WO2023116604A1

WO2023116604A1 - Cleaning robot

Info

Publication number: WO2023116604A1
Application number: PCT/CN2022/139911
Authority: WO
Inventors: 孟则辉; 薛景涛; 童方超; 贺亚农
Original assignee: 华为技术有限公司
Priority date: 2021-12-24
Filing date: 2022-12-19
Publication date: 2023-06-29
Also published as: CN116327043A

Abstract

A cleaning robot (30), comprising a robot body (500). The robot body (500) comprises a control mechanism (2) and a bearing mechanism to which a flexible mechanical arm (501) is fixed; the flexible mechanical arm (501) has one end fixed to the bearing mechanism, and the other end used for fixing a cleaning tool (503); the flexible mechanical arm (501) comprises a plurality of joint units (1) connected in series and having a continuous deformation capability; the control mechanism (2) is further used for retracting the flexible mechanical arm (501) into a mechanical arm storage cavity (504) of the bearing mechanism, or releasing the flexible mechanical arm (501) from the mechanical arm storage cavity (504) to the external environment, and controlling an attitude of the flexible mechanical arm (501) by controlling the deformation of at least one joint unit (1) in an axial direction or radial direction, so as to execute a cleaning task. The cleaning task is performed by means of the attitude control of the flexible mechanical arm (501), such that the cleaning of an area unreachable by the chassis of the robot (30) can be realized, thereby greatly improving a cleaning coverage range.

Description

a cleaning robot

This application claims the priority of the Chinese patent application with the application number 202111603282.0 and the title of the invention "a cleaning robot" submitted to the China Patent Office on December 24, 2021, the entire contents of which are incorporated in this application by reference.

technical field

The present application relates to the field of robots, in particular to a cleaning robot.

Background technique

Time is a precious resource under the pressures of modern society, but heavy household cleaning takes up a lot of people's rest time. In order to get rid of repetitive and heavy household cleaning, cleaning robots have entered more and more families, and the sweeping robot market is very popular.

Existing household cleaning robot products mainly exist in the form of mobile chassis, which can realize cleaning functions such as suction, sweeping and mopping. After several years of evolution, although the earlier products are more intelligent, there are still many problems in terms of coverage and cleaning effect. Specifically, the cleaning hardware architecture of existing sweeping robots is designed around the mopping and sweeping unit on the bottom of the mobile chassis. Movable areas with poor cleaning coverage.

Contents of the invention

The present application discloses a cleaning robot, which can perform cleaning tasks through posture control of a flexible mechanical arm, and can realize cleaning for areas inaccessible to the robot chassis, greatly improving the cleaning coverage.

The present application provides a cleaning robot, including: a body, the body including a control mechanism and a carrying mechanism;

Wherein, the control mechanism may be a processor or other physical units capable of data processing. The carrying mechanism can be the housing of the cleaning robot, which can serve as a carrier for fixing other components in the cleaning robot.

The base of the carrying mechanism is equipped with a running mechanism, and the running mechanism is used to drive the movement of the body;

In a possible implementation, the carrying mechanism may include a base, on which a traveling mechanism may be installed for driving the body to move. The base can also be provided with a rolling brush opening, which is used as an air vent for cleaning the ground.

The carrying mechanism is fixed with a flexible robotic arm, one end of the flexible robotic arm is fixed to the carrying mechanism, the other end of the flexible robotic arm is used to fix the cleaning tool, and the flexible robotic arm includes a plurality of joint units connected in series , each joint unit in the plurality of joint units has the ability of continuous deformation;

Wherein, having continuous change here can be understood as being stretchable, bendable, and twistable, and not losing performance after deformation (for example, it can be basically restored to the form before deformation).

Wherein, the stiffness (bending stiffness) of the joint unit may be, for example, a value between 0.08 and 0.8.

It should be understood that the so-called flexibility here can be understood as the material of the mechanical arm is a material that can be easily deformed by external force, so that it has multi-angle and multi-directional flexibility and displacement capabilities. From the outside, the mechanical arm can play a similar role. The same deformation effect as a robotic arm of flexible materials (such as snake-like movement).

In a possible implementation, the multiple joint units are springs.

The control mechanism is used to control the posture of the flexible mechanical arm by controlling the deformation of at least one joint unit in the axial direction or the radial direction, so as to perform cleaning tasks.

