WO2017086623A1

WO2017086623A1 - Moving body, robot cleaner, floor state determining device, method for controlling moving body, and method for controlling robot cleaner

Info

Publication number: WO2017086623A1
Application number: PCT/KR2016/012178
Authority: WO
Inventors: 손형민; 최정원; 박용종; 최준회; 한정수
Original assignee: 삼성전자주식회사
Priority date: 2015-11-18
Filing date: 2016-10-27
Publication date: 2017-05-26

Abstract

Disclosed are a moving body, a robot cleaner, a floor state determining device, a method for controlling the moving body, and a method for controlling the robot cleaner. The moving body may comprise: a light source for emitting light to a floor surface; a plurality of sensors for receiving light, which has been reflected on the floor surface, in different positions; and a control unit for determining the state of the floor surface on the basis of the result of sensing by the plurality of sensors.

Description

Mobile body, robot cleaner, floor state determination device, the control method of the moving object and the control method of the robot cleaner

The present invention relates to a moving object, a robot cleaner, a floor state determining device, a control method of the moving object, and a control method of the robot cleaner.

The moving body means a device that can move from a predetermined position to another position, and can move from a specific position to another position by using driving means such as wheels, rails, walking legs, and the like. The moving object may move according to the collected information after collecting external information using a sensor or the like, or may be moved by a user using a separate operation means.

Such a moving body may include various movable devices, and for example, a vehicle, a cart, various construction equipment, a robot cleaner, a toy car, a wheel, etc., which may be used for medical devices, industrial or military purposes, etc. And a mobile robot.

Among them, the robot cleaner is a device capable of automatically cleaning the area to be cleaned while driving a surface of the floor by itself without a user's manipulation. The robot cleaner detects a distance to obstacles such as furniture, office supplies, and walls installed in the cleaning area through various sensors, and cleans the cleaning area while traveling so that collision with the obstacle does not occur using the detected information.

The robot cleaner may clean the bottom surface by using at least one of a dry cleaning method for sucking and cleaning a foreign substance such as dust from the bottom surface and a wet cleaning method for cleaning while mopping the bottom surface.

An object of the present invention is to provide a moving object, a robot cleaner, a control method of a moving object, and a control method of a robot cleaner capable of accurately and easily determining a state of a floor on which the vehicle is traveling.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a moving object, a robot cleaner, a control method of a moving object, and a control method of a robot cleaner capable of determining whether the material of the floor surface on which the vehicle is being driven or whether there is a recessed area on the floor is determined to fall. We assume problem to do.

In the case of judging the state of the floor by irradiating light to the floor, the control method of the moving object, the robot cleaner, the moving object which can determine the state of the floor more accurately by removing the interference by the disturbance light and Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of controlling a robot cleaner.

In order to solve the above problems, a moving object, a robot cleaner, a control method of a moving object, and a control method of a robot cleaner are provided.

The robot cleaner may include a light source for irradiating first light to a bottom surface, a first sensor for detecting light specularly reflected from the bottom surface, and a second for detecting light diffused from the bottom surface at a different position from the first sensor. It may include a control unit for determining the state of the floor surface based on the sensor and the detection results of the first sensor and the second sensor.

The controller may compare the voltage of the first electrical signal output from the first sensor with a first reference voltage, and compare the voltage of the second electrical signal output from the second sensor with a second reference voltage.

The controller is configured to control the voltage of the electrical signal output from the first sensor when the voltage of the first electrical signal is less than a first reference voltage and the voltage of the second electrical signal is less than a second reference voltage. Determining the state of the bottom surface using the ratio of the voltage of the electrical signal output from the two sensors, or by using at least one of the electrical signal output from the first sensor and the electrical signal output from the second sensor, It can be determined that there is a recessed area on the bottom surface.

The control unit may further include: when the voltage of the first electrical signal is greater than the first reference voltage or the voltage of the second electrical signal is greater than the second reference voltage, the light source having a relatively lower intensity than the first light. 2 can be controlled to irradiate light.

The controller may determine the state of the surface of the bottom surface by using a ratio of the voltage of the electrical signal output from the second sensor to the voltage of the electrical signal output from the first sensor, or in the first sensor By using at least one of an electrical signal output and an electrical signal output from the second sensor, it may be determined that there is a recessed area on the bottom surface.

The light source may radiate light to the bottom surface at at least one incident angle, and the first sensor may be disposed on a path of propagation of light reflected at the same reflection angle as the incident angle.

The second sensor may be disposed between the first sensor and the light source, or may be disposed to face the first sensor with respect to the light source.

The light source may emit the first light in a plurality of times, and the first sensor and the second sensor may output the first electrical signal and the second electrical signal in a plurality of times, respectively, and the controller may output the electrical signal. Each time the ratio between the voltage of the first electrical signal and the voltage of the second electrical signal can be calculated.

The control unit may compare a calculation result of a ratio between the voltage of the first electrical signal and the voltage of the second electrical signal with a reference value, increase the count variable according to the comparison result, and determine the count variable and the preset count reference value. The state of the bottom surface can be determined based on whether the same.

The controller may remove noise due to disturbance light present in the electrical signal by applying a high pass filter to the electrical signal output from at least one of the first sensor and the second sensor.

The controller may apply a low pass filter to an electrical signal to which the high pass filter is applied.

The robot cleaner may include a controller configured to determine a state of a floor surface according to an electrical signal output from at least one of a plurality of floor state sensor modules and the plurality of floor state sensor modules, wherein the plurality of floor state sensor modules include a floor. A light source for irradiating light to the surface and a plurality of sensors for receiving the light reflected from the bottom surface after being irradiated from the light source at a different position, any one of the plurality of sensors receives the light reflected from the bottom surface The other may receive diffusely reflected light at the bottom.

In the control method of the robot cleaner, irradiating the first light to the bottom surface, the first sensor and the second sensor disposed at different positions detect the light reflected from the bottom surface, the first sensor is the bottom surface Receiving specularly reflected light, the second sensor may include receiving diffusely reflected light from the bottom surface and determining a state of the bottom surface based on the detection result of the first sensor and the second sensor.

The control method of the robot cleaner may include comparing the voltage of the first electrical signal output from the first sensor with a first reference voltage and comparing the voltage of the second electrical signal output from the second sensor with a second reference voltage. It may further comprise a step.

The determining of the state of the bottom surface based on the sensing result of the plurality of sensors may include: when the voltage of the first electrical signal is less than a first reference voltage and the voltage of the second electrical signal is less than a second reference voltage. Determining a state of the bottom surface by using a ratio of the voltage of the electrical signal output from the second sensor to the voltage of the electrical signal output from the first sensor, and the voltage of the first electrical signal being the first When the voltage is smaller than the reference voltage and the voltage of the second electrical signal is smaller than the second reference voltage, the bottom surface is formed by using at least one of an electrical signal output from the first sensor and an electrical signal output from the second sensor. The method may further include at least one of determining that there is an area recessed in the.

The control method of the robot cleaner may include a second intensity having a relatively smaller intensity than the first light when the voltage of the first electrical signal is greater than the first reference voltage or the voltage of the second electrical signal is greater than the second reference voltage. The method may further include irradiating light.

The determining of the state of the bottom surface based on the detection result of the first sensor and the second sensor, the ratio between the first electrical signal output from the first sensor and the second electrical signal output from the second sensor It may include the step of determining the state of the bottom surface using.

The determining of the state of the bottom surface based on the detection result of the first sensor and the second sensor may include determining that the bottom surface is a smooth surface using a ratio between the first electrical signal and the second electrical signal. And determining that the bottom surface is a rough surface by using a ratio between the first electrical signal and the second electrical signal.

The determining of the state of the bottom surface based on the sensing result of the first sensor and the second sensor may include at least one of a first electrical signal output from the first sensor and a second electrical signal output from the second sensor. The method may include determining that there is a recessed area on the bottom surface.

The determining of the state of the bottom surface based on the detection result of the first sensor and the second sensor, comparing the calculation result of the ratio between the voltage of the first electrical signal and the voltage of the second electrical signal with a reference value The method may include increasing a count variable according to a comparison result and determining a state of the bottom surface according to whether the count variable is equal to a preset count reference value.

According to the moving object, the robot cleaner, the control method of the moving object, and the control method of the robot cleaner described above, it is possible to accurately and easily determine the state of the running floor surface.

According to the moving object, the robot cleaner, the method of controlling the moving object, and the method of controlling the robot cleaner, it is possible to determine whether the fall is made by determining the material of the floor on which the vehicle is traveling or by determining whether a recessed area exists on the floor. .

According to the moving object, the robot cleaner, the method of controlling the moving object, and the method of controlling the robot cleaner, when determining the state of the floor by irradiating light to the floor, the state of the floor is more accurately by eliminating interference caused by disturbance light. Can be judged.

1 is a view for explaining an embodiment of a mobile body.

2 is a view for explaining the light reflected from the bottom surface.

3 illustrates a positional relationship between a light source, a first sensor, and a second sensor.

4A is a diagram illustrating a form in which light is reflected from a smooth bottom surface.

4B illustrates an example of an electrical signal output from the first sensor and the second sensor when the light reflected from the smooth bottom surface is received.

5A is a diagram illustrating a form in which light is reflected from a rough bottom surface.

FIG. 5B illustrates an example of electrical signals output from the first sensor and the second sensor when the light reflected from the rough bottom surface is received.

FIG. 6A is a diagram for describing an example of determining whether a zone in which a mobile body is recessed on a bottom surface exists. FIG.

FIG. 6B illustrates an example of an electrical signal output from the first sensor and the second sensor when the recessed area exists on the bottom surface.

7 is a view for explaining another embodiment of the moving body.

8 is a view for explaining an example in which each sensor of the moving object receives light.

9 is a view for explaining another example in which each sensor of the moving object receives light.

10 is a more detailed control block diagram of an embodiment of a controller.

11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a pulse signal applied to a light source.

12 is a diagram for explaining disturbance light.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an electrical signal output from the first sensor and the second sensor by disturbance light.

14 is a diagram illustrating an example of an electrical signal of a noise component output from the first sensor.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of an electrical signal filtered by a high pass filter.

FIG. 16 shows an example of an electrical signal filtered by a low pass filter.

17 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of a floor state determination unit.

18A illustrates an example of an electrical signal output when the bottom surface is detected when the bottom surface is a smooth floor.

18B is a diagram illustrating an example of an electrical signal output when the bottom surface is a surface of a carpet.

18C is a view for explaining the operation of the counting unit.

19 is a diagram illustrating an example of an electrical signal output when there is a recessed area on the bottom surface.

20 is a view showing another embodiment of a movable body.

21 is a control block diagram of another embodiment of the controller.

22A is a diagram illustrating an example of the intensity of light emitted from a light source under the control of the first pulse generator and the second pulse generator.

FIG. 22B illustrates an example of a signal output from the first sensor in response to light emitted by the control of the first pulse generator. FIG.

22C is a diagram illustrating an example of a signal output from the second sensor in response to light emitted by the control of the first pulse generator.

FIG. 22D illustrates an example of a signal output from the first sensor in response to light emitted by the control of the second pulse generator. FIG.

FIG. 22E illustrates an example of a signal output from the second sensor in response to light emitted by the control of the second pulse generator. FIG.

23 is a perspective view showing the appearance of an embodiment of the robot cleaner.

24 is a plan view of one embodiment of a robot cleaner.

25 is a plan view illustrating an embodiment of an internal structure of a robot cleaner.

26 is a bottom view of an embodiment of a robot cleaner.

27 is a diagram for explaining an example in which the floor state sensor module is installed in the robot cleaner.

28 is a diagram illustrating an example in which the floor state sensor module is installed in the robot cleaner.

29 is a view illustrating in more detail an example in which the ground state sensor module is installed in the robot cleaner.

30A is a first perspective view of a first embodiment of a floor state sensor module;

30B is a second perspective view of the first embodiment of the floor state sensor module.

31A is a first exploded perspective view of a first embodiment of a floor state sensor module.

FIG. 31B is a second exploded perspective view of the first embodiment of the floor state sensor module; FIG.

32 is a front sectional view of a first embodiment of a floor state sensor module.

33A is a front sectional view of a second embodiment of a floor state sensor module.

33B is a front sectional view of a third embodiment of a floor state sensor module.

34A is an exploded perspective view of a fourth embodiment of a floor state sensor module;

34B is a front sectional view of a fourth embodiment of a floor state sensor module.

35 is a control block diagram of an embodiment of a robot cleaner.

FIG. 36A is a first diagram illustrating an example of a robot cleaner traveling on a surface of a floor having a smooth bottom surface.

FIG. 36B is a second diagram illustrating an example of a robot cleaner traveling on a surface of a floor having a smooth bottom surface. FIG.

36C is a first diagram illustrating an example of a robot cleaner running on a carpet.

36D is a second diagram illustrating an example of a robot cleaner running on a carpet.

36E is a first diagram illustrating an example of a robot cleaner that has reached a recessed area.

36F is a first diagram illustrating an example of a robot cleaner that has reached a recessed area.

36G illustrates an example of a first operation of the robot cleaner when the depression area is reached.

36H illustrates an example of a second operation of the robot cleaner when the recessed area is reached.

36I illustrates an example of a third operation of the robot cleaner when the recessed area is reached.

36J illustrates an example of a fourth operation of the robot cleaner when the recessed area is reached.

37A is a first flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a moving object control method.

37B is a second flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a moving object control method.

38 is a third flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a moving object control method.

39 is a fourth flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a moving object control method.

40 is a flowchart illustrating another embodiment of a moving object control method.

Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. The present specification does not describe all the components of the embodiments, and the general content or overlapping contents between the embodiments may be omitted.

If any part of the specification is described as including any component, this means that it may further include other components, except to exclude other components unless otherwise stated.

The term part, module or member as used herein may be implemented in software or hardware, and according to embodiments, a plurality of parts, modules or members may be implemented using one part, or one part, module or member. It is also possible to include a plurality of parts.

Throughout the specification, when a part is connected to another part, this may include not only a case where it is directly connected but also an indirect connection, and an indirect connection may include being connected through a wireless communication network. have.

The terms "first", "second", and the like are used to distinguish one component from another component, and the terms may not be interpreted as having a special order by these terms unless otherwise specified.

In addition, singular expressions may include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates an exception.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a movable body will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 22.

1 is a view for explaining an embodiment of the moving body, Figure 2 is a view for explaining the light reflected from the bottom surface. 3 illustrates a positional relationship between a light source, a first sensor, and a second sensor.

The moving object 100 means a device which can move from a specific position to another position according to a user operation or a predefined setting. The movable body 100 may move in a predetermined pattern as previously programmed.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the movable body 100 may include a light source 110, a plurality of

sensors

111 and 112, and a controller 110.

The light source 110 may emit light L1 under the control of the controller 110 and irradiate the bottom surface 7. In detail, the light source 110 emits light L1 at a constant intensity according to a control signal transmitted from the controller 110 and irradiates the bottom surface 7, in which case the light source 110 continuously emits light. It is possible to irradiate L1 to the bottom surface 7 or to irradiate the light L1 to the bottom surface 7 while blinking according to a predefined frequency.

The light L1 emitted from the light source 110 may be visible light of a predetermined color, for example, white or blue visible light, ultraviolet light, or infrared light. When the light source 110 emits visible light, the visible light may be vulnerable to disturbance light, so the light source 110 may be designed to emit a high amount of visible light.

Light L1 emitted by the light source 110 is incident on one region 7a of the bottom surface 7. The bottom surface 7 may mean a surface on which the moving body 100 may travel, and may include, for example, a ground, a floor, a rug, or an upper surface of a furniture or home appliance. The bottom surface 7 may be made of various materials. For example, the bottom surface 7 may be made of at least one of various kinds of materials, such as glass, wood, metal, soil, concrete, cloth, rug, tile, and the like. In addition, there may be a flat portion on the bottom surface 7, and a lower portion, for example, yaw or cliff, may be present because it is recessed than the bottom surface 7.

The light source 110 may be, for example, an incandescent lamp, a halogen lamp, a fluorescent lamp, a sodium lamp, a mercury lamp, a fluorescent mercury lamp, a xenon lamp, an arc lamp, a neon tube lamp, an EL lamp (electroluminescent lamp), a light emitting diode. It can be implemented by adopting various kinds of lighting devices such as LED (Light Emitting Diode) lamp, Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp (CCFL), or External Electrode Fluorescent Lamp (EEFL).

As shown in FIG. 2, the light source 110 irradiates the light L1 such that the light L1 is inclined with respect to the bottom surface 7 so that the light L1 is a point or area of the bottom surface 7. Incident on 7a at a predetermined incident angle θ1. The light L1 incident on the bottom surface 7 is reflected at one point 7a of the bottom surface 7 to travel in a predetermined direction. In this case, part of the light L2 of the light L1 reaching the bottom surface 7 is specularly reflected. The reflection angle θ2 of the specularly reflected light L2 is equal to the incident angle θ1. In addition, light L3 of the other part of the light L1 reaching the bottom surface 7 is diffusely reflected. The diffusely reflected light L3 is reflected in various directions, as shown in FIG. 2, depending on the material of the bottom surface 7.

According to an embodiment, the light source 110 may be disposed between the first sensor 111 and the second sensor 112 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3.

The plurality of sensors may include a first sensor 111 and a second sensor 112. The first sensor 111 and the second sensor 112 respectively detect the light L2 and L3 reflected from the bottom surface 7 after being irradiated from the light source 110, and the electrical signal according to the detection result, that is, The first electrical signal and the second electrical signal may be output and transmitted to the controller 110. In this case, the first sensor 111 and the second sensor 112 may output an electrical signal corresponding to the amount of light L2 and L3 detected. For example, the first sensor 111 and the second sensor 112 are configured to output an electrical signal of a high voltage or current as the light quantity is larger, and to output an electrical signal of a low voltage or current as the light quantity is small. Can be.

According to one embodiment, the first sensor 111 is provided to receive the light L2 specularly reflected on the bottom surface 7 of the light (L2, L3) reflected from the bottom surface 7, the second sensor ( 112 is provided to receive light L3 diffusely reflected from the bottom surface 7 among the lights L2 and L3 reflected from the bottom surface 7. In this case, the first sensor 111 is provided to receive all or part of the specularly reflected light L2, and the second sensor 112 is provided to be able to receive all or part of the diffusely reflected light L3. . In order to properly receive the specularly reflected light L2 and the diffusely reflected light L3, the first sensor 111 and the second sensor 112 may be installed at a suitable position in the moving object 100.

