 100 includes a driving unit 160 that moves the main body 110 . The driving part 160 moves the main body 110 with respect to the floor. The driving unit 160 may include at least one driving wheel 166 for moving the main body 110 . The driving unit 160 may include a driving motor. The driving wheels 166 may be provided on the left and right sides of the main body 110, respectively, and are hereinafter referred to as a left wheel 166(L) and a right wheel 166(R), respectively.

The left wheel 166(L) and the right wheel 166(R) may be driven by a single drive motor, but the left wheel drive motor and the right wheel 166(R) driving the left wheel 166(L) as needed ) may be provided respectively with a right wheel drive motor for driving. The driving direction of the main body 110 can be switched to the left or right by making a difference between the rotation speeds of the left wheel 166 (L) and the right wheel 166 (R).

The robot cleaner 100 includes a cleaner 180 that performs a cleaning function.

The robot cleaner 100 may clean the floor by the cleaner 180 while moving in the cleaning area. The cleaning unit 180 includes a suction device for sucking foreign substances, brushes 184 and 185 for sweeping, a dust bin (not shown) for storing foreign substances collected by the suction device or brush, and/or a mop unit for wiping. (not shown) and the like.

A suction hole 180h through which air is sucked may be formed on the bottom of the main body 110 . In the main body 110, a suction device (not shown) that provides suction power so that air can be sucked through the suction hole 180h, and a dust bin (not shown) that collects dust sucked together with the air through the suction hole 180h. may be provided.

An opening for insertion and removal of the dust bin may be formed in the case 111 , and a dust box cover 112 that opens and closes the opening may be rotatably provided with respect to the case 111 .

A roll-type main brush 184 having brushes exposed through the suction port 180h, and an auxiliary brush 185 located on the front side of the bottom surface of the main body 110 and having a brush made of a plurality of wings extending radially may be provided. The rotation of the brushes 184 and 185 removes dust from the floor in the driving area, and the dust separated from the floor is sucked through the suction port 180h and collected in the dust bin.

The battery 138 may supply not only the driving motor, but also power necessary for the overall operation of the robot cleaner 100. When the battery 138 is discharged, the robot cleaner 100 may return to the charging station 200 for charging. can detect

The charging station 200 may include a signal transmission unit (not shown) that transmits a predetermined return signal. The return signal may be an ultrasonic signal or an infrared signal, but is not necessarily limited thereto.

On the other hand, the image sensor 135 is provided on the upper surface of the main body 110 to obtain an image of the ceiling in the blue area, but the location and shooting range of the image sensor 135 are not necessarily limited thereto. . For example, the image sensor 135 may be provided to obtain an image of the front of the main body 110 .

In addition, the robot cleaner 100 may further include a manipulation unit (not shown) capable of inputting On/Off or various commands.

Referring to FIG. 5 , the robot cleaner 100 includes a storage unit 150 for storing various data. Various data necessary for controlling the robot cleaner 100 may be recorded in the storage unit 150 . The storage unit 150 may include a volatile or non-volatile recording medium. The recording medium stores data that can be read by a microprocessor, and includes Hard Disk Drive (HDD), Solid State Disk (SSD), Silicon Disk Drive (SDD), ROM, RAM, CD-ROM, magnetic tapes, floppy disks, optical data storage devices, and the like.

A map of the cleaning area may be stored in the storage unit 150 . The map may be input by an external terminal capable of exchanging information with the robot cleaner 100 through wired or wireless communication, or may be generated by the robot cleaner 100 through self-learning. In the former case, examples of the external terminal include a remote control, a PDA, a laptop, a smart phone, a tablet, etc. loaded with an application for setting a map.

Locations of a plurality of nodes corresponding to a plurality of points in the cleaning area (one-to-one correspondence) may be displayed on the map. Each area within the cleaning area may be displayed on the map. Also, the current location of the robot cleaner 100 may be displayed on the map. The current location of the robot cleaner 100 on the map may be updated during driving.