In a possible implementation, the flexible manipulator may include multiple joint units (or joint discs), and adjacent joints may have the ability to deform in the axial direction and radial direction, and then multiple joints The displacement caused by the deformation of the unit is accumulated in series, which can realize the continuous flexible deformation with high redundancy (that is, the flexible attitude change with high redundancy).

In a possible implementation, the carrying mechanism may include a storage cavity, and the storage cavity is used to accommodate the flexible robot arm in a recovered state. Specifically, the flexible manipulator can be released from the accommodation cavity to the environment when the flexible manipulator is required to perform the cleaning task, and perform the cleaning task; cavity.

Exemplarily, when the control mechanism determines that the current target area to be cleaned is an inaccessible area of the chassis (and is an accessible area of the flexible manipulator), it can control the flexible manipulator to be released from the chamber to the environment and perform cleaning tasks .

Optionally, in a possible implementation, a telescopic mechanism (or the driver of the flexible robotic arm) for realizing the expansion and contraction of the flexible robotic arm can be fixed in the carrying mechanism, and the control mechanism can control the telescopic mechanism to recover the flexible robotic arm into the storage chamber, or release the flexible robotic arm from the storage chamber to the external environment.

The embodiment of the present application provides a cleaning robot, including: a body, the body includes a control mechanism and a bearing mechanism; a walking mechanism is installed on the base of the bearing mechanism, and the walking mechanism is used to drive the movement of the body; The carrying mechanism is fixed with a flexible robotic arm, one end of the flexible robotic arm is fixed to the carrying mechanism, the other end of the flexible robotic arm is used to fix the cleaning tool, and the flexible robotic arm includes a plurality of joint units connected in series. Each joint unit in the plurality of joint units has the ability of continuous deformation; the control mechanism is used to control the deformation of at least one joint unit in the axial direction or radial direction, to control the flexible mechanical arm posture to perform cleaning tasks. Through the above method, aiming at the problem of small coverage caused by the existing cleaning robot based on the arrival cleaning method (that is, cleaning through the cleaning port installed on the robot chassis), by installing a flexible mechanical arm on the cleaning robot , and the cleaning task is carried out through the attitude control of the flexible robotic arm, which can realize the cleaning of the inaccessible area of the robot chassis, and greatly improve the cleaning coverage.

Moreover, in a robotic arm with rigid joint units, in order to ensure a high degree of freedom, (especially in the cleaning task scene) it is necessary to set a large number of joint units, and the adjacent joint units must directly rely on a joint unit that can drive the adjacent joint unit. For the rotating drive mechanism, each drive mechanism corresponds to a motor, that is, a large number of motors are required, and the motors need to occupy a large amount of space. Since a space for recovering the flexible mechanical arm needs to be provided inside the carrying mechanism, too large The space occupied by the motor will prevent it from being integrated in a compact cleaning robot. However, in the embodiment of the present application, the joint unit with continuous variable capability is used, which itself has a high degree of freedom, so a large number of joint units is not needed, and the driving mechanism (such as the target in the embodiment of the present application) can be reduced. The number of control parts), which in turn can reduce the number of motors, and can be integrated in the cleaning robot.

In a possible implementation, the length of the flexible robotic arm is greater than 20 cm. For example, the length of the flexible robotic arm can be 25cm, 26cm, 27cm, 28cm, 30cm, 35cm, 40cm, 45cm, etc. In order to make the cleaning coverage area of the flexible manipulator (for example, the inaccessible area of the chassis, for example, the coverage area in the vertical direction, the area in the gap, the corner area, etc.) larger, the flexible manipulator needs to be sufficiently long. length so that, in the stretched state, it can cover the above-mentioned cleaning coverage area.

In a possible implementation, a target control member is fixed between adjacent joint units among the plurality of joint units, and the control mechanism is specifically used to control the displacement of the target control member in space to drive the corresponding The deformation of the adjacent joint units in the axial direction or radial direction.

In a possible implementation, since the end of the flexible robotic arm needs to be equipped with cleaning tools, the material and structure of the flexible robotic arm (specifically, the joint unit) should have load-bearing capacity (capable of carrying the weight of the cleaning tool) at the end of the flexible robotic arm. And can drive cleaning tools to perform cleaning tasks).