Specifically, the first sensor 111 may be disposed on a traveling path of the specularly reflected light L2 to properly receive the specularly reflected light L2 from the bottom surface 7. In this case, the first sensor 111 may be appropriately disposed according to the position of the light source 110.

For example, the position of the first sensor 111 may be designed in consideration of the distance h0 between the light source 110 and the bottom surface 7. In detail, the position of the first sensor 111 may be determined according to the expected position 7a where the light L1 irradiated from the light source 110 is reflected.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 3, the reflection angle θ2 of the light L1 specularly reflected at the specific point 7a is the same as the incident angle θ1 of the light L1 incident at the specific point 7a. The spatial position of the first sensor 111 may also be determined. For example, the distance h1 between the first sensor 111 and the bottom surface 7 and the normal of the point 7a where the reflection is generated and the bottom surface 7 passing through the first sensor 111 are bottomed. The ratio of the distance d1 between the point 7c which meets the surface 7 is the distance h0 between the light source 110 and the bottom surface 7 and the light source 110 from the point 7a where reflection is generated. The first sensor 111 may be disposed at a predetermined position so that the normal of the bottom surface 7 passing through is equal to the ratio of the distance d0 between the point 7b where the bottom surface 7 meets the bottom surface 7.

The distance h0 between the light source 110 and the bottom surface 7 and the distance h1 between the first sensor 111 and the bottom surface 7 may be the same or different. For example, the first sensor 111 may be farther from the bottom surface 7 than the light source 110 (h1> h0). Of course the opposite is also possible.

The second sensor 112 may be disposed on the opposite side of the first sensor 111 with respect to the light source 110. In other words, the second sensor 112 may be provided to face the first sensor 111 with respect to the light source 110. Of course, according to the embodiment, the position of the second sensor 112 is not limited thereto, and for example, may be disposed in the direction in which the first sensor 111 is disposed around the light source 110.

The second sensor 112 may be disposed at a position capable of properly receiving the diffusely reflected light L3. Since the diffusely reflected light L3 may be emitted in various directions at a reflection angle θ1 + θ3 different from the specularly reflected light L2, the second sensor 112 may be disposed at an arbitrary position according to a designer's selection. . For example, the designer experimentally obtains the reflection angle θ1 + θ3 of the diffusely reflected light L3 on the specific floor 7 and places the second sensor 112 at the most appropriate position according to the acquisition result. It may be.

In this case, the distance d2-d0 between the second sensor 112 and the light source 110 may be equal to the distance d0 + d1 between the first sensor 111 and the light source 110, and may be different from each other. In some cases, the distance d2-d0 between the second sensor 112 and the light source 110 may be longer than the distance d0 + d1 between the first sensor 111 and the light source 110. May be shorter. In addition, the distance h2 between the second sensor 112 and the bottom surface 7, that is, between the point 7d where the normal of the bottom surface 7 passing through the second sensor 112 meets the bottom surface 7. The distance of may be the same as or different from the distance h0 between the light source 110 and the bottom surface.

The first sensor 111 and the second sensor 112 are, for example, a photoconductive cell, a photodiode, a photo transistor, a photo thyristor, or a charge coupled device (CCD). Device (CMOS), complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS), a multiplier, a photo coupler, a port interrupter or the like can be implemented using a variety of photosensitive sensors. In addition, the first sensor 111 and the second sensor 112 may be implemented by employing various types of light sensing sensors that can be considered by the designer. In this case, the first sensor 111 and the second sensor 112 may be implemented using a light sensor of the same kind, or may be implemented using a heterogeneous light sensor.

The controller 120 is provided to control the overall operation of the moving object 100. For example, the controller 120 may transmit an electrical signal to the light source 110 to control the light source 110 to emit light L1.

The controller 120 may include a processor that receives an electrical signal, processes the received electrical signal, and outputs a control signal according to a processing result to the outside, wherein the processor includes at least one semiconductor chip It can be implemented in parts. The semiconductor chip and related components for implementing the controller 120 may be installed on a predetermined substrate provided in the movable body 100 and embedded in the movable body 100. If the moving object 100 is a robot cleaner, the controller 120 may be implemented using a central processing unit (CPU) or a micro controller unit (MCU) provided in the robot cleaner. In addition, the controller 120 may be implemented using various means.

According to an embodiment, the controller 120 may determine the state of the floor surface by using electrical signals transmitted from the first sensor 111 and the second sensor 112. Here, the state of the bottom surface may include a material of the bottom surface and the presence of a recessed area on the bottom surface. The material of the bottom surface may include, for example, the roughness of the surface, the hardness of the bottom surface, or the like. According to an embodiment, the controller 120 may calculate a ratio between the electrical signals output from the first sensor 111 and the second sensor 112, and determine the material of the floor surface based on the calculated ratio. have. In addition, the controller 120 may determine whether there is an area recessed on the floor by comparing the electrical signals output from the first sensor 111 and the second sensor 112 with a predetermined reference value.

4A is a diagram illustrating a form in which light is reflected from a smooth bottom surface, and FIG. 4B illustrates an example of electrical signals output from the first sensor and the second sensor when the light reflected from the smooth bottom surface is received. Drawing.

Referring to FIG. 4A, when the light L1 is incident on the smooth surface 8, for example, the floor floor, most of the incident light L1 is specularly reflected to determine the incident angle θ1 and the light L1. It proceeds to the same reflection angle (theta) 2. Even when the bottom surface 8 is smooth, some of the light L3 is diffusely reflected at the point 8a at which the light L1 is incident. In this case, the amount (light quantity) of the diffusely reflected light L3 is relatively smaller than the amount of the specularly reflected light L2. In other words, the specific gravity of the specularly reflected light L2 among the reflected light may be higher than the specific gravity of the diffusely reflected light L3.

As described above, the first sensor 111 detects the specularly reflected light L2, the second sensor 112 detects the diffusely reflected light L3, and each of the

sensors

111 and 112 is incident. Since an electrical signal of a voltage corresponding to the light amount of light can be output, when the specularly reflected light L2 is larger than the diffusely reflected light L3, the first sensor 111 is of a higher voltage than the second sensor 112. It will output an electrical signal. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4B, the voltage Vp of the electrical signal output by the first sensor 111 is relatively larger than the voltage Vs of the electrical signal output by the second sensor 112. Can be.

FIG. 5A illustrates a form in which light is reflected from the rough bottom surface, and FIG. 5B illustrates an example of electrical signals output from the first sensor and the second sensor when the light reflected from the rough bottom surface is received. Drawing.

Referring to FIG. 5A, when light L1 is incident on the roughened bottom surface 9, for example, one zone 9a on the carpet surface, part of the incident light L1 The specular reflection is performed at the same reflection angle θ2 as the incident angle θ1, but the incident light L1 is diffusely reflected at a considerably high rate. In this case, the amount of diffusely reflected light L3 may be equal to the amount of specularly reflected light L2 or may be greater than the amount of specularly reflected light L2. In addition, the amount of diffusely reflected light L3 may be smaller than the amount of specularly reflected light L2, but may be relatively less than when light L1 is incident on the smooth bottom surface 8. In other words, the specific gravity of the specularly reflected light L2 among the reflected light may be smaller than the specific gravity of the diffusely reflected light L3.

In this case, the amount of the specularly reflected light L2 incident on the first sensor 111 may be less than or equal to the amount of the diffusely reflected light L3 incident on the second sensor 112. In some cases, the amount of the specularly reflected light L2 incident on the first sensor 111 may be greater than the amount of the diffusely reflected light L3 incident on the second sensor 112. However, in this case, the difference between the amount of light of the specularly reflected light L2 incident on the first sensor 111 and the amount of light of the diffusely reflected light L3 incident on the second sensor 112 is in this case a smooth surface. In the case of incident on (8), it may be relatively smaller than the difference between the amount of light L2 incident on the first sensor 111 and the amount of light L3 incident on the second sensor 112.

For this reason, the first sensor 111 and the second sensor 112 output an electrical signal differently from the case where the light L1 is incident on the smooth bottom surface 8. Specifically, for example, if the specularly reflected light L2 incident on the first sensor 111 is smaller than the diffusely reflected light L3 incident on the second sensor 112, it is output from the first sensor 111. The voltage Vp of the first electrical signal may be relatively smaller than the voltage Vs of the second electrical signal output by the second sensor 112, as shown in FIG. 5B. In other words, in contrast to the case of FIG. 4B, the voltage Vs of the second electrical signal output from the second sensor 112 is greater than the voltage Vp of the first electrical signal output from the first sensor 111.

The controller 120 receives the first electrical signal and the diffusely reflected light L2 output from the first sensor 111 that receives the light L2 that is specularly reflected according to the states of the bottom surfaces 7 to 9 as described above. The second electrical signals output from the second sensor 112 are different from each other, so that the state of the bottom surfaces 7 to 9, specifically, whether the surfaces of the bottom surfaces 7 to 9 are smooth or rough. Can be determined. For example, the controller 120 may determine a ratio between the first electrical signal of the first sensor 111 and the second electrical signal of the second sensor 112, for example, the first electrical signal of the first sensor 111. Calculate the ratio (Vs / Vp or Vp / Vs) of the voltage of the second electrical signal of the second sensor 112 to the voltage of, and compare the calculated ratio with a predetermined threshold to the bottom surface 7 to 9. You can calculate the state of. A more detailed description thereof will be described later.

FIG. 6A is a view for explaining an example of determining whether an area in which a mobile body is recessed on a floor is present, and FIG. 6B is an electrical signal output from a first sensor and a second sensor when a recessed area is present on a floor. It is a figure which shows an example of a signal.

As shown in FIG. 6A, there may be a recessed area 6 recessed in the existing bottom surface 7 on the bottom surface 7. In this case, the distance h11 + h12 between the surface of the recessed area 6 and the movable body 100 becomes longer than the distance h11 between the bottom surface 7 and the movable body 100. If the distance h11 + h12 between the light source 110 and the point 6a at which the light irradiated from the light source 110 is reflected is longer than the distance h11 considered in the design, the specularly reflected light L28 is The path of the specularly reflected light L2 is different from the previously expected path. Since the first sensor 111 is disposed in consideration of the light emitted from the light source 110 being reflected at one point 7a of the bottom surface 7 spaced apart from the light source 110 by a predetermined distance h11, The specularly reflected light L28 may not be generally incident on the first sensor 111, and a part of the partially diffused light L29 may be incident on the first sensor 111. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 6B, the first sensor 111 outputs a first electrical signal having a relatively low voltage Vp.

Similarly, if the distance h11 + h12 between the light source 110 and the point 6a at which the light emitted from the light source 110 is reflected is longer than the distance h11 considered in the design, the diffused light L38 is also A path different from the previously expected diffused light L3 is expected. Accordingly, the diffusely reflected light L39 traveling in a path different from the diffusely reflected light L3 on the bottom surface 7 is incident on the second sensor 112. Accordingly, the second sensor 112 outputs a second electrical signal having a different voltage than when receiving the light L3 diffusely reflected from the bottom surface 7. In this case, the voltage of the second electrical signal output from the second sensor 112 is relatively higher than the voltage Vs of the second electrical signal output when the light L3 diffusely reflected from the bottom surface 7 is received. Can be lower. Meanwhile, since a part of the diffusely reflected light L29 is also incident on the first sensor 111, the magnitude of the voltage Vp of the first electrical signal output from the first sensor 111 may be output from the second sensor 112. The magnitude of the voltage of the second electrical signal may be equal to or approximately approximation.

As such, when the depression zone 6 is present on the bottom surface 9 and the movable body 100 is positioned at the top of the depression zone 6, the electrical signals output from the

respective sensors

111 and 112 are transferred to the bottom surface 9. Since it is different from the case that is located on the), the control unit 120 can determine whether there is a recessed area on the bottom surface 9 by using this, and also there is a risk that the moving object 100 falls based on this. It can be determined whether there is. A more detailed description thereof will be described later.

According to another embodiment, the light source 110 may be provided in the movable body 100 such that the second sensor 112 is disposed between the first sensor 111 and the light source 110. According to another embodiment, the light source 110 may be provided in the moving body 100 such that the first sensor 111 is disposed between the second sensor 112 and the light source 110. Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the light source 110 is disposed between the first sensor 111 and the second sensor 112 will be described.

7 is a view for explaining another embodiment of the moving body. FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining an example in which each sensor of the moving object receives light, and FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining another example in which each sensor of the moving object receives light.

Referring to FIG. 7, the moving object 100 may include a light source 110a, a plurality of

sensors

111 and 112, and a controller 110, in which case the light source 110a and the plurality of sensors 111. , 112 may be physically arranged sequentially. In other words, one of the plurality of

sensors

111 and 112a, for example, the second sensor 112a may be disposed between another sensor, for example, the first sensor 111 and the light source 110a. .

The light source 110a may emit light L4 and L7 under the control of the controller 110 and irradiate the bottom surface 7. In this case, the light source 110a may continuously irradiate the light L4 and L7 onto the bottom surface 7 as described above, or may flash the light L4 and L7 in a predetermined pattern as previously defined. ) May be irradiated to the bottom surface 7.

The light source 110a may emit light of various wavelength bands such as, for example, visible light, ultraviolet light, or infrared light.

Since operations and functions of the light source 110a have been described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6B, detailed descriptions thereof will be omitted below.

The plurality of sensors may include a first sensor 111 and a second sensor 112a, and the first sensor 111 and the second sensor 112a are respectively irradiated from the light source 110a and then the bottom surface ( The light L5, L6, and L8 reflected by 7) may be sensed, and an electrical signal, that is, a first electrical signal and a second electrical signal according to the detection result may be output and transmitted to the controller 110. As described above, in this case, the magnitude of the electrical signal output from the first sensor 111 and the second sensor 112a, for example, the voltage may correspond to the amount of light L5, L6, L8 detected. .

The first sensor 111 has a bottom surface (on the traveling path of the specularly reflected light L5 so as to properly receive the light L5 specularly reflected at the bottom surface 7 after being irradiated from the light source 110a. 7 may be provided on the moving body 100 toward. In this case, the first sensor 111 may be appropriately disposed according to the position of the light source 110a. For example, since the reflection angle θ5 of the specularly reflected light L5 is the same as the incident angle θ4 of the incident light L4, the position of the first sensor 111 in the moving object 100 is the light source 110a. ) May be determined based on the position of the light source and the irradiation direction of the light L4 of the light source 110a.

The second sensor 112a may be provided on the moving object 100 to receive the light L6 and L8 diffusely reflected from the bottom surface 7 after being irradiated from the light source 110a.

According to an embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the second sensor 112a may be provided to be rotatably fixed to the movable body 100.

According to an exemplary embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 8, the second sensor 112a1 may emit light L6 diffusely reflected at the point 7f at which the light L5 received by the first sensor 111 is specularly reflected. It may be arranged to receive. In other words, the second sensor 112a1 may be provided to receive the diffusely reflected light L6 at the same point as the point 7f at which the light L5 received by the first sensor 111 is specularly reflected. .

For example, as shown in FIG. 8, the light source 110a may emit light L4. In this case, at one point 7f of the bottom surface 7, the state of one point 7f may be For example, specular and / or diffuse reflection of the incident light L4 may occur according to the uneven state.

The light L5 specularly reflected at one point 7f is sensed by the first sensor 111, and the light L6 diffusely reflected at one point 7f is sensed by the second sensor 112a1. In this case, the diffusely reflected light L6 may travel in the opposite direction to the specularly reflected light L5, that is, to the right of the reference line M of FIG. 8, or in the same direction as the specularly reflected light L5, that is, FIG. It may progress to the left direction of the reference line M of eight. The second sensor 112a1 may be provided to receive light traveling in at least one direction among the light L6 diffusely reflected from one point 7f of the bottom surface 7 according to a designer's selection.

According to another embodiment, the second sensor 112a2 is diffusely reflected at a point 7g different from the point 7f at which the light L5 received by the first sensor 111 is specularly reflected, as shown in FIG. 9. It may be provided to receive the light (L8).

For example, the light source 110a may emit light L10 continuously or periodically, and the light L10 emitted from the light source 110a may be incident on one region 7e of the bottom surface 7. Can be. The specular and / or diffuse reflection of the incident light L4 and L7 may occur at each

point

7f and 7g of the one zone 7e where the light L10 is incident.

The first sensor 111 detects the light L5 specularly reflected at one point 7f located in the one area 7e. The second sensor 112a2 disposed between the light source 110a and the first sensor 111 is provided to detect the diffusely reflected light L8 at another point 7g different from the one point 7f. In other words, each of the first sensor 111 and the second sensor 112a2 may receive light L5 and L8 reflected at

different points

7f and 7g.

In this case, the direction in which the diffusely reflected light L8 is incident at the different point 7g and the direction in which the diffusely reflected light L6 is incident at the same point 7f as the point where the specularly reflected light L5 is reflected are different from each other. Thus, the second sensor 112a2, which receives the diffusely reflected light L8 at different points 7g, may receive the diffusely reflected light at the same point 7f so as to properly receive the diffusely reflected light L8. The second sensor 112a1 receiving the L6 may be provided to be inclined further at a predetermined angle θ10.

In addition, according to another embodiment, the second sensor 112a may be installed on the movable body 100 to be rotatable.

The second sensor 112a optionally receives the diffusely reflected light L6 at the same point 7f as the point at which the light L5 is specularly reflected or is different from the point at which the light L5 is specularly reflected ( It may be provided to rotate within a range of angles about a predetermined axis to receive the diffused light (L8) in 7g). Rotation of the second sensor 112a may be performed according to at least one of a designer's selection, a user's manipulation, and a control of the controller 120. According to the rotation, the second sensor 112a is either the light L6 diffusely reflected at the same point 7f as the specularly reflected point, or the light L8 diffusely reflected at the point 7g different from the point at which the light L5 is specularly reflected. It is possible to receive one relatively more appropriately.

In addition, since detailed operations and functions of the first sensor 111 and the second sensor 112a have been described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6B, detailed descriptions thereof will be omitted.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the control unit 120 will be described in more detail.

10 is a more detailed control block diagram of an embodiment of a controller.

Referring to FIG. 10, in one embodiment, the controller 120 includes a light emission controller 121, a signal processor 122, a floor state determiner 126, a moving object determiner 129, and a drive controller. 129a.