The driving displacement measurer 165 may measure the driving displacement based on the image acquired by the image sensor 135 . The traveling displacement is a concept including the moving direction and the moving distance of the robot cleaner 100 . For example, the driving displacement measurer 165 may measure the driving displacement by comparing successive pixels of the floor image that vary according to the continuous movement of the robot cleaner 100 .

Also, the driving displacement measuring unit 165 may measure the driving displacement of the robot cleaner 100 based on the operation of the driving unit 160 . For example, the controller 140 may measure the current or past moving speed of the robot cleaner 100, the distance traveled, etc. based on the rotational speed of the driving wheel 136, and each driving wheel 136 (L ), the current or past direction change process can also be measured according to the direction of rotation of 136(R)).

The driving displacement measurement unit 165 may measure the driving displacement using at least one of the distance sensor 131 and the image sensor 135 .

The controller 140 may recognize the location of the robot cleaner 100 on the map based on the measured driving displacement.

The transmission unit 170 may transmit information about the robot cleaner to other robot cleaners or a central server. The receiving unit 190 may receive information from other robot cleaners or a central server. Information transmitted by the transmitter 170 or information received by the receiver 190 may include configuration information of the robot cleaner.

The robot cleaner 100 includes a controller 140 that processes and determines various types of information. The controller 140 may perform information processing to learn the cleaning area. The controller 140 may perform information processing for recognizing a current location on the map. The control unit 140 includes various components constituting the robot cleaner 100 (eg, the driving displacement measuring unit 165, the distance sensing unit 131, the image sensing unit 135, the driving unit 160, and the transmitting unit). 170, receiver 190, etc.), it is possible to control the overall operation of the robot cleaner 100.

The control method according to this embodiment may be performed by the control unit 140 . The present invention may be a control method of the robot cleaner 100, or may be a robot cleaner 100 including a controller 140 that performs the control method. The present invention may be a computer program including each step of the control method, or a recording medium on which a program for implementing the control method by a computer is recorded. The 'recording medium' refers to a computer-readable recording medium. The present invention may be a mobile robot control system including both hardware and software.

The controller 140 of the robot cleaner 100 processes and determines various information such as mapping and/or recognizing a current location. The control unit 140 may map the cleaning area through the image and learning and be capable of recognizing the current location on the map. That is, the controller 140 may perform a Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) function.

The controller 140 may control driving of the driving unit 160 . The controller 140 may control the operation of the cleaner 180 .

The robot cleaner 100 includes a storage unit 150 for storing various data. The storage unit 150 records various information necessary for controlling the robot cleaner 100, and may include a volatile or non-volatile recording medium.

The input unit 171 may receive On/Off or various commands. The input unit 171 may include a button, key, or touch type display. The input unit 171 may include a microphone for voice recognition.

The output unit 173 may inform the user of various types of information. The output unit 173 may include a speaker and/or a display.

A real cleaning area may correspond to a cleaning area on the map. The cleaning area may be defined as a sum of areas on all planes in which the robot cleaner 100 has driving experience and areas on the plane in which the robot cleaner 100 is currently traveling.

The controller 140 may determine the moving path of the robot cleaner 100 based on the operation of the driving unit 160 . For example, the controller 140 may determine the current or past moving speed, the distance traveled, etc. of the robot cleaner 100 based on the rotational speed of the driving wheel 166, and each driving wheel 166 (L) , 166(R)), the current or past direction change process can also be grasped. The position of the robot cleaner 100 on the map may be updated based on the driving information of the robot cleaner 100 identified in this way. Also, the location of the robot cleaner 100 on the map may be updated using the image information.

Specifically, the controller 140 controls driving of the robot cleaner 100 and controls driving of the driving unit 160 according to a set driving mode. As the driving mode of the driving unit 160, a zigzag mode, an edge mode, a spiral mode, or a complex mode may be selectively set.