In a possible implementation, the arrangement of the target control elements on the flexible robotic arm and the corresponding control strategy are related to the movement accuracy that can be achieved by the end (accuracy that can meet the cleaning task).

In a possible implementation, the target control member can be a fixed component that surrounds the position between adjacent joint units, and it can be connected to the motor through a control wire, and then the motor can control the target control by pulling the control wire. The displacement of the component in space drives the deformation of the adjacent joint units in the axial direction or radial direction.

Exemplarily, reference may be made to Fig. 5b, wherein Fig. 5b shows the structure of the flexible robotic arm with the joint unit as the spring, wherein the target control part may be a fixed assembly wrapped around the spring, and the spring adjacent to the target control part may be constitute the joint unit.

In a possible implementation, a plurality of target control elements are deployed on the flexible manipulator, and the deployment density of the target control elements on the end of the flexible manipulator close to the carrying mechanism is smaller than that of the end far away from the carrying mechanism. end of the institution.

Wherein, the higher the deployment density of the target control elements at the end of the flexible manipulator away from the carrying mechanism is, the higher the control accuracy of the end is.

In a possible implementation, the distance between adjacent target control components among the plurality of target control components is greater than 10 cm.

Due to the use of joint units with continuous variable capability, which itself has a high degree of freedom, it does not require a large number of joint units, thereby reducing the number of driving mechanisms (such as the target control member in the embodiment of the present application), Further, the distance between adjacent target control parts can also be relatively large, for example, it can be greater than 10 cm, 15 cm, 20 cm, or 25 cm.

In a possible implementation, the number of target control parts can be related to the stiffness of the joint unit itself (the degree of deformation when a force is applied, the smaller the degree of deformation, the greater the stiffness), for example, the greater the stiffness, the higher the target control part The quantity can be less.

In a possible implementation, the control mechanism includes at least one control motor, and the at least one control motor is located at a bottom area in the carrying mechanism. Wherein, each control motor can be used to control one or more corresponding target control parts. Since the number of target control parts is small, the number of control motors is also small. In order to further reduce the space occupation of the motor, it is also possible to use At least one control motor is disposed in the bottom area of the carrying mechanism (for example, it can be shown with reference to FIG. 11 b ).

In a possible implementation, the height span of the at least one control motor in the vertical direction is less than 10 cm.

In a possible implementation, the outer diameter of the flexible robotic arm is less than 10 cm. For example, the outer diameter of the flexible robotic arm can be 9cm, 8cm, 7cm, 6cm, 5cm, 4cm, etc. In order to make the cleaning coverage area of the flexible manipulator (such as the inaccessible area of the chassis, such as the area in the gap, the corner area, etc.) large, the flexible manipulator needs to meet a small enough outer diameter to be able to cover to clean the covered area above. Optionally, since only part of the flexible robotic arm (the area at the end closer to the connecting tool head) may need to enter the inaccessible area of the chassis during the cleaning task, the flexible robotic arm meets the above-mentioned outer diameter The required position may be the end closer to the connecting tool head.

In a possible implementation, the number of the multiple joint units is greater than or equal to three. In the case of limited size of joint units, in order to enable the flexible manipulator to have higher flexibility, the number of joint units of the flexible manipulator should be sufficient (the greater the number, the more complex the structure, but the overall greater posture flexibility). Exemplarily, the number of joint units of the flexible robotic arm may be 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and so on.

In a possible implementation, cleaning tasks may include vacuuming the target area, auxiliary spraying of cleaning fluid (or other liquids), replacement of cleaning tools, etc., requiring a hollow structure inside the flexible robotic arm to perform cleaning tasks When used, the replacement cleaning tool can be powered by air flow, liquid, and by fixed wires, etc.

In a possible implementation, there are M target cavities running through the interior of the flexible robotic arm, and the target cavities are used for passing airflow when performing the cleaning task. Specifically, the cleaning task can include dust collection for the target area, the carrying mechanism of the cleaning robot can include a dust collector, a filter assembly (optional) and a vacuum source, and the target cavity of the flexible robotic arm can communicate with the vacuum source, The end of the flexible robotic arm close to the connecting tool head (or the cleaning tool itself) can be used as a suction port, through the suction of the vacuum source and the filtering effect of the filter assembly, the end of the flexible robotic arm close to the connecting tool head can absorb dust or debris and other garbage, and collect dust or debris and other garbage in the dust collector through the target cavity of the flexible robot arm. Optionally, when performing the dust collection task, the other end of the flexible mechanical arm can be connected to the head and the tool head related to the dust collection task. In order to improve the cleaning efficiency of the floor, a rolling brush can also be set at the suction port. The dust on the ground is slapped by the rotating brush, so that the dust is raised and then sucked into the flexible robotic arm.