The light emission control unit 121, the signal processing unit 122, the floor state determination unit 126, the moving object operation determination unit 129, and the driving control unit 129a of the control unit 120 may be physically separated or logically. It may be separate. When the light emission control unit 121, the signal processing unit 122, the floor state determination unit 126, the moving object operation determination unit 129, and the driving control unit 129a are physically separated from each other, each of the semiconductors 121 to 129a is different from each other. It can be implemented by a chip and related components. When the light emission control unit 121, the signal processing unit 122, the ground state determination unit 126, the moving object operation determination unit 129, and the driving control unit 129a are logically separated from each other, these 121 to 129a may be one or two. It can be implemented by the above semiconductor chip.

The light emission controller 121 may generate a control signal and transmit the generated control signal to the light source 110 to control the operation of the light source 110. According to an embodiment, the light emission controller 121 may include a pulse generator 121a. As illustrated in FIG. 11, the pulse generator 121a may generate a predetermined pulse signal and then transfer the generated pulse signal to the light source 110. The light source 110 emits light L1 while blinking in a pattern corresponding to the pulse signal.

The width t11 of the pulses of the pulse signal and the interval t12 between the pulses may be the same as or different from each other. For example, the width t11 of one pulse of the pulse signal may be the same as or different from the width t13 of the other pulse. Also, the interval t12 between two pulses and the interval t14 between two other pulses may be the same as or different from each other.

According to an embodiment, the pulse generator 121a may include a pulse width modulation generator for generating a pulse using a pulse width modulation (PWM) method. The pulse width modulator may output and transmit the modulated pulse width to the light source 110.

When the light source 110 emits the light L1 in a predetermined pattern according to the pulse signal, the first sensor 111 and the second sensor 112 reflect the reflected light L2 and L3 according to the irradiation pattern of the light source 110. Is incident. Accordingly, the first sensor 111 and the second sensor 112 output the first electrical signal and the second electrical signal of the pattern corresponding to the incident patterns of the reflected light L2 and L3.

FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining disturbance light, and FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an electrical signal output from the first sensor and the second sensor by the disturbance light. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of an electrical signal including a noise component output from a first sensor. FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of an electrical signal filtered by a high pass filter, and FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of an electrical signal filtered by a low pass filter.

As described above, the first sensor 111 and the second sensor 112 are irradiated from the light source 110 and then reflected from the surface of the bottom surface 7 to 9 or the recessed area 6 (L2, L3). Can be received. In this case, the first electrical signal and the second electrical signal output from the first sensor 111 and the second sensor 112 may be output in a pulse form according to the irradiation pattern of the light L1 by the light source 110. have.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 12, not only the reflected light L2 and L3, but also the disturbance light L9 transmitted from the outside may be transmitted to the first sensor 111 and the second sensor 112. The disturbance light L9 adds a noise component to the electrical signals output from the first sensor 111 and the second sensor 112. Specifically, if only the disturbance light L9 is transmitted to the first sensor 111, as illustrated in FIG. 13, the first sensor 111 may transmit an electrical signal having a predetermined voltage V0 corresponding to the disturbance light L9. The electrical signal of the voltage V0 corresponding to the disturbance light L9 may be, for example, a pulsed electrical signal output from the first sensor 111 according to the reflected light L2. Can be synthesized. Therefore, when the specularly reflected light L2 and the disturbance light L9 are incident together, the first sensor 111 may be a component output in a pattern corresponding to the pulse signal in response to the reflected light L2 as shown in FIG. 14. And a first electrical signal in which noise components output by the disturbance light L9 are combined. In this case, the voltage Ve of the first electrical signal including the noise component generated by the disturbance light L9 is larger than the voltage Vp of the first electrical signal containing no noise. Similarly, the second electrical signal output from the second sensor 112 also includes a component output in response to the pattern of the reflected light L3 and a noise component by the disturbance light L9.

The signal processing unit 122 can remove the noise component due to the disturbance light L9 output from each of the first sensor 111 and the second sensor 112 in this manner. In addition, the signal processor 122 may amplify the first electrical signal and the second electrical signal output from each of the first sensor 111 and the second sensor 112, or may amplify the first electrical signal and the second electrical signal. You can convert to flat.

According to an embodiment, the signal processor 122 may include a high pass filter 123, an amplifier 124, and a low pass filter 125. The high pass filter 123, the amplifier 124, and the low pass filter 125 may be implemented in hardware or may be implemented in software.

As illustrated in FIG. 15, the high pass filter 123 may pass a signal having a frequency of a predetermined range or more to remove noise caused by the disturbance light L9. In other words, the high pass filter separates the components of the low frequency component by the disturbance light L9 having the DC characteristic and the components output from the first sensor 111 in response to the reflected light L2 having the high frequency characteristics. It is possible to remove noise caused by the disturbance light L9 of the low frequency component from the electrical signal. Accordingly, only the first electrical signal corresponding to the reflected light L2 incident on the first sensor 111, that is, the reflected light L2 initiated by the specular reflection may be output from the first sensor 111. Similarly, the high pass filter 123 filters the component of the low frequency component of the disturbance light L9 from the second electrical signal output from the second sensor 112 and reflects the incident light to the second sensor 112. (L3), that is, a second electrical signal including only components corresponding to the reflected light L3 due to diffuse reflection can be output.

The first electrical signal and the second electrical signal filtered by the high pass filter 123 may be transmitted to the amplifier 124. The amplifier 124 may amplify the first electrical signal and the second electrical signal filtered by the high pass filter 123 at a constant ratio. The amplifier 124 may be omitted as necessary.

The low pass filter 125 may planarize the first electrical signal and the second electrical signal filtered by the high pass filter 123 or the first electrical signal and the second electrical signal which have been filtered and then amplified. Accordingly, the first electrical signal and the second electrical signal obtained by applying the low pass filter 125 are output in a form that is easy to be processed by the signal processor 122.

In detail, referring to FIG. 14, an electrical signal output from the first electrical signal and the second electrical signal may have a shape of a wave having a predetermined frequency (F1). The low pass filter 125 passes only low frequency components and removes high frequency noise higher than the designed pulse width modulated signal included in the first and second electrical signals, thereby reducing the first and second electrical signals. Can be planarized to (F2). Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 16, the first electrical signal and the second electrical signal which are the same as or close to the pulse signal input to the light source 110 are obtained. If the first electrical signal and the second electrical signal are amplified by the amplifier 124, planarization by the low pass filter 125 may be more effectively performed.

As described above, the signal processor 122 performs signal processing on the first electrical signal output from the first sensor 111 and / or the second electrical signal output from the second sensor 112 to perform arithmetic processing. It is possible to obtain an optimal signal. The first electrical signal and the second electrical signal processed by the signal processor 122 are transmitted to the floor state determiner 126.

The signal processor 122 described above may be implemented by one or more semiconductor chips and related components. The signal processor 122 may be omitted according to a designer's choice.

The floor state determination unit 126 may determine the state of the bottom surfaces 7 to 9 on which the moving object 100 is located by using the electrical signal transmitted from the signal processing unit 122. According to an embodiment, the ground state determination unit 126 may include a surface state determination unit 127 and a recessed area determination unit 128.

18A illustrates an example of an electrical signal output when the bottom surface is a surface of a smooth floor, and FIG. 18B illustrates an example of the electrical signal output when the bottom surface is a surface of a carpet. .

The surface state determining unit 127 is a state of the surface of the bottom surface based on the state of the bottom surface, that is, the characteristics of the first electrical signal E1 and the second electrical signal E2 according to the smoothness or roughness of the surface. Can be determined.

As shown in FIGS. 18A and 18B, the first electrical signal E1 and the second electrical signal E2 processed by the signal processor 122 may have a pulse shape. In this case, the pulses P11, P12, P13 of the first electrical signal E1 correspond to the pulses P21, P22, P23 of the second electrical signal E2, respectively. The pulses P11 and P21, P12 and P22, P13 and P23 corresponding to each other are signals obtained from the reflected L2 and L3 at the bottom surfaces 7 to 9 at the same time point or period.

If the bottom surface 7 is a smooth surface, as shown in FIG. 18A, the voltage of each pulse P11, P12, P13 of the first electrical signal E1 obtained through the first sensor 111. Vp is obtained relatively larger than the voltage Vs of the pulses P21, P22, P23 of the second electrical signal E2 obtained through the second sensor 112 (Vp >> Vs). If the carpet has a rough surface on the bottom surface, as shown in FIG. 18B, the voltage of each pulse P11, P12, P13 of the first electrical signal E1 acquired through the first sensor 111 is equal to the second. The voltage of the pulses P21, P22, P23 of the second electrical signal E2 obtained through the sensor 112 is slightly larger or almost the same (Vp> = Vs). In this case, the voltage of the first electrical signal E1 obtained through the first sensor 111 may be smaller than the voltage of the second electrical signal E2 obtained through the second sensor 112 (Vp < Vs). The surface state determination unit 127 may determine the surface state using the voltage Vp of the first electrical signal E1 and the voltage Vs of the second electrical signal E2.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the surface state determining unit 127 may include a ratio calculating unit 127a, a comparing unit 127b, a counting unit 127c, and a count result comparing unit 127d as shown in FIG. 17. Can be.

The ratio calculator 127a may calculate a ratio Vs / Vp of the voltage Vs of the second electrical signal E2 to the voltage Vp of the first electrical signal E1. Specifically, the ratio calculator 127a first calculates a ratio (Vs / Vp or Vp / Vs) of the voltage Vs of the second electrical signal E2 to the voltage Vp of the first electrical signal E1. The calculation results can be transferred to the counting section 127b or the comparing section 127c.

In addition, the ratio calculating unit 127a obtains a predetermined value by using a function provided separately using the voltage Vp of the first electrical signal E1 and the voltage Vs of the second electrical signal E2 as independent variables. You can also output Such a function may be given in various ways according to a designer's choice, and may be obtained based on theoretical calculation results or experimental results.

The comparison unit 127b may compare the ratio Vs / Vp or Vp / Vs calculated by the ratio calculator 127a with at least one of a first reference value and a second reference value. Here, the first reference value is a reference value for determining the degree of smoothness of the surface, and the second reference value is a reference value for determining the degree of roughness of the surface. The first reference value may be a value smaller than the second reference value.

In detail, the comparator 127b may compare the ratio between signals (Vs / Vp) with the first reference value. According to an embodiment, the first reference value may include, for example, any value between 0.1 and 1.2. In other words, it may be determined whether the voltage Vs of the second electrical signal E2 is relatively smaller than or close to the voltage Vp of the first electrical signal E1.

In addition, the comparison unit 127b may compare the ratio between signals (Vs / Vp) with the second reference value. Here, the second reference value may include, for example, any one of values between 1.5 and 4.0. In other words, it may be determined whether the voltage Vs of the second electrical signal E2 is relatively greater than the voltage Vp of the first electrical signal E1.

According to one embodiment, the comparison unit 127b determines that the bottom surface is smooth if the ratio between signals (Vs / Vp) is smaller than the first reference value, and transmits the determination result to the moving object operation determining unit 129. Alternatively, if the ratio between signals (Vs / Vp) is greater than the second reference value, it may be determined that the bottom surface is rough, and the determination result may be transmitted to the moving object determination unit 129.

The comparison unit 127b compares the ratio between signals Vs / Vp with the first reference value, and if the ratio between the signals Vs / Vp is smaller than the first reference value, the ratio between signals Vs / Vp ) And the second reference value may not be further performed. In addition, the comparison unit 127b compares the signal-to-signal ratio Vs / Vp with the second reference value as described above, and if the comparison signal-to-signal ratio Vs / Vp is larger than the second reference value, the signal-to-signal ratio It may be designed not to perform the comparing step between (Vs / Vp) and the first reference value.

According to another exemplary embodiment, the comparison result of the comparing unit 127b may be transferred to the counting unit 127c.

18C is a view for explaining the operation of the counting unit.

The counting unit 127c counts the number of times the ratio Vs / Vp is greater than the first reference value or the ratio Vs / Vp is the second reference according to the determination result of the comparing unit 127b. The number of times smaller than the value can be counted.

When the pulses P11 to P27 are input in a plurality of times as shown in Fig. 18C, the ratio calculating section 127a corresponds to the corresponding pulses P11 and P21, P12 and P22, P13 and P23, P14 and P24 and P15. And a plurality of ratios may be sequentially obtained by calculating ratios between P25, P16 and P26, P17, and P27). The plurality of calculated ratios are transmitted to the comparator 127b, and the comparator 127b may obtain the plurality of comparison results by comparing the calculated plurality of ratios with at least one of the first reference value and the second reference value. have. Accordingly, a plurality of comparison results may be transmitted to the counting unit 127c. In this case, the comparison unit 127b may separately transmit the case where the calculated ratio is smaller than the first reference value and the case where the calculated ratio is larger than the second reference value to the counting unit 127c.

The counting unit 127c may count the comparison results of the calculated ratios, respectively. In detail, the counting unit 127c may count a case in which the calculated ratio is smaller than the first reference value, or count the case in which the calculated ratio is larger than the second reference value. The counting unit 127c may separately count cases where the calculated ratio is smaller than the first reference value and when the calculated ratio is larger than the second reference value. For example, the counting unit 127c may define at least one integer count variable in advance, and when an electrical signal is transmitted from the comparing unit 127b, adds 1 to at least one count variable corresponding to the transferred electrical signal. Thus, at least one of the case where the calculated ratio is smaller than the first reference value and the case where the calculated ratio is larger than the second reference value may be counted. The count result may be transferred to the count result determiner 127d.

The count result determination unit 127d may receive the count result and determine whether the count result is equal to or greater than the predefined reference value. For example, the count result determination unit 127d compares the count result for the case where the calculated ratio is smaller than the first reference value with the predefined first count reference value, or the calculated ratio is greater than the second reference value. The count result for the large case may be compared with a second predefined count reference value. Here, the first count reference value and the second count reference value may be the same as or different from each other. The first count reference value and the second count reference value may have various values according to a designer's or user's selection, and may be set to 100, for example.

The count result determination unit 127d determines that the bottom surface is made of a slippery surface when the count result for the case where the calculated ratio is smaller than the first reference value is equal to or greater than the predefined first count reference value. The determination result may be output and transmitted to the moving object operation determiner 129. In this case, the count result determination unit 127d may transmit a signal requesting the count unit 127c to reset the count, and the count unit 127c may transmit a signal according to the signal transmitted from the count result determination unit 127. The count variable can be reset by resetting it. For example, the counting unit 127c may modify the value of the count variable to 0 according to the signal transmitted from the count result determining unit 127.

Similarly, the count result determination unit 127d may determine that the bottom surface is greater than or equal to the second count reference value, which is greater than or equal to the second count reference value, when the calculated result is greater than the second reference value. It may be determined that the surface is made of a rough surface, the determination result may be output, and transmitted to the moving object operation determiner 129. In addition, the count result determination unit 127d may transmit a signal requesting the count unit 127c to reset the count, and the count unit 127c may count according to the signal transmitted from the count result determination unit 127. You can reset the variable to initialize it.

The depression zone determination unit 128 has the depression zone 6 below the moving object 100 using the voltage Vp of the first electrical signal E1 and the voltage Vs of the second electrical signal E2. Can be determined.

When the recessed area 6 exists below the moving object 100, as shown in FIG. 19, the voltage Vp and the second electrical signal of the first electrical signal E1 transmitted from the signal processor 122 are provided. The voltage Vs of E2 may appear relatively lower than when the movable body 100 moves on the flat bottom surfaces 7 to 9. The depression zone determination unit 128 thus determines whether the depression zone 6 exists using the magnitudes of the voltage Vp of the first electrical signal E1 and the voltage Vs of the second electrical signal E2. It can be determined.

The depression zone determination unit 128 may include a comparison unit 128a, a counting unit 128b, and a count result comparison unit 128c.

The comparator 128a receives the first electrical signal E1 and the second electrical signal E2, and the voltage Vp of the received first electrical signal E1 and the voltage of the second electrical signal E2 ( Vs) can be compared with a predefined reference value. For example, it may be determined whether the voltage Vp of the first electrical signal E1 is smaller than the third reference value or the voltage of the second electrical signal E2 is smaller than the fourth reference value. Here, the third reference value and the fourth reference value may be defined according to the designer's choice, and may be theoretically or experimentally obtained. In addition, the comparator 128a may include the first sensor when the voltage Vp of the first electrical signal E1 is smaller than the third reference value or the voltage of the second electrical signal E2 is smaller than the fourth reference value. The difference between the voltage Vp of the electrical signal E1 output from the 111 and the voltage Vs of the electrical signal E2 output from the second sensor 112 is further calculated, and the calculated difference is referred to as a fifth reference. You can also compare the value.

In addition, the comparator 128a obtains a predetermined value from a separately provided function having the voltage Vp of the first electrical signal E1 and the voltage Vs of the second electrical signal E2 as variables. The comparison result may be output by comparing the value with a reference value provided separately. Such a function may be given in various ways according to a designer's choice, and may be obtained based on theoretical calculation results or experimental results.

When the pulses P11 to P27 are input in a plurality of times as shown in FIG. 18C, the comparing unit 128a corresponds to the pulses P11 and P21, P12 and P22, P13 and P23, P14 and P24 that mutually correspond to each other. By comparing with a predefined reference value using can obtain a plurality of comparison results sequentially. In this case, the comparator 128a sequentially receives the pulses P11 and P21, P12 and P22, P13 and P23, P14 and P24 that are sequentially input, and the pulses P11 and P21, P12 and P22, P13 and P23, P14 and P24. The comparison result can be obtained by comparing each time is input.

According to an embodiment, the comparison unit 128a may compare the voltage Vp of the first electrical signal E1 with the third reference value or the voltage of the second electrical signal E2 with the fourth reference value. In a small case, it may be determined that the recessed area 6 exists at the lower end of the moving object 100, and the determination result may be transmitted to the moving object operation determining unit 129. According to an embodiment, the comparator 128a may determine that the voltage Vp of the first electrical signal E1 is less than the third reference value or the voltage of the second electrical signal E2 is less than the fourth reference value. The difference between the voltage Vp of the electrical signal E1 output from the first sensor 111 and the voltage Vs of the electrical signal E2 output from the second sensor 112 is further calculated, and the calculated difference is When it is smaller than the fifth reference value, it may be determined that the recessed area 6 exists at the lower end of the moving object 100, and the determination result may be transmitted to the moving object operation determining unit 129.

According to another exemplary embodiment, at least one comparison result of the comparing unit 128a may be transferred to the counting unit 128b.

The counting unit 128b may count a plurality of comparison results transmitted from the comparing unit 128a. Specifically, the counting unit 128b may count a case where the voltage Vp of the first electrical signal E1 is less than the third reference value or the voltage of the second electrical signal E2 is less than the fourth reference value. Can be. In this case, the counting unit 128b may perform a count using at least one integer count variable predefined. The count result may be transferred to the count result determiner 128c.