The zigzag mode is defined as a mode in which cleaning is performed while traveling in a zigzag manner at a distance greater than a predetermined distance from a wall or an obstacle. The edge mode is defined as a mode that cleans while adhering to a wall and driving in a zigzag pattern. The spiral mode is defined as a mode that spirally cleans within a certain area centered on one place in the air.

Meanwhile, the controller 140 generates a map (map) of the cleaning area. That is, the controller 140 may form a spatial map of the cleaning area through the location recognized through the preceding cleaning and the image acquired at each point. The controller 140 may also update a pre-generated map, classify the shape of the cleaning area of the generated space map according to conditions, and match the cleaning method according to the classified shape. In addition, the control unit 140 performs cleaning of the robot cleaner 100 in a highly efficient method by calculating the efficiency of cleaning in the basic mode and cleaning in a matched cleaning method.

The control unit 140 generates a map according to detection signals of the sensing unit 130, specifically, detection signals from the distance detection unit 131 and the cliff detection unit 132. Such a map may be a general lattice map, and may be substantially created based on a direction in which the robot cleaner 100 rotates while driving, a straight-line movement distance, a separation distance from a wall, and the like.

The controller 140 may extract spatial information from image data from the image sensor 135 and add the extracted spatial information to a map to generate a spatial map.

The control unit 140 may further include a map forming unit for forming a map, but processing is possible within the control unit 140 .

The map generator may generate a map using a detection signal obtained through pre-cleaning and add spatial information from image data to a basic map to generate a spatial map. In this case, the map generator may extract spatial information, which is detailed information about a space, from image data that is continuously photographed and generated, and may add the extracted spatial information to the spatial map.

The map generator may divide the cleaning area into a plurality of cleaning areas so that cleaning can be performed by driving at once based on the space map.

The formation of the map and the division of the cleaning area can be performed in the map generator, but as described above, the control unit 140 can collectively perform the process.

The controller 140 may partition the cleaning zone according to the area of the mapped cleaning zone and match an optimal cleaning method according to the shape of each sub-cleaning zone. In addition, the controller 140 may determine whether an obstacle exists, and if there is an obstacle, divide the cleaning area and match the optimal cleaning method according to the shape of each sub-cleaning area.

Also, the controller 140 may determine the current location using at least one of the distance sensor 131 and the image sensor 135 and recognize the current location on the map.

The controller 140 may perform wall following in order to recognize the current location, and determine the current location through such wall following, and determine the current location through a server (not shown) or a user terminal (not shown). not available).

In this way, the control unit 140 performs preliminary cleaning and maps the cleaning area using the obtained information, may provide a map to the user in 2D or 3D, and allows the user to view the map provided to the user's terminal. By selecting a specific driving mode, cleaning of the corresponding cleaning area can be performed.

When receiving a cleaning start command or a cleaning start command by reservation cleaning from the outside, the control unit 140 accurately determines where the current location of the robot cleaner belongs in a pre-created map, and cleans in an assigned mode along the map from that location. proceed with

To this end, the control unit 140 may perform wall following at the beginning of cleaning, and determine the current location through such wall following, and determine the current location based on the server (not shown) or the user terminal (not shown). not available).

Wall-following is defined as moving the robot cleaner 100 from the current location toward the closest wall and, upon reaching the wall, performing mapping while traveling a predetermined distance along the wall.

In addition, wall following is defined as that the robot cleaner 100 extracts the closest corner from the current location and, upon reaching the corner, performs mapping while traveling a predetermined distance along the wall. Here, a corner can be defined as a point where two walls meet.

While performing mapping, the controller 140 may define at least one of the wall passages formed in the wall as a virtual wall in order to efficiently partition the cleaning area. Here, the virtual wall is not an actual wall, but is set as a wall on the map, or is treated as a wall by the robot cleaner 100 and becomes an object to be avoided or wall-followed.