As described above, the count result determination unit 128c receives the count result and determines whether the count result is the same as the predefined third count reference value or greater than the predefined third count reference value. Can be. The third count reference value may have various values according to a designer's or user's selection, and may be set to 100, for example.

The count result determination unit 128c determines that the recessed area 6 exists on the bottom surface 7 when the count result is the same as the third count result reference value or larger than the predefined third count reference value. The determination result may be transferred to the moving object operation determiner 129. In this case, the count result determination unit 128c may transmit a signal requesting the count unit 128b to reset the count, and the count unit 128b may initialize the count according to the reset request signal.

The moving object operation determining unit 129 may determine the operation of the moving object 100 based on the determination result of the floor state by the floor state determining unit 126. For example, when the floor state determining unit 126 determines that the bottom surface has a rough surface, the moving object determining unit 129 determines that the moving object 100 moves to another area, or separate operation You can decide to take. When the floor state determination unit 126 determines that the bottom surface has a smooth surface, the moving object operation determining unit 129 may determine that the moving object 100 maintains the current operation. In addition, when it is determined that the recessed area 6 exists in the bottom surface, the movable body motion determining unit 129 prevents the movable body 100 from falling down in the recessed area 6 so that the movable body 100 is recessed area. (6) may decide to move or stop in another direction so that it can be avoided.

The moving object operation determining unit 129 reads a database provided separately and detects an operation corresponding to the floor state stored in the database, thereby determining the moving state of the moving object 100 according to the determination result of the floor state by the floor state determining unit 126. The action can be determined.

The drive control unit 129a generates a control signal according to the operation determined by the moving object operation determining unit 129, and then transfers the generated control signal to a corresponding component, for example, the driving unit 130, to move the moving object 100. Can take a predetermined action according to the ground state. For example, when the moving object 100 is a robot cleaner that cleans the bottom surface by using a wet cleaning method, and when the bottom surface is rough, that is, when the bottom surface is determined to be a carpet, the driving controller 129a may determine the robot cleaner. By generating control signals for the motors connected to the wheels to control the robot cleaner from leaving the carpet, and generating and transmitting control signals for the parts to be cleaned, the cleaning parts do not perform the cleaning operation on the carpet. May be controlled.

The driving unit 130 may be driven under the control of the driving control unit 129a to allow the moving object 100 to perform a predetermined operation or move. The driving unit 130 may include, for example, a motor connected to a wheel for moving the moving object 100, and the motor rotates or stops rotating in a predetermined direction according to a control signal of the driving control unit 129a. can do.

20 is a view showing another embodiment of a movable body.

As shown in FIG. 20, the movable body 100 may include a plurality of floor

state sensor modules

140 and 150 and a controller 120. 20 illustrates two floor state sensor modules, that is, a first floor state sensor module 140 and a second floor state sensor module 150, but the number of floor state sensor modules is not limited thereto. For example, the moving object 100 may be provided with three floor state sensor modules, or more floor state sensor modules may be provided.

Each of the floor

state sensor modules

140 and 150 may be installed at different positions in the moving body. For example, the first ground state sensor module 140 may be installed in the front direction of the bottom of the movable body, and the second ground state sensor module 150 may be installed in the rear direction of the bottom of the movable body. In addition, each of the ground

state sensor modules

140 and 150 may be provided at various positions according to a designer's selection.

Each floor

state sensor module

140 or 150 may include

light sources

141 and 151 and a plurality of

sensors

142, 143, 152 and 153. The

light sources

141 and 151 may irradiate light to the bottom surface independently of each other or depending on each other. In this case, the

light sources

141 and 151 may irradiate light to the bottom surface according to a predetermined pattern. The light reflected from the bottom surface after being irradiated by the first light source 141 is received by the first sensor 142 and the second sensor 143 and is reflected by the bottom surface after being irradiated by the second light source 151. Light may be received by the second sensor 153 and the fourth sensor 153. In this case, the first sensor 142 and the third sensor 152 receive light that is specularly reflected from the bottom surface, and the second sensor 143 and the fourth sensor 153 receive light that is diffusely reflected from the bottom surface. It may be provided to receive.

As described above, the first sensor 142, the second sensor 143, the third sensor 152, and the fourth sensor 153 each include a first electrical signal, a second electrical signal, a third electrical signal, and a first electrical signal. 4 Can output electrical signals. The first electrical signal, the second electrical signal, the third electrical signal, and the fourth electrical signal may be transmitted to the controller 120.

As described above, the controller 120 may determine the state of the bottom surface based on the first electrical signal, the second electrical signal, the third electrical signal, and the fourth electrical signal. In this case, the controller 120 calculates a first ratio between signals based on the first electrical signal and the second electrical signal, and based on the third electrical signal and the fourth electrical signal, the second signal. The second ratio between signals may be calculated, and the state of the bottom surface may be determined using the ratio between the first signals and the ratio between the second signals. For example, the controller 120 determines that the bottom surface is smooth when both the ratio between the first signals and the ratio between the second signals are smaller than the first reference value, and the ratio between the ratio between the first signals and the ratio between the second signals is If it is larger than the second reference value, it may be determined that the bottom surface is rough. The controller 120 determines that only one of the ratio between the first signals and the ratio between the second signals is smaller than the first reference value, or only one of the ratio between the first signals and the ratio between the second signals is smaller than the second reference value. If large, the delivered first electrical signal and the second electrical signal may be ignored and wait until a new first and second electrical signal are delivered. In addition, if one of the ratio between the first signal and the ratio between the second signal is smaller than the first reference value and the other is greater than the second reference value, the control unit 120 is a moving body of different materials It can be judged that it is located between floors. In addition, the controller 120 may determine the state of the floor surface by using the plurality of floor

state sensor modules

140 and 150 using various methods that can be considered by the designer.

Since various functions of the controller 120 have been described above, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

21 is a control block diagram of another embodiment of the controller.

Referring to FIG. 21, in one embodiment, the controller 120 includes the light emission controller 121, the signal processor 122, the floor state determiner 126, the moving object operation determiner 129, and the drive controller. 129a may be included, and may further include a comparator 123a.

The light emission controller 121 may generate a control signal and transmit the generated control signal to the light source 110 to control the operation of the light source 110. According to an embodiment, the light emission controller 121 may include a first pulse generator 121b, a second pulse generator 121c, and a selector 121d. The first pulse generator 121b and the second pulse generator 121c may be physically separated from each other, or may be logically separated from each other.

As described above, the first pulse generator 121b and the second pulse generator 121c may generate a predetermined pulse signal and then transfer the generated pulse signal to the light source 110. The light source 110 emits light L21 and L22 while blinking in a pattern corresponding to the received pulse signal.

22A is a diagram illustrating an example of the intensity of light emitted from a light source under the control of the first pulse generator and the second pulse generator. In FIG. 22A, I0 denotes a maximum value of light intensity that the light source 110 can emit, I1 means intensity of light emitted by the light source 110 under the control of the first pulse generator 121b, I2 refers to the intensity of light emitted from the light source 110 under the control of the second pulse generator 121c.

The first pulse generator 121b and the second pulse generator 121c respectively generate different pulse signals, and transfer the generated different pulse signals to the light source 110 so that the different pulses from which the light source 110 is transmitted are provided. It can be controlled to emit light (L21, L22) of different intensities (I1, I2) corresponding to the signal.

The first pulse generator 121b and the second pulse generator 121c may be provided to selectively operate. For example, when the first pulse generator 121b operates, the second pulse generator 121b may operate. In operation 121c, the first pulse generator 121b may not be operated when the second pulse generator 121c is operated.

The first pulse generator 121b may generate a first pulse signal as previously defined. For example, the first pulse generator 121b may generate the first pulse signal when the moving object 100 starts driving and a predetermined time elapses or a predetermined period arrives. As another example, the first pulse generator 121b may generate the first pulse signal according to the selection result of the selector 121d based on the comparison result of the comparator 123a.

The first pulse signal generated by the first pulse generator 121b is transmitted to the light source 110, and the light source 110 receives an intensity of intensity I1 corresponding to the first pulse signal in response to receiving the first pulse signal. The light L21 may be emitted. The intensity I1 of the light L21 corresponding to the first pulse signal may be relatively stronger than the intensity I2 of the light L22 corresponding to the second pulse signal generated by the second pulse generator 121c. Can be. Accordingly, when the first pulse signal is transmitted to the light source 110, light L21 may be incident on the bottom surface 7 with a relatively strong intensity I1. Each of the two sensors 112 enters a relatively strong intensity of specularly reflected light L23 and diffusely reflected light L24. The intensity I1 of the light L21 corresponding to the first pulse signal may be the maximum value I0 of the intensity of the light that the light source 110 can emit or may be smaller than this.

The second pulse generator 121c may generate a second pulse signal as previously defined, and for example, may generate the second pulse signal based on the selection result of the selector 121d. The maximum voltage of the second pulse signal generated by the second pulse signal generator 121c may be smaller than the maximum voltage of the first pulse signal generated by the first pulse signal generator 121b. According to an exemplary embodiment, the second pulse generator 121c may generate the second pulse signal according to a lapse of a predetermined time or a predetermined period. The second pulse signal generator 121c may generate a pulse signal crosswise with the first pulse signal generator 121b.

The second pulse signal generated by the second pulse generator 121c is transmitted to the light source 110, and the light source 110 receives the light L22 of intensity I2 corresponding to the second pulse signal from the bottom surface 7. ) In the direction of In this case, the intensity I2 of the light L22 emitted from the light source 110 in response to the second pulse signal is greater than the intensity I1 of the light L21 emitted from the light source 110 according to the first pulse signal. It may be relatively weaker. Therefore, when the second pulse signal is transmitted to the light source 110, light L22 may be incident on the bottom surface 7 with a relatively weak intensity I2. Accordingly, the first sensor 111 and the first sensor 111 may be incident on the bottom surface 7. Each of the two sensors 112 receives relatively reflected light L23 and diffusely reflected light L24.

As such, the intensities I1 and I2 of the lights L21 and L22 emitted from the light source 110 may be changed according to at least one operation of the first pulse generator 121b and the second pulse generator 121c. The magnitudes of the electrical signals output from the first sensor 111 and the second sensor 112 that receive the specularly reflected light L23 and the diffusely reflected light L24 may also be correspondingly different. In this way, the moving object 100 may control the operation of the

pulse generators

121b and 121c to increase the discrimination force between the electrical signals output from the first sensor 111 and the second sensor 112.

The selector 121d is configured to generate a pulse signal among the first pulse generator 121b and the second pulse generator 121c according to the electrical signal transmitted from the comparator 123a. Can be selected.

For example, the selector 121d may be implemented using at least one switch, and the first pulse generator 121b and a power source (not shown) may be implemented according to a control signal transmitted from the comparator 123a. The power supplied from the power source generates the first pulse generator 121b and the second pulse by opening or closing the switch to be connected and closing or opening the switch that connects the power to the second pulse generator 121c. It may be provided to be delivered to only one of the parts 121c. Accordingly, only one of the first pulse generator 121b and the second pulse generator 121c outputs a pulse signal, and the light source 110 emits light L21 and L22 having various intensities from the bottom surface 7. Can be released.

When light L21 and L22 are emitted from the light source 110 by the pulse signal output from at least one of the first pulse generator 121b and the second pulse generator 121c, the first sensor 111 and the first sensor 111 and the second pulse generator 121c may emit light. The second sensor 112 receives the specularly reflected light L23 and the non-reflected light L24, respectively, and outputs a first electrical signal and a second electrical signal corresponding to the received lights L23 and L24.

22B is a diagram illustrating an example of a signal output from the first sensor in response to light emitted by the control of the first pulse generator, and FIG. 22C is a view corresponding to light emitted by the control of the first pulse generator. It is a figure which shows an example of the signal output from two sensors.

When the light source 110 outputs light L21 having an intensity corresponding to the electrical signal output from the first pulse generator 121b, the first sensor 111 is specularly reflected as shown in FIG. 22B. Electrical signals of voltages V11 and V12 corresponding to the light L23 may be output. In this case, the voltages V11 and V12 of the electrical signal output from the first sensor 111 may be different depending on the material or state of the bottom surface 7.

For example, if the bottom surface 7 is made of a material having a low reflectance, light L23 of relatively less energy is specularly reflected on the bottom surface 7, and the amount of light received by the first sensor 111 is received. Relatively decreasing, the first sensor 111 outputs an electrical signal of a relatively low first voltage V11.

On the contrary, if the bottom surface 7 is made of a material having a high reflectance, the light L23 of more energy is reflected on the bottom surface 7, and the first sensor 111 has a relatively high second voltage V12. Will output an electrical signal. If the first sensor 111 is implemented using a sensor whose maximum output voltage R1 is lower than the second voltage V12, the first sensor 111 may emit light corresponding to the second voltage V12. Even if L23 is incident, the electric signal having the maximum output voltage R1 lower than the second voltage V12 is output.

In addition, when the light source 110 outputs the light L21 having an intensity corresponding to the electrical signal output from the first pulse generator 121b, the second sensor 111 is diffusely reflected, as shown in FIG. 22C. The electrical signals of the voltages V21 and V22 corresponding to the light L24 may be output. In the same manner as described above, the voltages V21 and V22 of the electrical signal output from the second sensor 112 may be different depending on the material or state of the bottom surface 7.

For example, if the bottom surface 7 is made of a material having a low reflectance, the energy of the light L23 and the diffusely reflected light L24 specularly reflected on the bottom surface 7 is relatively less. Accordingly, the amount of light received by the second sensor 111 is relatively reduced, so that the second sensor 112 outputs an electrical signal having a relatively low third voltage V21.

On the contrary, if the bottom surface 7 is made of a material having a high reflectance, the light L24 of more energy is diffusely reflected on the bottom surface 7, and the second sensor 112 has a relatively high fourth voltage V22. Outputs an electrical signal. If the first sensor 112 is implemented using a sensor whose maximum output voltage R2 is lower than the fourth voltage V22, the second sensor 112 may emit light L24 corresponding to the fourth voltage V22. Even when this incident, the electrical signal of the maximum output voltage R2 lower than the fourth voltage V22 is output.

In some embodiments, the maximum output voltage R1 of the first sensor 111 may be the same as or different from the maximum output voltage R2 of the second sensor 112.

As illustrated in FIG. 21, the first electrical signal output from the first sensor 111 and the second electrical signal output from the second sensor 112 may be transmitted to the signal processor 122.

According to an embodiment, the signal processor 122 may include a high pass filter 123, a comparator 123a, an amplifier 124, and a low pass filter 125.

The high pass filter 123 may pass only a signal having a frequency of a predetermined range or more to remove noise caused by the disturbance light L9, and output an electrical signal from which the noise is removed. Since the high pass filter 123 has been described above, a detailed description thereof will be omitted below.

According to an embodiment, the electrical signal output by the high pass filter 123 may be transmitted to the comparator 123a.

The comparator 123a compares each of the first electrical signal output from the first sensor 111 and the second electrical signal output from the second sensor 112 with a reference value, for example, the reference voltages R11 and R12. Can be.

For example, the comparator 123a compares the voltages V11 and V12 of the first electrical signal output by the first sensor 111 with the first reference voltage R1, and thus the voltage V11 of the first electrical signal. It is determined whether V12 is higher or lower than the first reference voltage R11. The first reference voltage R11 may be the maximum output voltage R1 of the first sensor 111 or may be a voltage close to the maximum output voltage R1. For example, the first reference voltage R11 may include any voltage between 75% and 90% of the maximum output voltage R1.

In addition, the comparator 123a compares the voltages V21 and V22 of the second electrical signal output by the second sensor 112 with the second reference voltage R2, and outputs the second output signal from the second sensor 112. 2 It may be determined whether the voltages V21 and V22 of the electrical signal are lower or higher than the second reference voltage R121. The second reference voltage R21 may be the maximum output voltage R2 of the second sensor 112 or may be close to the maximum output voltage R2. For example, the second reference voltage R12 may include any voltage between 75% and 90% of the maximum output voltage R2 of the second sensor 112.

The first reference voltage R11 and the second reference voltage R21 may be set identically. In this case, the maximum output voltage R1 of the first sensor 111 may be the same as or close to the maximum output voltage R2 of the second sensor 112.

The comparator 123a amplifies the first electrical signal and the second electrical signal according to the comparison between the first electrical signal and the first reference voltage R11 and the comparison between the second electrical signal and the second reference voltage R21. 124, the low pass filter 125, or the bottom state determiner 126 may be transmitted to one or more, or a control signal based on a comparison result may be generated and transmitted to the selector 121d.

For example, the comparator 123a may determine that the voltage V11 of the first electrical signal is less than the first reference voltage R11 and the voltage V21 of the second electrical signal is less than the second reference voltage R21. The first electrical signal and the second electrical signal may be transmitted to at least one of the amplifier 124, the low pass filter 125, or the floor state determiner 126.

In addition, the comparison unit 123a may determine that the voltage V11 of the first electrical signal is greater than the first reference voltage R11, or the voltage V21 of the second electrical signal is greater than the second reference voltage R21. In addition, a predetermined control signal may be generated and transmitted to the selector 121d to reduce the amount of light L21 and L22 emitted from the light source 110.

Specifically, when the first pulse generator 121b transmits the first pulse signal to the light source 110, the light source 110 may emit light L21 having a intensity corresponding to the first pulse signal, that is, relatively more energy. The light L21 may be emitted. The first sensor 111 and the second sensor 112 output first and second electrical signals corresponding to the specularly reflected light L23 and the diffusely reflected light L24.

If the voltage of the first electrical signal is greater than the reference voltage R11 or the voltage of the second electrical signal is greater than the reference voltage R21, the comparator 123a generates a control signal to the selector 121d. To pass.

The selector 121d may be a pulse generator, that is, a second light source 110 capable of emitting light L22 having a relatively low intensity among the plurality of

pulse generators

121b and 121c according to the received control signal. The pulse generator 121c is selected, and the selected second pulse generator 121c generates a second pulse signal and transmits the second pulse signal to the light source 110. Accordingly, the light source 110 emits light L22 having a relatively lower energy than previously emitted light L21.

FIG. 22D illustrates an example of a signal output from the first sensor in response to light emitted by the control of the second pulse generator, and FIG. 22E illustrates a signal corresponding to light emitted by the control of the second pulse generator. It is a figure which shows an example of the signal output from two sensors.