In addition, the controller 140 may extract a wall and a wall path located on the wall based on distance information to the obstacle.

Here, the wall passage is a space located on a wall and means a space without obstacles. The control unit 140 may scan a distance of about 10 meters in front through the distance sensor 131 (specifically, a lidar sensor), and may extract a wall and a wall passage located in the front through such a scan.

The controller 140 may generate a grid map through the distance detector 131 and extract a wall passage by extracting feature points of the generated grid map. Alternatively, the controller 140 may generate a grid map through the distance sensor 131 and extract a wall path based on the erosion of the generated grid map.

The controller 140 may extract the wall passage while causing the main body to wall-following driving. The controller 140 may extract the wall passage while driving the main body.

The controller 140 may define the wall passage as a virtual wall or a general passage according to the size of the wall passage. Specifically, the controller 140 may define a virtual wall when the size of the wall passage is smaller than a reference value, and define it as a general passage when the size of the wall passage is larger than the reference value.

In order to solve this problem, if the size of the wall passage is smaller than the reference value, it is defined as a virtual wall.

Here, the reference value is a set value and may be set to a slightly larger size than a general door size. Here, the size of the wall passage means the width of the wall passage on the map. More specifically, the reference value may be set to 0.7 m to 2 m.

More specifically, a map for a cleaning area is shown in FIG. 6 . Referring to FIG. 6 , a plurality of walls W1 to W4 and a plurality of wall passages WP1 to WP4 exist in a map mapped by the robot cleaner 100 .

7 shows a state in which some of the plurality of wall passages WP1 to WP4 are registered as virtual walls and other parts as general passages.

Referring to FIG. 7 , the controller 140 registers wall passages WP1, WP2, and WP3 whose size is smaller than the reference value among wall passages as virtual walls, and the wall passage WP4 whose size is equal to or greater than the reference value among wall passages. Register as a general passage.

When the wall passage is defined as a virtual wall or a general passage, the controller 140 may control the main body to travel in a driving method corresponding to the virtual wall and the general passage.

Specifically, when the wall passage is defined as a virtual wall, the controller 140 may register the wall passage as a virtual wall on the map. When the wall passage is defined as a virtual wall, the controller 140 may control the main body to drive while avoiding the virtual wall or control the main body to wall-following and drive along the virtual wall.

As another example, the controller 140 may control the wall-following driving along the virtual wall when the main body encounters a virtual wall during the wall-following driving. The controller 140 may control the main body to treat the virtual wall as an obstacle and avoid it during the cleaning operation.

When the wall passage is defined as a general passage, the controller 140 may control the main body to travel through the wall passage.

When generating a map of the cleaning area, the controller 140 may register the virtual wall as a boundary of the cleaning area on the map. As another example, the controller 140 may treat the virtual wall as a boundary of the cleaning area or as a wall when dividing the cleaning area into a plurality of sub areas according to the shape and size.

Specifically, referring to FIG. 8A , the control unit 140 searches the surroundings while driving in a cleaning area without a map or wall-following, and detects walls W1, W2, and W4 and wall passages WP1 and WP2. is extracted, and among the wall passages, wall passages (WP1, WP2) whose size is smaller than the reference value are registered as virtual walls. Further, when the controller 140 divides the cleaning area into a plurality of sub-areas according to the shape and size, the controller 140 treats the virtual wall as a boundary of the cleaning area or treats it as a wall, as shown in FIG. 8A. A first cleaning area A1 is set. The controller 140 controls the driving unit to clean the first cleaning area A1 in a cleaning method (zigzag driving or pattern driving) suitable for the shape of the first cleaning area A1.

Meanwhile, the controller 140 may control the main body to extract the size and shape of the cleaning area based on the boundary, divide the sector according to the size of the cleaning area, and clean the area for each sector.

After completing the cleaning of the cleaning area, the controller 140 may change the virtual wall to a general passage on the map. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 8B, after the robot cleaner 100 completes the cleaning of the first cleaning area A1, the virtual wall corresponding to the wall passage WP2 on the map is changed to a general passage. .