As described above, since the light L22 emitted from the light source 110 by the second pulse signal is relatively lower in intensity, the first sensor 111 may have a relatively lower fifth as shown in FIG. 22D. The electrical signal of the voltage V13 is output, and the second sensor 112 also outputs the electrical signal of the relatively lower sixth voltage V23 as shown in FIG. 22E.

The fifth voltage V13 is relatively lower than the first voltage V11 or the second voltage V12 and is also relative to the maximum output voltage R1 or the first reference voltage R11 of the first sensor 111. Can be lower. The sixth voltage V23 is lower than the third voltage V21 or the fourth voltage V22 and lower than the maximum output voltage R2 or the second reference voltage R21 of the second sensor 112. Can be.

If the voltage V12 of the first electrical signal corresponding to the specularly reflected light L23 is greater than or equal to the maximum output voltage R1, the voltage of the electrical signal output from the first sensor 111 is the maximum output voltage. It is the same as or close to (R1), whereby accurate measurement of the amount of light detected by the first sensor 111 becomes impossible. The same is true of the second sensor 112. In other words, when the intensity of the lights L23 and L24 exceeds the range that the first sensor 111 and the second sensor 112 can measure, the voltage between the output electrical signals is measured accurately or approximately. This becomes impossible, and thus the calculation result of the ratio of the voltage between the output electrical signals is also incorrect.

In this case, when the relative intensity of the light L22 emitted from the light source 110 is reduced as described above, the intensity of the reflected light L23 and L24 is increased by the first sensor 111 and the second sensor 112. The voltage V13 of the first electrical signal corresponding to the specularly reflected light L23 and the voltage V23 of the second electrical signal corresponding to the diffusely reflected light L24 are within the range that can be measured. It may be lower than the maximum output voltages R1 and R2 of the 111 and 112. As a result, a more accurate voltage V13 of the first electrical signal and a voltage V23 of the second electrical signal can be measured, and more accurately the ratio of the voltages V13 and V23 between the electrical signals can be calculated. Therefore, the control unit 120 of the moving object 100 can determine the state of the bottom surface 7 more accurately.

21 to 22D illustrate an example in which the light emission controller 121 includes two

pulse generators

121b and 121c, but the

pulse generators

121b and 121c are not limited thereto. It is also possible to include three or more pulse generators. In this case, each pulse generator may generate different pulse signals from each other, and the light source 110 is provided to emit light having different intensities corresponding to different pulse signals.

The structures, operations, and functions of the amplifier 124 and the low pass filter 125, the ground state determiner 126, the moving object operation determiner 129, and the drive controller 129a of the signal processor 122 have been described above. Therefore, detailed description thereof will be omitted below.

Hereinafter, the robot cleaner 1 will be described as an exemplary embodiment of the moving object 100 described above.

23 is a perspective view illustrating an exterior of an embodiment of the robot cleaner, and FIG. 24 is a plan view of an embodiment of the robot cleaner. 25 is a plan view illustrating an embodiment of an internal structure of the robot cleaner, and FIG. 26 is a bottom view of an embodiment of the robot cleaner.

Referring to FIGS. 23 to 26, the robot cleaner 1 may include a main body 200 forming an outer appearance, and the main body 200 may be a single housing or a combination of a plurality of housings. Can be formed.

The main body 200 may include a first main body 300 formed at the front and a second main body 400 formed at the rear of the first main body 300. A connection member 400 connecting the first main body 300 and the second main body 400 may be positioned between the first main body 300 and the second main body 400. The first body 300 and the second body 400 may be manufactured in one piece, or may be separately manufactured and then combined.

According to an embodiment, the first main body 300 may be provided with means for collecting various information related to the running of the robot cleaner 1 or for introducing dust from the bottom surface.

The front surface of the first body 300 may be provided in a predetermined shape, for example, a quadrangular shape so as to be in close contact with the front surface and the side surface of the advancing direction to suck the dust. The robot cleaner 1 may be in close contact with the wall as much as possible to suck the dust.

A bumper 310 may be coupled to a front surface of the first body 300 to mitigate noise and impact generated when the robot cleaner 1 hits a wall when the robot cleaner 1 is traveling. In addition, a separate buffer member 315 may be additionally coupled to the bumper 310.

An entrance blocking sensor 335 may protrude from an upper surface of the first body 300. The entrance blocking sensor 335 may detect infrared rays to prevent the robot cleaner 1 from entering a predetermined section. According to an embodiment, the entrance blocking sensor 335 may be provided at both sides of the first body 300.

A brush unit 320 having a plurality of protrusions having a predetermined length formed on an outer surface of the bottom surface of the first body 300 may be provided to collect dust on the bottom surface. The brush unit 320 of the first main body 300 may move dust on the bottom surface to the rear while rotating, so that the dust on the bottom surface is sucked into the first body 300. At least one guide flow path 340 configured to guide the dust to the brush unit 320 may be formed in front of the brush unit 320 of the first body 300 to increase the suction force of the dust.

A charging terminal 345 may be provided between the guide flow paths 340 to charge the robot cleaner 1, and the charging terminal 345 is docked when coupled to a terminal formed in a docking station (not shown). It may be electrically connected to the station, and the commercial current supplied to the docking station may be transmitted to the power source 457 of the robot cleaner 1 through the charging terminal 345.

Referring to FIG. 26, at least one bottom state sensor module (1100, 1200, and 1300 of FIG. 27) may be irradiated to the bottom surface of the first body 300 in the bottom direction. At least one

opening

1109, 1209, 1309 corresponding to each of the one floor

state sensor module

1100, 1200, and 1300 may be provided. Bottoms of the at least one ground

state sensor module

1100, 1200, 1300 may be exposed in the bottom surface direction through the

openings

1109, 1209, 1309. At least one

opening

1109, 1209, 1309 is formed in the bottom frame (1009 of FIG. 27) of the first body 300, and corresponds to the position of the ground state sensor

module seating portions

1160, 1260, 1360. It may be formed in at least one position on the bottom frame 1009. Specifically, when three ground state sensor

module seating portions

1160, 1260, 1360 are provided at the front and both sides of the bottom frame 1009 of the first body 300, the

openings

1109, 1209, 1309 are also connected thereto. Correspondingly, three may be provided on the front and both sides of the bottom surface of the first body 300. At least one of the

openings

1109, 1209, and 1309 is an insertion passage 1162 of the bottom state sensor

module seating portions

1160, 1260, and 1360 formed at a predetermined position of the bottom frame 1009 of the first body 300. 1262 and 1362).

An obstacle detecting sensor 330 may be further provided inside the first body 300 to detect an external obstacle. The obstacle detecting sensor 330 may detect an external obstacle using infrared light, visible light, various electromagnetic waves or ultrasonic waves.

According to an embodiment, at least one floor state sensor

module seating unit

1160, 1260, 1360 and at least one floor

sensing state module

1100, 1200, 1300 may be installed in the first body 300. have. The at least one floor

sensing state module

1100, 1200, and 1300 may be mounted on the at least one floor state sensor

module seating unit

1160, 1260, 1360, and installed in the first body 300. At least one floor state sensor

module seating unit

1160, 1260, 1360 and at least one floor

detection state module

1100, 1200, 1300 will be described later.

According to one embodiment, the second main body 200 may be provided with means for storing the collected dust or controlling various operations related to the robot cleaner 1.

The second main body 400 may be provided with a driving unit 440 for driving the main body. The driving unit 440 may include a left driving wheel 441 and a right driving wheel 442 for driving the main body. According to an embodiment, each of the driving

wheels

441 and 442 may be rotatably coupled to both sides of the second body 400.

In addition, the second main body 400 may include a roller 460 provided to be rotated 360 degrees to support the movement of the main body 400. The roller 460 may be provided on the bottom of the second main body 400, for example, may be installed at the rear of the bottom of the second main body 400. The roller 460 may be coupled to a position capable of supporting the center of gravity of the main body in relation to the driving wheel 440. That is, the distance from the roller 460 to the left driving wheel 441 and the distance from the roller 460 to the right driving wheel 442 may be the same. By such arrangement, the running load generated during the running of the main body can be minimized.

On the upper surface of the second main body 400, an input unit (452 in FIG. 35) such as a button or a knob for receiving a predetermined command from the user and the state of the robot cleaner 1 are displayed or various information necessary for the user is displayed. At least one of the display unit 453 of FIG. 35 may be provided. The input unit 452 or the display unit 455 may be omitted in some embodiments.

As shown in FIG. 25, a main substrate 450 for various electronic controls of the main body 400 may be installed inside the second main body 400, and a control unit (refer to FIG. 35 of FIG. 35). 500 or various components for performing the functions of the storage unit 454 of FIG. 35, for example, a semiconductor chip may be installed.

A power source 457 of FIG. 35 may be provided inside the second main body 400 to supply electric power for driving the supporting main body as needed. According to an embodiment, the power source 457 may be disposed to be located behind the dust collecting unit 430. The power source 457 may include a battery according to an embodiment, and the battery may be provided as a rechargeable secondary battery. The battery is charged by commercial power supplied from the docking station when the main body is coupled to the docking station provided separately.

In addition, a dust collecting unit configured to store dust may be provided inside the second main body 400, and the dust collecting unit may include a suction motor 420 that provides power for sucking dust and a house that stores suctioned dust. Pain 410 may be included. The dust collecting container 410 may be provided with a gripping portion 411 that is held by the user so that the user can separate the dust collecting container 410 from the second body 400.

Dust collector 410 may be provided so that at least a portion thereof is exposed to the outside. In this case, a separate housing may not be coupled to the upper surface of the dust collecting container 410. In addition, the exterior of the dust collecting container 410 may be implemented using a transparent material, for example, glass or synthetic resin, so that the user can visually check the amount of dust inside the dust collecting container 410.

A blowing fan 411 may be provided at a lower end of the dust collecting container 410 to suck dust and move it into the dust collecting container 410. As the blowing fan 411 is rotated, dust is sucked into the dust collecting container 410, so that dust may accumulate.

The suction motor 420 may be located inside the suction motor housing 402. The suction motor 420 may be coupled to the side surface of the dust collecting container 410. The left driving wheel 441 and the right driving wheel 442 may be disposed on respective side surfaces of the dust collecting container 410 and the suction motor 420, and thus, the dust collecting container 410 and the suction motor 420 may be disposed. And the driving wheel 440 may be arranged side by side in the transverse direction of the body.

Hereinafter, various embodiments of the floor sensing state module will be described in more detail.

FIG. 27 is a view for explaining an example in which the floor state sensor module is installed in the robot cleaner, and FIG. 28 is a view showing an example in which the floor state sensor module is installed in the robot cleaner, and FIG. 29 is a bottom state sensor module for the robot cleaner. It is a figure which shows the example installed in more detail.

As shown in FIGS. 27 to 29, the bottom frame 1009 is provided to be detachable from the bottom surface of the first body 300. The bottom frame 1009 is provided with a brush unit mounting frame 1008 on which the brush unit 320 is installed, and the brush unit mounting frame 1008 has a cylindrical or approximate shape so that the brush unit 320 can be easily rotated. Can have The brush unit mounting frame 1008 is provided to open in the bottom direction.

In an embodiment, the bottom frame 1009 may be provided with the bottom state sensor

module seating portions

1160, 1260, and 1360. For example, the floor state sensor

module seating units

1160, 1260, and 1360 may be formed at the front and rear of the brush unit mounting frame 1008, and one floor state sensor module is seated at the front of the brush unit mounting frame 1008. The unit 1160 may be formed, and two bottom state sensor

module seating units

1260 and 1360 may be formed at the rear of the brush unit mounting frame 1008. One bottom in front of the brush unit mounting frame 1008. The state sensor module seating unit 1160 is installed at the center, and two bottom state sensor

module seating units

1260 and 1360 at the rear of the brush unit mounting frame 1008 are formed at both ends of the bottom frame 1009, respectively. It may be provided to be adjacent to the left driving wheel 441 and the right driving wheel 442. However, the position of the ground state sensor module seating portion (1160, 1260, 1360) has been described in one embodiment Floor condition sensor module Are not located in the receiving portions (1160, 1260, 1360) is limited to the ground state sensor module receiving portions (1160, 1260, 1360) may be provided at various locations that the designers consider.

The ground state sensor

module seating portions

1160, 1260, and 1360 may be inserted into the

bodies

1161, 1261, and 1361 protruding upward, and penetrating through the

bodies

1161, 1261 and 1361 in the downward direction.

Passages

1162, 1262, 1362 are formed. Openings may be provided at both ends of the

insertion paths

1162, 1262, and 1362, and

openings

1109, 1209, and 1309 in the bottom direction are formed at the bottom of the first body 300, so that light is directed in the bottom direction. Light irradiated or reflected from the bottom surface may be incident on the ground

state sensor module

1100, 1200, and 1300. According to one embodiment, the size of the openings formed in the upper direction of the

insertion passages

1162, 1262, and 1362 and the

openings

1109, 1209, and 1309 provided in the lower direction, that is, the bottom surface direction may be different from each other. For example, the size of the opening formed in the upward direction may be larger than the

openings

1109, 1209, and 1309 provided in the downward direction, that is, the bottom surface direction. In this case, the

insertion passages

1162, 1262, and 1362 may have a shape in which the width is narrowed from the opening in the upward direction to the

openings

1109, 1209, and 1309 provided in the bottom surface direction. The

insertion passages

1162, 1262, and 1362 may be irradiated from the ground

state sensor module

1100, 1200, 1300, or light reflected from the bottom surface may be properly incident on the ground

state sensor module

1100, 1200, 1300. It may be formed to a sufficient size and length so that it is.

Each of the ground

state sensor modules

1100, 1200, and 1300 may be inserted into and mounted on the ground state

sensor module seats

1160, 1260, and 1360. For example, the ground

state sensor modules

1100, 1200, and 1300 may be inserted into and fixed to the

insertion passages

1162, 1262, and 1362 of the ground state

sensor module seats

1160, 1260, and 1360, respectively. If the

insertion passages

1162, 1262, and 1362 have a shape that becomes narrow from the opening in the upward direction to the

openings

1109, 1209, and 1309 provided in the bottom direction, the bottom state sensor

module seating portions

1160, 1260, 1360 may be seated in

insertion passages

1162, 1262, and 1362 and may be inserted into and seated in floor state

sensor module seats

1160, 1260, 1360. The ground

state sensor modules

1100, 1200, and 1300 may be fixedly mounted to the ground state

sensor module seats

1160, 1260, and 1360 by the

external coupling parts

1159a and 1159b protruding from each other. In this case, the

external coupling parts

1159a and 1159b may be coupled to and fixed to a portion of the ground state sensor

module seating parts

1160, 1260, and 1360 by using a material such as a screw, a nut, a pin, or a nail. Can be.

When the floor

state sensor module

1100, 1200, 1300 is installed in the floor state sensor

module seating portions

1160, 1260, 1360, a portion of the floor

state sensor module

1100, 1200, 1300 may be disposed on the top surface of the bottom frame 1009. And other portions may be concealed by the ground state

sensor module seats

1160, 1260, 1360.

Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the floor

state sensor module

1100, 1200, 1300 will be described with reference to FIGS. 30A through 35.

30A is a first perspective view of one embodiment of a floor state sensor module, and FIG. 30B is a second perspective view of an embodiment of a floor state sensor module. 31A is a first exploded perspective view of an embodiment of a floor state sensor module, and FIG. 31B is a second exploded perspective view of an embodiment of a floor state sensor module. 32 is a front sectional view of an embodiment of a floor state sensor module.

30A to 32, the ground state sensor module 1100 may include a body housing 1110, a body portion 1120, and a seating portion 1150 in one embodiment.

The main body housing 1110 includes a front plate 1110a, a back plate 1110b, and both

side plates

1110c and 1110d connecting the front plate 1110a and the back plate 1110b, and these 1110a. To 1110d) may be arranged in the shape of a cube. A passage 1111 is formed between the front plate 1110a, the back plate 1110b, and both

side plates

1110c and 1110d in an upward direction to a downward direction, and various parts of the main body 1120 are formed inside the passage 1111. This can be arranged. The

first coupling parts

1112a and 1112b corresponding to the

second coupling parts

1153a and 1153b provided on the seating part 1150 are formed at the lower end of the rear plate 1110b, and the

first coupling parts

1112a and 1112b are formed. The

insertion grooves

1113a and 1113b protruding in the bottom direction and into which the

second coupling parts

1153a and 1153b of the projection shape are inserted and coupled are provided.

The main body 1120 is provided with a substrate 1121 and a connection terminal 1122 for electrically connecting to an external component, and the substrate 1121 has a light source 1130, a first sensor 1141, and a second sensor ( 1142 is formed. In addition, the substrate 1121 may include

conductive wires

1131, 1141b, and 1142b for electrically connecting the light source 1130, the first sensor 1141, and the second sensor 1142. The light source 1130 may receive an electrical signal or power transmitted from the outside through the conductive line 1131, and the first sensor 1141 and the second sensor 1142 may be electrically output through the

conductive lines

1141b and 1142b. The signal may be transmitted to the controller 500.

The light source 1130, the first sensor 1141, and the second sensor 1142 may be provided to face the mounting portion 1150, but may be inclined at different angles θ10 and θ11 θ12. Each of the light source 1130, the first sensor 1141, and the second sensor 1142 has a light source 1130, a first sensor 1141, and a second on the seating surfaces 1154a2, 1154b2, and 1154c2 of the seating portion 1150. The mounting

protrusions

1132, 1141a, and 1142a may be formed to protrude so that the sensor 1142 may be easily mounted. In this case, the mounting

protrusions

1132, 1141a, and 1142a may be a light source 1130 and a first sensor 1141. And the outer circumferential surface of the second sensor 1142 may be provided to have a disc shape.

The light source 1130 is provided to emit light such as visible light or infrared light. For example, an incandescent lamp, a halogen lamp, a fluorescent lamp, a sodium lamp, a mercury lamp, a fluorescent mercury lamp, a xenon lamp, an arc lamp, and a neon tube It is implemented using various kinds of lighting devices such as lamps, EL lamps, light emitting diode lamps, cold cathode fluorescent lamps, or external electrode fluorescent lamps.

According to an embodiment, the light source 1130 may be provided between the first sensor 1141 and the second sensor 1142.

The first sensor 1141 and the second sensor 1142 are provided to detect light reflected from the bottom surface after being emitted from the light source 1130, and in this case, the first sensor 1141 detects the specularly reflected light. The second sensor 1142 is provided to detect diffusely reflected light. The first sensor 1141 and the second sensor 1142 may output a predetermined electrical signal according to the detected light. The first sensor 1141 and the second sensor 1142 are, for example, a photoconductive cell, a photodiode, a photo transistor, a port thyristor, a charge coupling element, a CMOS, a multiplier tube, It may be implemented using various types of light sensing sensors such as photo couplers, port interrupters, and the like.

The seating part 1150 may include at least one insertion passage 1154a1, 1154b1, and 1154c1 into which the light source 1130, the first sensor 1141, and the second sensor 1142 are inserted. The at least one insertion passage 1154a1, 1154b1, and 1154c1 may have a predetermined angle θ10, from the first inclined surface 1151, the second inclined surface 1152b and the third inclined surface 1152c of the seating portion 1150 to the bottom surface. It is provided to penetrate at an angle of θ11 θ12). The first inclined surface 1151, the second inclined surface 1152b, and the third inclined surface 1152c may be formed to be inclined differently from each other in an upward direction. The light source 1130, the first sensor 1141, and the second sensor 1142 are respectively inserted into one ends of the corresponding insertion passages 1154a1, 1154b1, and 1154c1, and are provided around the insertion passages 1154a1, 1154b1, and 1154c1, respectively. The mounting

protrusions

1132, 1141a, and 1142a are seated on the seating surfaces 1154a2, 1154b2, and 1154c2, and thus may be coupled to the seating portion 1150.

Each insertion passage 1154a1, 1154b1, 1154c1 may have its widths r10, r11, r12 reduced in the vicinity of the bottom direction, as shown in FIG. 32. In this case, the widths r10, r11, and r12 near the bottom direction of each of the insertion passages 1154a1, 1154b1, and 1154c1 may have different sizes. For example, the width r11 near the bottom direction of the insertion passage 1154a1 into which the first sensor 1141 is inserted is the width r10 near the bottom direction of the insertion passage 1154b1 into which the light source 1130 is inserted. The width r10 of the insertion passage 1154b1 into which the light source 1130 is inserted may be smaller than the width 1154c1 near the bottom direction in which the second sensor 1142 is inserted. Different ranges of light travel through the insertion passages 1154a1, 1154b1, and 1154c1 according to the differences in the widths r10, r11, and r12.

Slits (1154a3, 1154b3, 1154c3 in Fig. 31B) are provided at the other ends of the insertion passages 1154a1, 1154b1, 1154c1. The light irradiated from the light source 1130 passes through the second slit 1154b3 and is irradiated to the bottom surface, and the light reflected from the bottom surface passes through the first slit 1154a3 and the third slit 1154c3 and is the first sensor. 1141 and second sensor 1142. In this case, each of the slits 1154a3, 1154b3, and 1154c3 may be implemented in a circular shape.

According to one embodiment, each of the slits 1154a3, 1154b3, and 1154c3 may have different sizes r0, r1, and r2. Specifically, the size r1 of the first slit 1154a3 corresponding to the first sensor 1141 is smaller than the size r2 of the second slit 1154b3 corresponding to the light source 1130, and the second slit 1154b3. ), The size r2 may be smaller than the size r3 of the third slit 1154c3 corresponding to the second sensor 1142. When the first sensor 1141 receives the specularly reflected light and the second sensor 1142 receives the diffusely reflected light, the first sensor 1141 may be smaller because the size r1 of the first slit 1154a3 is small. Since only the accurately reflected light is accurately detected, and the size r3 of the third slit 1154c3 is relatively large, the second sensor 1142 may detect light that is diffusely reflected in a wide range.

The

second coupling parts

1153a and 1153b may be formed on the outer surface of the seating part 1150, and the

second coupling parts

1153a and 1153b may have the shape of protruding protrusions. The

second coupling parts

1153a and 1153b may be inserted into the

insertion grooves

1113a and 1113b of the

first coupling parts

1112a and 1112b to couple the body housing 1110 and the seating part 1150 to each other.

External coupling parts

1159a and 1159b may protrude from the side of the seating part 1150, and the

external coupling parts

1159a and 1159b may be external parts, for example, the floor state sensor

module seating parts

1160 and 1260. 1360, 1200, and 1300 are coupled to and fixed to the robot cleaner 1 in a stable manner.

A protection plate 1160 may be formed on the bottom of the seating portion 1150 to transmit light, and the protection plate 1160 seals each of the slits 1154a3, 1154b3, and 1154c3 to seal each of the slits 1154a3, 1154b3, and 1154c3. External foreign matter may be inserted through) to prevent contamination of each component of the ground

state sensor module

1100, 1200, or 1300.

Hereinafter, other embodiments 1400 to 1600 of the floor state sensor module will be described with reference to FIGS. 33A to 34B. In order to avoid the complexity of the following description, the description of the same parts as those of the first embodiment 1100 of the ground state sensor module among the structures, components, and / or functions of the embodiments 1400 to 1600 will be omitted. However, in the case of actually implementing each of the embodiments (1400 to 1600), it is obvious that the omitted portion may be further added according to the designer's selection.

Referring to FIG. 33A, the floor state sensor module 1400 may include a main body 1420 and a seating unit 1450, and as illustrated in FIGS. 30A to 32, a main body housing (not shown). ) May be further included.

The main body 1420 may include a substrate 1421 and a connection terminal 1422. A light source 1430, a first sensor 1442, and a second sensor 1442 are formed on the substrate 1421, and a second sensor 1442 is provided between the light source 1430 and the first sensor 1442. Accordingly, the first sensor 1441, the second sensor 1442, and the light source 1430 are sequentially disposed on the substrate 1421. The light source 1430, the first sensor 1442, and the second sensor 1442 may be fixedly installed on the substrate 1421. The light source 1430, the first sensor 1442, and the second sensor 1442 are directly or indirectly electrically connected to a semiconductor chip or the like that performs the function of the controller (500 of FIG. 35) through the substrate 1421. It is provided to receive an electrical signal from the 500 or to transmit the electrical signal to the control unit 500.

The light source 1430, the first sensor 1442, and the second sensor 1442 are provided to face the mounting portion 1150, but are different from each other based on the normal of the bottom surface 7 (θ21 and θ22 θ23). It may be provided to be inclined to.

The inclination angle θ21 of the light source 1430 and the inclination angle θ22 of the first sensor 1441 are such that the first sensor 1441 is properly emitted from the light source 1430 so that it can properly receive light reflected from the ground. It may be the same or close to each other.

The second sensor 1442 is disposed between the light source 1430 and the first sensor 1442, and is provided to receive light that is diffusely reflected from the ground. In this case, the inclination angle θ23 of the second sensor 1442 may be relatively smaller than the inclination angle θ21 of the light source 1430 and the inclination angle θ22 of the first sensor 1441. As shown in FIG. 33A, the inclination angle θ23 of the second sensor 1442 may be inclined in the direction of the light source 1430, or may be inclined in the direction of the first sensor 1441, or may be It may be provided parallel to the normal of (7).

As such, when the second sensor 1442 is disposed between the light source 1430 and the first sensor 1442, the size of the substrate 1420 may be relatively smaller than that of the first embodiment. The overall size of the ground state sensor module 1400 may also be reduced. Therefore, the advantage that the size of the parts can be reduced can be obtained.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the second sensor 1442 faces a direction in which diffusely reflected light can be received at the same point 7f as the point 7f at which the specularly reflected light incident on the first sensor 1442 is reflected. It may be provided so as to be inclined at an appropriate inclination angle θ23.

The seating unit 1450 is provided with a first sensor 1442, a second sensor 1442, and a light source 1430, and the light emitted from the light source 1430 is irradiated onto the ground 7, or the ground 7. The optical path is provided such that the specularly reflected or diffusely reflected light can properly reach the first sensor 1441 or the second sensor 1442 at. The seating portion 1450 may include insertion passages 1454a1, 1454b1, 1454c1 and seating surfaces 1454a2, 1454b2, 1454c2 formed around the insertion passages 1454a1, 1454b1, 1454c1, as shown in FIG. 33A.

The first sensor 1441, the second sensor 1442, and the light source 1430 are inserted into the insertion passages 1454a1, 1454b1, and 1454c1 of the seating portion 1450. Mounting

protrusions

1441a, 1442a, and 1443 are provided on the first sensor 1442, the second sensor 1442, and the light source 1430, and they are respectively provided on the seating surfaces 1454a2, 1454b2, and 1454c2 of the seating portion 1450. The first sensor 1441, the second sensor 1442, and the light source 1430 may be seated on the seating portion 1450.

Referring to FIG. 33B, the floor state sensor module 1500 of the third embodiment may include a main body 1520 and a seating unit 1550, and further includes a main body housing (not shown) as described above. It may also include.

The main body 1520 includes a substrate 1521 and a connection terminal 1522, and a light source 1530, a first sensor 1541, and a second sensor 1542 are provided on the substrate 1521. As in the case of the second embodiment, the second sensor 1542 may be installed between the light source 1530 and the first sensor 1541, and thus, the first sensor 1541, the second sensor 1542, and The light source 1530 is sequentially fixed to the substrate 1521.

The light source 1530, the first sensor 1541, and the second sensor 1542 are electrically connected directly or indirectly to a semiconductor chip or the like that performs the function of the controller 500 through the substrate 1521, and the controller 500. It is provided to receive an electrical signal from, or to transmit an electrical signal to the control unit 500.

The light source 1530, the first sensor 1541, and the second sensor 1542 are provided to face the mounting portion 1550, but are different from each other based on the normal of the bottom surface 7 (θ21 and θ22 θ23). It may be provided to be inclined to.

The angle of inclination θ31 of the light source 1530 and the angle of inclination θ32 of the first sensor 1541 are such that the first sensor 1541 is properly emitted from the light source 1530 to receive light that is specularly reflected from the ground. It may be provided, for example, the same as or close to each other.

The second sensor 1542 is provided to receive light that is diffusely reflected from the ground.

According to one embodiment, the second sensor 1542 is provided to receive the diffusely reflected light at a point 7g different from the point 7f at which the light transmitted to the first sensor 1541 is specularly reflected. Specifically, light emitted from the light source 1530 diffuses into a predetermined area on the ground 7 and is incident, and specular and diffuse reflection occurs at each point of the predetermined area. The first sensor 1541 receives the light specularly reflected at any one point 7f of the predetermined area, and the second sensor 1541 is light that is diffusely reflected at the point 7g different from any one point 7f. It is arranged to receive.

The inclination angle θ 33 of the second sensor 1542 may be arbitrarily determined according to a designer's selection. In this case, the inclination angle θ33 of the second sensor 1542 may be larger or smaller than the inclination angle θ31 of the light source 1530 and the inclination angle θ32 of the first sensor 1541. The second sensor 1442 may be provided to receive diffusely reflected light at a point 7g that is closer to the first sensor 1541 than the specularly reflected point 7f, as shown in FIG. 33B, or is specularly reflective. It may be provided to receive diffusely reflected light at a point closer to the light source 1530 than at the point 7f.

The seating unit 1550 is provided so that the first sensor 1541, the second sensor 1542, and the light source 1530 may be installed, and as shown in FIG. 33A, the first sensor 1541 and the second sensor ( 1542 and the light source 1530 may include insertion passages 1554a1, 1554b1, and 1554c1, and mounting surfaces 1554a2, 1554b2, and 1554c2 formed around the insertion passages 1554a1, 1554b1 and 1554c1, respectively. Mounting

protrusions

1541a, 1542a, and 1543 formed in the first sensor 1541, the second sensor 1542, and the light source 1530 may be mounted on the seating surfaces 1554a2, 1554b2, and 1554c2.

According to the floor state sensor module 1500 of the second embodiment, since the second sensor 1542 can receive the diffusely reflected light at a point 7g different from the point 7f at which the light is specularly reflected, the second sensor ( 1542 may be installed on the substrate 1521 of the main body 1520 in various ways, so that the design convenience may be improved, and the seating portion 1550 may be implemented in various shapes.

34A is an exploded perspective view of a fourth embodiment of a floor state sensor module, and FIG. 34B is a front sectional view of a fourth embodiment of a floor state sensor module.

34A and 34B, the floor state sensor module 1600 of the fourth embodiment includes a main body 1620, a main body 1620, and a main body 1620 on which various parts such as a light source 1630 are installed. It may also include a main body housing 1610 that can be coupled to the seating portion 1650 and the seating portion 1650 is installed various components installed in the).

The main body 1620 may include a substrate 1621 and a connection terminal 1622. The substrate 1641 may be provided with a light source 1630 for emitting light, and a first sensor 1641 for receiving light emitted from the light source 1630 and specularly reflected from the bottom surface. Light emitted from the light source 1630 is diffused to enter a region 7e on the ground 7.

The substrate 1621 may further include a second sensor rotating part 1643 rotatable about a predetermined rotation axis R20, and the second sensor rotating part 1643 is emitted from the light source 1630 and diffusely reflected from the bottom surface. A second sensor 1641 may be installed to receive the light.

The second sensor rotating part 1643 is rotatable within each preset range. In this case, each preset range may be arbitrarily determined by the designer's selection. For example, the second sensor rotating part 1643 may be rotatable in the range of 360 degrees, may be rotatable in the range of 180 degrees, or may be rotatable in any range of 90 degrees or less.

The second sensor rotating unit 1643 may be directly or indirectly electrically connected to a semiconductor chip or the like that performs the function of the control unit 500 through the substrate 1621, and may be rotated based on a control signal transmitted from the control unit 500. Can be.

The second sensor rotating part 1643 may be installed at one position of the substrate 1621, where one position of the substrate 1621 may be disposed between the light source 1630 and the first sensor 1641. Accordingly, the second sensor 1641 may also be provided between the light source 1630 and the first sensor 1641, and thus the first sensor 1541, the second sensor 1542, and the light source 1530 may be sequentially disposed on the substrate. 1422 is disposed.

As the second sensor rotating part 1643 rotates, the second sensor 1642 fixed to the second sensor rotating part 1643 may also rotate about the rotation axis R20.

The second sensor rotating part 1643 may be implemented using a flat plate having various shapes such as circular, elliptical, or square, and the flat plate may be mounted on the substrate 1620 by overlapping the substrate 1620 according to an embodiment. It may be inserted into a hole penetrating the substrate 1620 or a recessed area formed in the substrate 1620.

The second sensor rotating part 1643 may further include a shaft member penetrating the second sensor rotating part 1643 in the rotation shaft R20, and the second sensor rotating part 1643 is rotatable about the shaft member. A motor may be provided at one end of the shaft member, and the second sensor rotating part 1643 may be automatically rotated by the driving of the motor. The motor may be omitted, and in this case, the second sensor rotating part 1643 may be manually rotated by a designer or a user.

The light source 1630, the first sensor 1641, and the second sensor 1644 are directly or indirectly connected to a semiconductor chip or the like that performs the function of the controller 500 through the substrate 1621, and from the controller 500. The electrical signal may be received or the electrical signal may be transmitted to the controller 500.

The light source 1630 and the first sensor 1641 are provided to face the mounting portion 1650, in which case the light source 1630 and the first sensor 1641 are the ground state of the first to third embodiments. As illustrated in the

sensor modules

1100, 1400, and 1500, the first sensor 1541 is provided to properly receive light that is specularly reflected from the ground after being emitted from the light source 1530. For example, the inclination angle θ31 of the light source 1630 and the inclination angle θ32 of the first sensor 1641 may be the same as or close to each other.

The second sensor 1641 is provided to receive light that is diffusely reflected from the ground.

According to one embodiment, the second sensor 1641 may be rotated by the second sensor rotating part 1643 and face in various directions. In other words, the inclination angle of the second sensor 1641 may be variously set according to the rotation of the second sensor rotating part 1643. Accordingly, the second sensor 1641 can selectively receive light that is diffusely reflected at various points in the region 7e where the light is incident.

For example, the second sensor 1641 may be directed in a direction capable of properly receiving diffusely reflected light at the same point 7f as the point 7f at which the light transmitted to the first sensor 1541 is specularly reflected. Can be rotated. Also, for another example, the second sensor 1641 may be configured to properly receive diffusely reflected light at a point 7g that is different from the point 7f at which the light transmitted to the first sensor 1541 is specularly reflected. It may be rotated to face. Accordingly, the second sensor 1641 is rotated by the second sensor 1442 of the floor state sensor module 1400 of the second embodiment and the second sensor 1542 of the floor state sensor module 1500 of the third embodiment described above. ) Can be optionally implemented.

The seating part 1650 is provided so that the first sensor 1641, the second sensor 1644, and the light source 1630 can be inserted and installed, and as shown in FIG. 34B, the first sensor 1641 and the second sensor are installed. The insertion paths 1654a1, 1654b1, and 1654c1, and the mounting surfaces 1654a2, 1654b2, and 1654c2 formed around the insertion paths 1654a1, 1654b1, and 1654c1, respectively, may be included. Mounting

protrusions

1641a, 1642b, and 1643 formed in the first sensor 1641, the second sensor 1644, and the light source 1630 may be mounted on the seating surfaces 1654a2, 1654b2, and 1654c2.

In this case, the insertion path 1654b2 into which the second sensor 1641 is inserted is used for the bottom

state sensor modules

1100, 1400, 1500 of the first to third embodiments to rotate the second sensor 1644. It may be formed relatively wider than the insertion passage (1154b3, 1454b2, 1554b2) of, for example, may be provided to have a relatively larger diameter. In addition, the seating surface 1654b2 may also have a shape in which the second sensor 1641 is rotatable. For example, as shown in FIG. 34B, the seating surface 1654b2 may be formed at the seating portion 1650 by being inclined and cut at a predetermined angle.

Hereinafter, the control flow of the robot cleaner 1 will be described.

35 is a control block diagram of an embodiment of a robot cleaner.

As shown in FIG. 35, the robot cleaner 1 includes the floor

state sensor modules

1100, 1200, and 1300, the controller 500, the

wheels

441 and 442, the drivers 441a and 442a, and the suction unit. It may include a motor 420, a power source 455, and may further include an input unit 452, a display unit 453, and a storage unit 454 as necessary.

The robot cleaner 1 may include only one ground state sensor module, for example, the first ground state sensor module 1100, or include a plurality of ground

state sensor modules

1100, 1200, and 1300, according to embodiments. You may. 35 illustrates a cleaner 1 including three floor

state sensor modules

1100, 1200, and 1300, but the number of floor

state sensor modules

1100, 1200, and 1300 is not limited thereto. The robot cleaner 1 may include two floor

state sensor modules

1100, 1200, and 1300, or may include four or more floor

state sensor modules

1100, 1200, and 1300.