Of course, after the cleaning of the cleaning area is completed, the controller 140 treats the virtual wall as a general passage and controls the main body to pass therethrough. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 8B , after the robot cleaner 100 completes the cleaning of the first cleaning area A1, it treats the virtual wall as a general passage, and other cleaning through the wall passage WP2. move to the zone

And, as shown in FIG. 8C , the robot cleaner 100 wall-following the second cleaning area A2 or while searching the surroundings in the same way as the first cleaning area A1, the wall W2 , W3) and the wall passages WP2 and WP3 are extracted, and among the wall passages, the wall passages WP2 and WP3 whose sizes are smaller than the reference value are registered as virtual walls. The controller 140 may set the second cleaning area A2 to be the same as the first cleaning area A1 and perform cleaning by dividing the second cleaning area A2 or cleaning at once.

Hereinafter, a cleaning operation of the robot cleaner 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 9 .

9 is a flowchart illustrating a control method of the robot cleaner 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In each flowchart, overlapping contents are denoted by the same reference numerals, and overlapping descriptions are omitted.

The control method may be performed by the control unit 140. Each step of the flowchart drawings of the control method and combinations of the flowchart drawings may be performed by computer program instructions. The instructions may be embodied in a general purpose computer or special purpose computer or the like, and the instructions create means for performing the functions described in the flowchart step(s).

Also, in some embodiments, it is possible for the functions mentioned in the steps to occur out of order. For example, two steps shown in succession may in fact be performed substantially concurrently, or the steps may sometimes be performed in reverse order depending on the function in question.

Referring to FIG. 9 , the control method according to an embodiment includes an extraction step of extracting a wall and a wall passage located on the wall based on distance information from an obstacle (S120), and a wall passage according to the size of the extracted wall passage. It may include a defining step (S150, S160, S165) of defining a virtual wall or a general passage, and a driving step (S170) of driving the main body in a driving method corresponding to the virtual wall and the general passage. Also, the control method according to an embodiment may further include a map generating step ( S167 ) of generating a map of the cleaning area and registering a virtual wall or a general passage on the map.

The robot cleaner 100 receives a cleaning command from a user terminal or server (S100) and starts cleaning at the current location according to the cleaning start information.

The control unit 140 of the robot cleaner 100 determines whether map information on the map for the entire cleaning area is stored in the storage unit 150 (S110).

When there is no corresponding map information in the storage unit 150, the control unit 140 may request the corresponding map information from an external server or user terminal, and when the map information is transmitted from the server or user terminal, it is transmitted to the entire cleaning area. Defined as map information.

When there is no corresponding map information in the storage unit 150, the robot cleaner 100 drives for mapping (S120).

Specifically, in the driving for mapping, the cleaning area is mapped while performing wall-following driving or pattern driving. The extracting step may be performed while the main body is traveling or wall-following.

More specifically, the control unit 140 controls the driving unit to drive from the current position to the nearest wall through the distance sensor 131 and the image sensor 135, and then perform wall-following driving along the wall. .

While driving for mapping, the robot cleaner 100 extracts walls and wall passages (S120). Specifically, the control unit 140 generates a grid map through distance information provided from the distance detector 131 and the image detector 135, and analyzes feature points in the grid map to determine a wall and a wall path located on the wall. Extract to extract.

The robot cleaner 100 defines the wall passage as a virtual wall or a general passage according to the size of the extracted wall passage (S150, S160, S165). Specifically, the controller 140 determines whether the size of the wall passage is smaller than a reference value (S150). When the size of the wall passage is smaller than the reference value, the controller 140 defines it as a virtual wall (S160). If the size of the wall passage is larger than the reference value, the control unit 140 defines it as a general passage (S165).