According to an embodiment, the first floor state sensor module 1100 includes a first light source 1130, a first sensor 1140a, and a second sensor 1140b, and the second floor state sensor module 1200 may include: And a second light source 1230, a third sensor 1240a, and a fourth sensor 1240b, wherein the third floor state sensor module 1300 includes a third light source 1330, a fifth sensor 1340a, and a sixth sensor. It may include a sensor 1340b.

The light sources 1130, 1230, and 1330 of each floor

state sensor module

1100, 1200, and 1300 emit light under the control of the controller 500, and each of the

sensors

1140a, 1140b, 1240a, 1240b, and 1340a. , 1340b may receive the light reflected from the bottom surface, output an electrical signal according to the received light, and transmit the electrical signal to the controller 500. In this case, the first sensor 1140a, the third sensor 1240a, and the fifth sensor 1340a receive specularly reflected light, and the second sensor 1140b, the fourth sensor 1240b, and the sixth sensor 1340b. ) May receive diffusely reflected light and output electrical signals, respectively.

According to one embodiment of the robot cleaner 1, the light sources 1130, 1250, 1350 are respectively

sensors

1140a and 1140b, 1240a, and 1240b, 1340a and 1340b of each floor

state sensor module

1100, 1200, 1300. It may be disposed between).

In addition, according to another embodiment of the robot cleaner 1, the sensors (1140a, 1240a and 1340a) for receiving the specularly reflected light with the light source (1130, 1250, 1350) of each floor state sensor module (1100, 1200, 1300) Sensors 1140b, 1240b, and 1340b that receive diffusely reflected light may be disposed therebetween.

The controller 500 is provided to perform various determinations related to the operation of the robot cleaner 1 and to control the overall operation of each component of the robot cleaner 1.

The controller 500 may be implemented by using a processor such as a central processing unit (CPU) or a micro controller unit (MCU) including one or more semiconductor chips and related components.

According to an embodiment, the controller 500 may include a light emission controller 510, a reception signal processor 520, a floor state determiner 530, and a driving controller 540.

The light emission controller 510 may transmit a control signal to each of the light sources 1130, 1230, and 1330 so that each of the light sources 1130, 1230, and 1330 emits light. In this case, the light emission controller 510 may output a pulse signal so that each of the light sources 1130, 1230, and 1330 emits light according to a predetermined pattern. The light emission controller 510 may generate a pulse signal using, for example, a pulse width modulation method.

The light emission control unit 510 may output a first pulse signal and a second pulse signal different from each other as necessary. The light emission controller 510 generates one of the first pulse signal and the second pulse signal based on the comparison result of the reception signal processor 520, and generates the generated pulse signal in each of the light sources 1130, 1230, and the like. 1330). Each of the light sources 1130, 1230, and 1330 may emit light of intensity corresponding to the received pulse signal. For example, each light source 1130, 1230, 1330 emits relatively more energy when the first pulse signal is received and relatively less energy when the second pulse signal is received. It can emit light.

The reception signal processor 520 may perform predetermined signal processing on signals transmitted from the

sensors

1140a, 1140b, 1240a, 1240b, 1340a, and 1340b. For example, the reception signal processor 520 sequentially removes the noise by applying the high pass filter and the low pass filter to the electrical signals transmitted from the

respective sensors

1140a, 1140b, 1240a, 1240b, 1340a, and 1340b. A flattened electrical signal can be obtained.

According to an embodiment, the reception signal processor 520 compares the transmitted electrical signal with a reference voltage, and the light emission controller 510 controls the first light source 1130 and the second light source under the control of the reception signal processor 520. At least one of the 1250 and the third light source 1350 may be controlled to emit light having a predetermined intensity.

For example, the reception signal processor 520 may reference an electrical signal transmitted from each of the

sensors

1140a, 1140b, 1250a, 1250b, 1350a, and 1350b of each floor

state sensor module

1100, 1200, and 1300. In comparison with the above, the light emission controller 510 has a relatively lower intensity than at least one of the first light source 1130, the second light source 1250, and the third light source 1350 according to the comparison result of the reception signal processor 520. May be controlled to irradiate light.

According to an embodiment, the reception signal processor 520 may independently obtain a comparison result for each floor

state sensor module

1100, 1200, and 1300. In this case, the light emission controller 510 may independently control each floor

state sensor module

1100, 1200, 1300 based on a comparison result corresponding to each floor

state sensor module

1100, 1200, 1300. . For example, the light emission controller 510 may include at least one floor state sensor module of the floor

state sensor module

1100, 1200, and 1300, for example, the first floor state sensor module 1100. The light is controlled to emit light of a relatively lower intensity than the light, and other floor state sensor modules, for example, the second floor state sensor module 1200 and the third floor state sensor module 1300, control the intensity of the light emitted. It can also be controlled to maintain.

The ground state determiner 530 may determine the ground state based on the electrical signal processed by the reception signal processor 520. As described above, the floor state determination unit 530 may include an electrical signal output from the first sensor 1140a, the third sensor 1240a, and the fifth sensor 1340a, the second sensor 1140b, and the fourth sensor. Based on the electrical signals output from the sensor 1240b and the sixth sensor 1340b, the state of the bottom surface positioned below the robot cleaner 1 may be determined.

In this case, in one embodiment, the floor state determiner 530 may include an electrical signal output from the first sensor 1140a, the third sensor 1240a, and the fifth sensor 1340a, and the second sensor 1140b. ), Calculates a ratio of voltages between the electrical signals output from the fourth sensor 1240b and the sixth sensor 1340b, compares the calculated ratio with a first reference value, and / or a second reference value. It can be determined whether the material of the bottom surface is a smooth material or a rough material.

In addition, in another embodiment, the floor state determination unit 530 compares the electrical signal output from the first sensor 1140a, the third sensor 1240a, the fifth sensor 1340a with a third reference value, By comparing the magnitudes of the voltages of the electrical signals output from the second sensor 1140b, the fourth sensor 1240b, and the sixth sensor 1340b with a fourth reference value, it may be determined whether the recessed area exists on the bottom surface. It may be.

The ground state determination unit 530 may include a comparison result according to an electrical signal obtained by the first floor state sensor module 1100, a comparison result by an electrical signal obtained by the second floor state sensor module 1200, and 3 The ground state may be determined by combining the comparison results by the electrical signals acquired by the ground state sensor module 1300. For example, the floor state determination unit 530 may determine the ground state determination unit 530 based on the electrical signal acquired by the first ground state sensor module 1100. When the result and the determination result by the electrical signal acquired by the third floor state sensor module 1300 are different from each other, the floor state may be determined based on a relatively large number of determination results among all the determination results.

The driving controller 540 transmits a control signal to the first driver 441a to rotate the left driving wheel 441 according to the determination result of the floor state determining unit 530, and / or the second driver 442a. ), The right driving wheel 442 may be rotated by transmitting a control signal. Here, the first driver 441a and the second driver 442a may include a motor connected to the left driving wheel 441 and the right driving wheel 442, respectively.

In addition, the driving controller 540 may control the suction motor 420 according to the determination result of the floor state determination unit 530, or may control the display unit 453.

Hereinafter, detailed operations of the robot cleaner 1 by the driving controller 540 will be described with reference to FIGS. 35 and 36A to 36J. For convenience of description, the robot cleaner 1 by the driving controller 540 based on an example in which the light source 1130 is installed between the first sensor 1141 and the second sensor 1142 on the floor state sensor module 1100. One specific operation of the robot cleaner 1 is not limited to the case where the ground state sensor module 1100 is implemented as described above. Specific operations of the robot cleaner 1 may be applied in the same or through some modifications even when the second sensor is installed between the first sensor and the light source as illustrated in FIGS. 33A to 34B.

FIG. 36A is a first diagram illustrating an example of a robot cleaner traveling on a surface of a smooth floor, and FIG. 36B is a second diagram illustrating an example of a robot cleaner traveling on a smooth surface of a floor.

As shown in FIGS. 36A and 36B, at least one of the plurality of floor state sensor modules may be generated while the robot cleaner 1 is traveling over a rough or / hard surface, for example, the floor surface 11. The light source 1130 of the ground state sensor module, for example, the first ground state sensor module 1100 may emit light L11 continuously or periodically under the control of the light emission controller 510 described above.

Since the surface 11 of the floor is relatively flat and hard, the light L11 incident on the point 11a of the floor 11 is generally specularly reflected, and the first sensor 1141 is relatively large. Positive specularly reflected light L12 is incident and a relatively small amount of diffusely reflected light L13 is incident on the second sensor 1142.

In this case, the ratio between the voltages of the electrical signals output from the first sensor 1141 and the second sensor 1142 becomes relatively large, so that the floor state determining unit 530 of the control unit 500 uses the method described above. Through this, it is determined that the state of the surface on which the robot cleaner 1 is traveling is not as hard and / or rough as a floor. That is, the controller 500 determines that the state of the floor surface on which the robot cleaner 1 currently travels is a hard floor (H / F, hard floor).

When the driving controller 540 of the controller 500 is hard and / or rough, such as a floor, according to the determination result of the floor state determiner 530, the floor surface on which the robot cleaner 1 travels is not hard or rough. Let the robot cleaner 1 operate in a normal suction mode. Here, the general suction mode means a predefined state or operation so that the robot cleaner 1 can suck dust with a normal suction force. In the normal suction mode, the suction motor 420 is operated at the normal output predefined by the user or the designer under the control of the drive control unit 540.

36C is a first diagram illustrating an example of a robot cleaner running on a carpet, and FIG. 36D is a second diagram illustrating an example of a robot cleaner running on a carpet.

As described above, while the robot cleaner 1 continues to travel, the light source 1130 of the at least one ground state sensor module of the robot cleaner 1, for example, the first ground state sensor module 1100, may be described above. The light L11 may be emitted continuously or periodically under the control of the light emission controller 510.

36C and 36D, if the robot cleaner 1 moves from the floor surface 11 to a rough and / or smooth area, for example the carpet surface 12, the surface of the carpet Since 12 is relatively rough and smooth, light incident at one point 12a of the surface 12 of the carpet is generally specularly reflected, and a relatively large amount of specularly reflected light is incident on the first sensor 1141. A relatively small amount of diffusely reflected light is incident on the second sensor 1142.

In this case, since the ratio between the voltages of the electrical signals output from the first sensor 1141 and the second sensor 1142 is calculated relatively small, the floor state determination unit 530 moves the robot cleaner 1. It is determined that the state of the surface 12 being made is smooth and / or rough like a carpet. In other words, the controller 500 may determine that the state of the floor on which the robot cleaner 1 is currently traveling is a soft floor (S / F).

According to the determination result, the driving controller 540 generates a control signal for the robot cleaner 1 to operate in the high output suction mode, and transmits the generated control signal to the suction motor 420. The high power suction mode is a mode in which the robot cleaner 1 can suck dust with a stronger suction force than a normal suction force. In the high-power suction mode, the suction motor 420 operates at a relatively larger output than the conventional output, so that the robot cleaner 1 sucks dust and the like with a relatively stronger suction force and thus the surface 12 of the carpet or the like. Will be cleaned. The magnitude of the output of the suction motor 420 in the high output suction mode may be predefined by the user or the designer.

36E and 36F illustrate examples of the robot cleaner that has reached the recessed area, and FIGS. 36G to 36J illustrate examples of the first to fifth operations of the robot cleaner when the recessed area is reached. .

As shown in FIGS. 36E and 36F, the robot cleaner 1 may reach an area lower than the floor surface 13, that is, the depression area 14, such as a threshold or a stair, while driving the floor surface 13. .

The light source 1130 of the robot cleaner 1 emits light L11, and the emitted light L11 is reflected at one point 14a of the recessed area 14. The light L12 reflected at the point 14a of the depression zone 14 travels in a different path than the predetermined path L12a due to the height difference between the depression zone 14 and the bottom surface 13. . Therefore, the light L12 specularly reflected at one point 14a on the recessed area 14 is not properly incident to the first sensor 1141.

Light L13 diffusely reflected at one point 14a may be incident on at least one of the first sensor 1141 and the second sensor 1142. In this case, the intensity of the diffusely reflected light L13 may be relatively smaller than the intensity of the light reflected from the bottom surface 13 on which the robot cleaner 1 traveled.

Thus, when the depression zone 14 is present, at least one of the first sensor 1141 and the second sensor 1142 outputs a voltage lower than the reference value, as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B. Since the voltage output from at least one of the first sensor 1141 and the second sensor 1142 is lower than the reference value, the floor state determination unit 530 of the control unit 500 determines that the recessed area 14 exists. .

When it is determined that the recessed area 14 exists as described above, the robot cleaner 1 may perform a predetermined operation to avoid the recessed area 14 under the control of the controller 500.

For example, when it is determined that the recessed area 14 exists, the driving control unit 540 of the control unit 500 controls the control signal on each of the first driving unit 441a and the second driving unit 441b of the robot cleaner 1. The drive unit 1 stops driving of the first driver 441a and the second driver 441b. Accordingly, the rotation operation of the left wheel 441 and the right wheel 442 is also stopped, and the robot cleaner 1 stops the movement operation as shown in FIG. 36G.

When the robot cleaner 1 stops the movement operation, in response to the movement of the robot cleaner 1 stopped, the suction motor 420 of the robot cleaner 1 may also stop the driving operation. Accordingly, the cleaning operation of the robot cleaner 1 may also be stopped.

Subsequently, the driving control unit 540 transmits a control signal to the first driving unit 441a and the second driving unit 441b of the robot cleaner 1, and as shown in FIG. 36H, the robot cleaner 1 has moved previously. By controlling to move in the opposite direction m31, the robot cleaner 1 can be moved further away from the recessed area 14. That is, the driving controller 540 controls the left wheel 441 and the right wheel 442 to rotate in a direction opposite to the existing rotation direction.

In this case, the robot cleaner 1 may move by a predetermined distance d from the existing position k1 to a predetermined target point k2 farther from the recessed point 14. The predetermined target point k2 refers to a point at which the robot cleaner 1 can properly rotate as shown in FIG. 36I, and may be any one of several points of the area 13 that has been previously driven. have. Whether the robot cleaner 1 moves a predetermined distance d or reaches the target point k2 is determined by the encoders provided on the left wheel 441 and the right wheel 442, respectively. The number of revolutions of 442 may be obtained, or may be determined and obtained using a global positioning system (GPS) or various communication modules. The moving distance d or the target point k2 of the robot cleaner 1 may be predefined by a designer or a user.

When the robot cleaner 1 reaches the target point k1, the driving control unit 540 controls the left wheel 441 and the right wheel 442 to rotate in opposite directions, thereby allowing the robot cleaner 1 to show a figure. As described in 36i, it can be controlled to rotate in a predetermined direction R100 at a predetermined angle θ. The predetermined angle θ and the predetermined direction R100 may be defined by a designer or a user. The predetermined angle θ may be, for example, 180 degrees. In addition, the predetermined direction R100 may be, for example, clockwise or counterclockwise.

According to the embodiment, the drive control unit 540 controls only one of the left wheel 441 and the right wheel 442 to rotate, so that the robot cleaner 1 has a predetermined angle θ as described in FIG. 36I. It may also be controlled to rotate in a predetermined direction (R100).

When the rotation of the robot cleaner 1 ends, the driving controller 540 controls at least one of the left wheel 441 and the right wheel 442 to rotate, respectively, so that the robot cleaner 1 according to a predefined setting. It can be made to move in a predetermined direction (m32).

According to one embodiment, the predetermined direction m32 may be set such that the moving direction m31 of the robot cleaner when moving away from the recessed area 14 is the same as shown in FIG. 36J, in which case The driving controller 540 controls the left wheel 441 and the right wheel 442 to move the robot cleaner 1 in the moving direction m31 of the robot cleaner when moving away from the recessed area 14. The left wheel 441 and the right wheel 442 are controlled by the drive controller 540 to rotate in the same direction as the rotation direction when the robot cleaner 1 moves in the opposite direction m31 to the direction in which the robot cleaner 1 was previously moved. .

When the robot cleaner 1 starts moving in a predetermined direction m32, the suction motor 420 of the robot cleaner 1 may start driving in response thereto, and the robot cleaner 1 accordingly performs a cleaning operation. You can resume.

Through the above-described process, the robot cleaner 1 can perform the cleaning of the floor surface 13 by avoiding the recessed area 14 existing on the floor surface 13, and thus the safety of the robot cleaner 1. This can be improved further.

The input unit 452 is provided to receive a user's command, and the display unit 453 is provided to display a determination result of the floor state determination unit 530 to the user. The storage unit 454 may temporarily or non-temporarily store the determination result of the floor state determination unit 530 as necessary. The storage unit 454 may be implemented using a semiconductor storage device, a magnetic disk storage device, an optical disk storage device, or the like.

The light emission control unit 510, the reception signal processing unit 520, the floor state determination unit 530, and the driving control unit 540 of the robot cleaner 1 are the light emission control unit 121 and the signal processing unit 122 of the moving object 100. Since the floor state determining unit 126 and the driving control unit 129a may be applied in the same manner or may be partially modified, the following detailed description will be omitted.

Hereinafter, a method of controlling a moving object will be described with reference to FIGS. 37A to 39.

According to one embodiment of the method for controlling the moving object illustrated in FIG. 37A, first, light is radiated from the moving object to the bottom surface (S2000). In this case, the light may be irradiated to the bottom surface while blinking according to a predetermined pattern. The light may be irradiated a plurality of times in a pattern corresponding to a pulse signal input to a light source that emits light. According to an embodiment, the pulse signal may be generated by a pulse width modulation scheme.

The light irradiated to the bottom surface may be reflected at the bottom surface, and the light reflected from the bottom surface may include specularly reflected light and diffusely reflected light. The moving object receives all or a portion of the specularly reflected light and all or a portion of the diffusely reflected light (s2001), a first electrical signal corresponding to the received specularly reflected light, and a second electrical portion corresponding to the received diffusely reflected light. A signal may be obtained (s2002). When the light is irradiated in a plurality of times, all or a portion of the light reflected by the plurality of times and all or a portion of the diffusely reflected light are received, so that the first electrical signal and the second electrical signal may be output in the plurality of times. In this case, the first electrical signal and the second electrical signal may be output in a pattern corresponding to the pattern to which light is irradiated.

The first electrical signal and the second electrical signal may be output at different voltages according to the state of the bottom surface. For example, when the bottom surface is smooth, the specific power of the specularly reflected light from the reflected light is increased, and thus the first electrical signal The voltage of the signal may be output large and the voltage of the second electrical signal may be output relatively low. For example, when the bottom surface is rough, since the specific gravity of the diffusely reflected light in the reflected light increases, the first electrical signal may be output with a relatively low voltage, and the second electrical signal may be output with a relatively high voltage.