The robot cleaner 100 registers a virtual wall or general passage on the map (S170). Specifically, the controller 140 registers a virtual wall or general passage in the map and stores the updated map in the storage unit. The robot cleaner 100 travels corresponding to a virtual wall or general passage registered in the map.

The robot cleaner 100 travels in a driving method corresponding to a virtual wall and a general passage (S170). Specifically, when the wall passage is defined as a virtual wall, the controller 140 may control the main body to drive while avoiding the virtual wall or control the main body to wall-following and drive along the virtual wall.

When the main body encounters a virtual wall during wall following driving, the controller 140 may control the wall following driving along the virtual wall. The controller 140 may control the main body to treat the virtual wall as an obstacle and avoid it during the cleaning run.

When the wall passage is defined as a general passage, the controller 140 may control the main body to travel through the wall passage.

The robot cleaner 100 determines whether the cleaning of the cleaning area is completed (S180).

When the robot cleaner 100 determines that the cleaning of the cleaning area has been completed, the virtual wall may be changed to a general passage on the map. Specifically, the controller 140 may change the virtual wall to a general passage on the map after completing the cleaning of the cleaning area. Accordingly, the robot cleaner 100 can move to another cleaning area through the wall passage when cleaning of the cleaning area is completed.

100: robot cleaner 120: sensing unit
140: control unit 150: storage unit
160: driving unit 135: image detection unit
180: cleaner 200: charging stand

Claims (15)

a driving unit for moving the main body;
cleaners who perform cleaning functions;
a sensing unit that senses the surrounding environment of the cleaning area; and
A robot cleaner comprising: a controller that extracts a wall and a wall passage located on the wall based on information about a distance to an obstacle, and defines the wall passage as a virtual wall or a general passage according to a size of the wall passage. According to claim 1,
The control unit,
A robot cleaner for extracting the wall passage while causing the main body to wall-following travel. According to claim 1,
The control unit,
A robot cleaner that extracts the wall passage while moving the main body. According to claim 2,
The control unit,
When the main body encounters the virtual wall during the wall-following travel, the robot cleaner controls the wall-following travel along the virtual wall. According to claim 1,
The control unit,
The robot cleaner for controlling the main body to treat the virtual wall as an obstacle and avoid it during the cleaning run. According to claim 5,
The control unit,
After completing the cleaning of the cleaning area, the robot cleaner treats the virtual wall as a general passage and controls the main body to pass therethrough. According to claim 1,
The control unit,
A robot cleaner that generates a map of the cleaning area and registers the virtual wall as a boundary of the cleaning area on the map. According to claim 7,
The control unit,
After completing the cleaning of the cleaning area, the robot cleaner changes the virtual wall to a general passage on the map. According to claim 1,
The control unit,
When the size of the wall passage is smaller than the reference value, the virtual wall is defined, and when the size of the wall passage is greater than the reference value, the robot cleaner is defined as the general passage. According to claim 7,
The control unit,
The robot cleaner extracts the size and shape of the cleaning area based on the boundary, divides the main body into sectors according to the size of the cleaning area, and controls the cleaning for each sector. an extraction step of extracting a wall and a wall path located on the wall based on distance information to the obstacle;
a definition step of defining the extracted wall passage as a virtual wall or a general passage according to the size of the extracted wall passage; and
A control method of a robot cleaner comprising a; driving step of driving the main body in a driving method corresponding to the virtual wall and the general passage. According to claim 11,
The definition step is
When the size of the wall passage is smaller than a reference value, the virtual wall is defined, and when the size of the wall passage is greater than or equal to a reference value, the general passage is defined. According to claim 11,
The extraction step is a control method of a robot cleaner that is executed while the main body is traveling or wall-following traveling. According to claim 11,
The control method of the robot cleaner further comprising a map creation step of generating a map of a cleaning area and registering the virtual wall or the general passage in the map. According to claim 11,
In the driving step, the control method of a vacuum cleaner of performing wall-following driving along the virtual wall when the main body is wall-following driving.

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