Using this principle, the movable body may determine the ground state using the first electrical signal and the second electrical signal (S2003).

Hereinafter, various embodiments of the control method of the moving object will be described in detail.

As shown in FIG. 37B, the movable body first irradiates light to the bottom surface (s2010), receives light that is specularly reflected and then diffusely reflected light after being irradiated to the bottom surface, thereby providing a plurality of electrical signals, for example, a first electrical signal. And a second electrical signal may be output (s2011).

When the first electrical signal and the second electrical signal are output, a high pass filter may be applied to each electrical signal to remove noise components generated by the disturbance light (S2011).

The first and second electrical signals from which the noise component has been removed may be amplified as necessary (s2013).

The amplified first and second electrical signals may be flattened according to the application of the low pass filter (s2014). Accordingly, an electrical signal that can be easily processed by the moving object can be obtained.

The moving object may determine the material of the bottom surface by using a predetermined function using the voltage of the first electrical signal and the voltage of the second electrical signal acquired through the above-described steps s2010 to s2014 as independent variables (s2015). For example, the predetermined function may be a function of calculating a ratio of the voltage of the second electrical signal to the voltage of the first electrical signal.

When the ratio of the voltage of the second electrical signal to the voltage of the first electrical signal is calculated, the moving object compares the calculated ratio with the first reference value to determine whether it is smaller than the first reference value, and furthermore, the second reference value. It may be determined whether the value is greater than the second reference value in comparison with.

The moving object may determine the material of the bottom surface by determining that the bottom surface is smooth when the calculated ratio is smaller than the first reference value, and determine that the bottom surface is rough when the ratio is larger than the second reference value (s2017). .

When the material of the bottom surface is determined, the movable body may operate according to the determined material of the bottom surface (s2018). According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the moving object may read a database or the like stored separately, acquire data on an operation method corresponding to a material of the bottom surface, and then perform a predetermined operation using the acquired data.

As shown in FIG. 38, the movable body first irradiates light to the bottom surface (s2020), receives the specularly reflected light and the diffusely reflected light after being irradiated to the bottom surface, and outputs a first electrical signal and a second electrical signal. It may be (s2021).

Subsequently, a high pass filter, an amplifier, and a low pass filter may be applied to the first electrical signal and the second electrical signal, as described above, so that the first electrical signal and the second electrical signal from which the noise is removed and the flattened signal are obtained. It may be (s2022 to s2024).

When the first electrical signal and the second electrical signal are obtained, the moving object has a recessed area on the bottom surface by using a predetermined function that uses the voltage of the first electrical signal and the voltage of the second electrical signal as independent variables. It is possible to determine whether or not, and further determine whether the fall (s2025 and s2026). Here, the predetermined function may be a function for determining whether the voltage of the first electrical signal is smaller than the third reference value and whether the second electrical signal is smaller than the fourth reference value.

For example, the moving object may determine whether the voltage of the first electrical signal is less than the third reference value, and determine whether the second electrical signal is less than the fourth reference value (s2025). If the voltage of the electrical signal and the second electrical signal are smaller than the third reference value and the fourth reference value, it may be determined that the recessed area exists on the bottom surface (S2026).

The moving object may operate according to the determination result (s2027). For example, if it is determined that there is a depression zone on the bottom surface, the movable body performs an operation for avoiding the depression zone, and maintains the existing operation when it is determined that the depression zone does not exist. The operation for avoiding the recessed area is, for example, as described above, the moving body traveling in the existing traveling direction is stopped, the moving body moves by a predetermined distance in the direction opposite to the existing traveling direction, the moving body is a constant angle range Rotation at, and may be carried out through a series of processes to move and clean the moving body according to the existing setting. In this case, as described above, the movable body is designed to read a database or the like stored separately, acquire data on an operation method corresponding to the material of the bottom surface, and then perform a predetermined operation using the acquired data. It may be.

39 is a fourth flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a moving object control method. 39 illustrates an example of a moving object control method when light is irradiated to the plurality of recovery bottom surfaces in a predetermined pattern.

As shown in FIG. 39, the movable body irradiates light to the bottom surface and receives the specularly reflected light and the diffusely reflected light from the bottom surface so as to receive the first electrical signal corresponding to the specularly reflected light and the second electrically corresponding to the diffusely reflected light. A signal may be obtained and output (s2030).

Subsequently, if the floor material is to be obtained, the movable body may calculate a ratio between the first electrical signal and the second electrical signal corresponding to each other (s2031).

Next, the moving object compares the calculated ratio with the first reference value (S2032). Here, the first reference value may be arbitrarily determined according to the designer's choice, and may be, for example, any value between 0.1 and 1.2.

If the calculated ratio is smaller than the first reference value (yes in s2032), the moving object adds 1 to the variable set to count the case where the ratio is smaller than the first reference value, that is, the first count variable CNT1 (s2033). ).

The moving object determines whether the first count variable CNT1 is equal to a preset first count reference value, for example, 100 (s2034), and if the first count variable CNT1 is preset, a first count. If it is equal to the reference value (Yes of s2034), the moving object determines that the bottom surface is smooth (s2035). If it is determined that the bottom surface is smooth, the movable body may initialize the first count variable CNT1. In this case, the movable body can also initialize the second count variable CNT2 at the same time or at the same time as the first count variable CNT1.

If the first count variable CNT1 is not equal to the preset first count reference value, that is, if the first count variable CNT1 is smaller than the preset first count reference value (no at s2034), the moving object The current operation may be maintained and again, the light may be irradiated to the bottom surface to receive the specularly reflected light and the diffusely reflected light (S2030).

When it is determined that the bottom surface is smooth, the movable body may perform a predefined operation as in the normal suction mode according to the determination result (S2036).

Meanwhile, when the calculated ratio is not smaller than the first reference value (no in s2032), it may be determined whether the ratio is larger than the second reference value (s2040). The second reference value may be arbitrarily set by the designer, and may be any one of values between 1.5 and 4.0, for example.

If the ratio is greater than the second reference value (yes in s2040), the moving object adds 1 to the variable set to count the case where the ratio is greater than the second reference value, that is, the second count variable CNT2 (s2041). On the contrary, when the ratio is smaller than the second reference value (no in s2040), the movable body can maintain the current operation, and the control device provided in the movable body for comparing the ratio with the first reference value and / or the second reference value is input. The neglected electrical signal may be ignored and wait for a new first electrical signal and / or a second electrical signal to come in.

Subsequently, the moving object may determine whether the second count variable CNT2 is equal to a preset second count reference value, for example, 100 (s2042), and the second count variable CNT2 is preset If the count is equal to the reference value (yes in s2042), the moving object is determined to have a rough bottom (s2042). In this case, the moving object may initialize the second count variable CNT2. In this case, the moving object may also initialize the first count variable CNT1 together.

If the second count variable CNT2 is not equal to the preset second count reference value, that is, if the second count variable CNT2 is smaller than the preset second count reference value (no of s2042), the moving object The current operation may be maintained and again, the light may be irradiated to the bottom surface to receive the specularly reflected light and the diffusely reflected light (S2030).

When it is determined that the bottom surface is rough, the movable body may perform a predefined operation as described above in the high speed suction mode according to the determination result (S2036).

When light is irradiated a plurality of times according to a predetermined pattern, and the moving body acquires a plurality of first electrical signals sequentially and also acquires a plurality of second electrical signals sequentially, the above-described steps s2030 to s2050 continue to be performed. The first count variable CNT1 and the second count variable CNT2 may be increased, unchanged, or initialized accordingly.

Unlike the above, if the user wants to know whether the recessed area exists, the moving body does not calculate the ratio between the signals, and the first and second electrical signals corresponding to each other are respectively defined with the third reference value. After comparing with the fourth reference value and counting according to the comparison result, it is possible to determine whether the recessed area is present on the bottom surface using the count result.

Referring to FIG. 40, when the movable body starts to operate, the movable body generates a first pulse signal and transmits the first pulse signal to a light source installed in the movable body (s2070 and s2071).

In response to the transmission of the first pulse signal, the light source irradiates light having an intensity corresponding to the first pulse signal in the bottom surface direction (S2072).

The light irradiated to the bottom surface may be reflected at the bottom surface, and the light reflected from the bottom surface may include specularly reflected light and diffusely reflected light. The first sensor of the moving object receives all or part of the specularly reflected light, and the second sensor of the moving object receives all or part of the diffusely reflected light (s2073). Here, the second sensor may be disposed on the first sensor and the light source, or the light source may be disposed between the first sensor and the second sensor. The first sensor outputs a first electrical signal corresponding to the received specularly reflected light, and the second sensor outputs a second electrical signal corresponding to the received diffusely reflected light.

Subsequently, the movable body may compare the voltage of the first electrical signal and the voltage of the second electrical signal with the reference voltage, respectively. The comparison of the voltage and the reference voltage of the first electrical signal and the comparison of the voltage and the reference voltage of the second electrical signal may be performed sequentially or simultaneously.

For example, the movable body may first compare the voltage of the first electrical signal with the first reference voltage (S2074). The first reference voltage may be equal to the maximum output voltage that the first sensor can output, or may be somewhat less than the maximum output voltage.

As a result of the comparison, if it is determined that the voltage of the first electrical signal is smaller than the first reference voltage (YES in s2074), the moving body sequentially compares the voltage of the second electrical signal with the second reference voltage (S2075). The second reference voltage may be equal to the maximum output voltage that the second sensor can output, or may be somewhat less than the maximum output voltage. In addition, the second reference voltage may be the same as or different from the first reference voltage. In some embodiments, even when the voltage of the first electrical signal is the same as the first reference voltage, the movable body may be designed to sequentially compare the voltage of the second electrical signal with the second reference voltage (S2075).

As a result of the comparison, if the voltage of the second electrical signal is less than the second reference voltage (NO in s2074), the moving object may perform various calculation processes based on the first electrical signal and the second electrical signal. According to an embodiment, the movable body may be designed to perform various calculation processes based on the first electrical signal and the second electrical signal even when the voltage of the second electrical signal is the same as the second reference voltage.

According to an embodiment, the movable body first compares the voltage of the second electrical signal with the second reference voltage, and when the voltage of the second electrical signal is smaller than the second reference voltage, the voltage of the first electrical signal and the first reference voltage. It is also possible to perform a comparison of.

For example, the movable body may calculate a ratio between the voltage of the first electrical signal and the voltage of the second electrical signal (S2076), and perform various determinations necessary for the operation of the movable body according to the calculated ratio. For example, the movable body may determine the material of the bottom surface or determine whether the recessed area exists (s2077). In this case, the movable body may determine the material of the bottom surface according to the embodiment described in FIGS. 37B to 39, or determine whether the recessed area exists.

The moving body performs various operations such as forward, backward, rotation, or avoiding according to the determination result (s2078).

If the voltage of the first electrical signal exceeds the first reference voltage (NO in s2074), and / or the voltage of the second electrical signal exceeds the second reference voltage (NO in s2075), the moving object is the second pulse. The signal may be generated (s2079 and s2071), and the second pulse signal may be applied to the light source provided in the movable body so that the light source emits light having an intensity corresponding to the second pulse signal (s2072). In this case, the intensity of light corresponding to the second pulse signal may be smaller than the intensity of light corresponding to the first pulse signal.

The first sensor and the second sensor output the first electrical signal corresponding to the received specularly reflected light and the second electrical signal corresponding to the diffusely reflected light in the same manner as described above (s2073), and the moving object is a new first electrical signal. Compare the voltage of the second electrical signal with the reference voltage simultaneously or sequentially (s2074, s2075), calculate a ratio between the plurality of electrical signals according to the comparison result, and operate based on the calculation result (s2076 to s2078), or a third pulse signal may be generated (s2079 and s2071).

The moving object in the above-described control method of the moving object may be a robot cleaner, and the moving object control method described above may be applied to the control method of the robot cleaner through the same or some modification. In the control method of the robot cleaner, a floor state determined as a signal output through the above-described steps (s2000 to s2003, s2010 to s2017, s2020 to s2026, s2030 to s2043), for example, a recess in the floor material or the floor The operations s2018, s2027, and s2036 operating according to the presence of the zone may be replaced by performing a predetermined operation specific to the robot cleaner. For example, the step of performing a predetermined operation unique to the robot cleaner is a step of sucking dust on the floor as a general output when the material of the bottom surface is a slippery material, and a general output when the material of the floor is rough like a carpet. Suctioning dust at a higher output, and performing an avoiding operation of the recessed area when there is a recessed area on the bottom surface. If the robot cleaner uses a wet cleaning method, performing a predetermined operation specific to the robot cleaner may include stopping the cleaning operation and moving to a different area than the carpet when the material of the floor is rough like a carpet. Can be. The control method of the movable body according to the above-described embodiment is applied to the method of controlling the robot cleaner implemented by employing at least one of the floor state sensor modules of the first to fourth embodiments described above, or through some modifications. Can be.

The method for controlling the moving object and / or the method for controlling the robot cleaner according to the above-described embodiment may be implemented in the form of a program that can be driven by various computer devices. The program may include a program command, a data file, a data structure, and the like, alone or in combination. The program may be designed and produced using, for example, high-level language code that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter, as well as machine code such as produced by a compiler. The program may be specially designed to implement the above-described and control method of the image display device, or may be implemented using various functions or definitions that are well known and available to those skilled in the computer software field.

The program for implementing the above-described method for controlling the moving object and / or the method for controlling the robot cleaner can be recorded in a computer-readable recording medium. The computer-readable recording media may be, for example, magnetic disk storage media such as hard disks or floppy disks, magnetic tapes, optical media such as compact disks (CDs) or DVDs (DVDs), floppy disks. Stores specific programs that are executed by a computer, such as magneto-optical media such as floppy disks ^TM and semiconductor storage devices such as ROM, RAM, or flash memory It is possible to include various kinds of hardware devices as possible.

While various embodiments of the moving object, the robot cleaner, the floor state determining device, the method of controlling the moving object, and the method of controlling the robot cleaner have been described, the moving object, the robot cleaner, the floor state determining device, the method of controlling the moving object, and the method of controlling the robot cleaner are described. Is not limited to only the above-described embodiment. Various embodiments that can be modified and modified by those skilled in the art based on the above-described embodiments are also described in the above-described moving object, robot cleaner, floor state determination device, control method of moving object and control method of robot cleaner. One embodiment may be. For example, the described techniques may be performed in a different order than the described method, and / or components of the described systems, structures, devices, circuits, etc. may be combined or combined in a different form than the described method, or other components or Even if replaced or replaced by the equivalents, the same or similar results as those of the above-described moving object, robot cleaner, floor state judging device, controlling method of moving object, and controlling method of robot cleaner can be obtained.

Claims

A light source for irradiating first light to the bottom surface;

A first sensor configured to sense light reflected from the bottom surface;

A second sensor sensing light diffusely reflected from the bottom surface at a different position from the first sensor; And

And a controller configured to determine a state of a bottom surface based on a detection result of the first sensor and the second sensor.
The method of claim 1,

The controller may compare the voltage of the first electrical signal output from the first sensor with a first reference voltage, and compare the voltage of the second electrical signal output from the second sensor with a second reference voltage.
The method of claim 2,

The controller is configured to control the voltage of the electrical signal output from the first sensor when the voltage of the first electrical signal is less than a first reference voltage and the voltage of the second electrical signal is less than a second reference voltage. Determining the state of the bottom surface using the ratio of the voltage of the electrical signal output from the two sensors, or by using at least one of the electrical signal output from the first sensor and the electrical signal output from the second sensor, Robot cleaner to determine that there is a recessed area on the bottom surface.
The method of claim 2,

The control unit may further include: when the voltage of the first electrical signal is greater than the first reference voltage or the voltage of the second electrical signal is greater than the second reference voltage, the light source having a relatively lower intensity than the first light. 2 Robot cleaner that controls the irradiation of light.
The method of claim 1,

The controller may determine the state of the surface of the bottom surface by using a ratio of the voltage of the electrical signal output from the second sensor to the voltage of the electrical signal output from the first sensor, or in the first sensor And at least one of an electrical signal output and an electrical signal output from the second sensor, determining that there is a recessed area on the bottom surface.
The method of claim 1,

The light source irradiates light to the bottom surface at at least one incident angle, and the first sensor is disposed on a traveling path of light reflected at the same reflection angle as the incident angle.
The method of claim 1,

The second sensor is disposed between the first sensor and the light source, or the robot cleaner disposed to face the first sensor with respect to the light source.
The method of claim 1,

The light source irradiates the first light with a plurality of times,

The first sensor and the second sensor output the first electrical signal and the second electrical signal in a plurality of times, respectively,

The controller is configured to calculate a ratio between the voltage of the first electrical signal and the voltage of the second electrical signal whenever the electrical signal is output.
The method of claim 8,

The control unit may compare a calculation result of a ratio between the voltage of the first electrical signal and the voltage of the second electrical signal with a reference value, increase the count variable according to the comparison result, and determine the count variable and the preset count reference value. Robot cleaner for determining the state of the floor surface based on the same.
The method of claim 1,

The controller is configured to apply a high pass filter to an electrical signal output from at least one of the first sensor and the second sensor to remove noise caused by disturbance light present in the electrical signal.
The method of claim 10,

The controller is configured to apply a low pass filter to an electrical signal to which the high pass filter is applied.
Irradiating a first light to the bottom surface;

A first sensor and a second sensor disposed at different positions detect light reflected from the bottom surface, wherein the first sensor receives light specularly reflected from the bottom surface, and the second sensor receives light reflected from the bottom surface. Receiving; And

And determining the state of the floor surface based on the detection result of the first sensor and the second sensor.
The method of claim 12,

The determining of the state of the bottom surface based on the detection result of the first sensor and the second sensor,

And determining a state of a floor surface by using a ratio between a first electrical signal output from the first sensor and a second electrical signal output from the second sensor.
The method of claim 12,

The determining of the state of the bottom surface based on the detection result of the first sensor and the second sensor,

And determining that there is a recessed area on the bottom surface by using at least one of a first electrical signal output from the first sensor and a second electrical signal output from the second sensor. .
The method of claim 12,

The determining of the state of the bottom surface based on the detection result of the first sensor and the second sensor,

Comparing the calculation result of the ratio between the voltage of the first electrical signal and the voltage of the second electrical signal with a reference value, increasing the count variable according to the comparison result, and whether the count variable is equal to the preset count reference value And determining the state of the bottom surface according to the control method of the robot cleaner.