In a possible implementation, a target cavity runs through the interior of the flexible robotic arm; the target cavity is used for circulating liquid. Specifically, for some cleaning tasks that require dragging and wiping, it is necessary to assist the behavior of spraying liquid (such as detergent or water, etc.) to the area to be cleaned. The target cavity, when performing cleaning tasks that require dragging and wiping, on the one hand, the flexible robotic arm can perform dragging and wiping actions through its own posture changes, and at the same time, the control structure can also squeeze liquid into the target cavity, This makes it possible to spray liquid (such as cleaning agent or water, etc.) to the area to be cleaned when the cleaning task is performed.

It should be understood that the cleaning robot can also perform tasks related to fixed-point spraying, such as disinfection and watering flowers.

In a possible implementation, a target cavity runs through the interior of the flexible robotic arm; the target cavity is used to accommodate electric wires.

Optionally, in some cleaning tasks, the cleaning tool may need auxiliary power to operate (for example, a rotating head that needs electric power to drive work, etc.), and a power supply can be provided inside the carrying mechanism. A target cavity for accommodating electric wires is provided in the robotic arm, and the electric power can be provided for cleaning tools connected to the flexible robotic arm when the flexible robotic arm performs cleaning tasks through the electric wires in the target cavity. Optionally, the other end of the flexible mechanical head can be detachably connected to the cleaning tool. For example, the other end of the flexible mechanical arm includes a target interface, and the target interface is used to detachably connect the cleaning tool. The target interface can be In order to carry out the detachable connection parts of the cleaning tool based on electromagnetic properties, the target interface needs to use electric energy to realize the connection and detachment of the cleaning tool. Due to the long length of the flexible manipulator, it can be set in the flexible manipulator to accommodate the wires The target cavity of the target cavity can provide electric energy for the target interface on the flexible manipulator when the flexible manipulator is connected to and detached from the cleaning tool through the wires in the target cavity.

For example, a plurality of target cavities may run through the interior of the flexible robotic arm, wherein a part of the target cavities is used for passing airflow when performing the cleaning task, a part of the target cavities is used for circulating liquid, and another part is used for accommodating electric wires.

For example, a plurality of target cavities may run through the interior of the flexible robotic arm, wherein a part of the target cavities is used for passing airflow when performing the cleaning task, and a part of the target cavities is used for circulating liquid.

For example, a plurality of target cavities may run through the interior of the flexible robotic arm, wherein a part of the target cavities is used for passing airflow when performing the cleaning task, and another part is used for accommodating electric wires.

Optionally, in some cleaning tasks, the other end of the flexible mechanical head needs to replace the cleaning tool. For example, some cleaning tasks need to be vacuumed first and then scrubbed, and then the flexible mechanical head needs to be cleaned by cleaning tools related to vacuuming. Dust suction operation, and then replace it with cleaning tools related to scrubbing to scrub the area to be cleaned. In the above scenario, the flexible mechanical head can be connected with cleaning tools related to vacuuming, and the control mechanism can control the area to be cleaned by the flexible mechanical head After vacuuming, the control mechanism can control the flexible mechanical head to move to the area where the cleaning tools related to scrubbing are fixed, and remove the cleaning tools related to vacuuming through the power control target interface in the wire, and connect the cleaning tools related to scrubbing. The cleaning tool is connected to the target interface, and the flexible mechanical head is controlled to scrub the area to be cleaned.

In addition, for different types of objects to be cleaned, different cleaning tools can also be configured correspondingly.

In a possible implementation, the carrying mechanism includes a storage cavity, and the cleaning task instruction is aimed at cleaning a target area, where the target area is an area inaccessible to the base of the carrying mechanism, and is an area of the flexible machine The reachable area of the arm.

In a possible implementation, the inaccessible area of the base is an area whose vertical height from the ground is greater than a first threshold, and the first threshold matches the passable height of the running gear. Exemplarily, the first threshold can be 2cm, 3cm, 4cm and above. Taking the traveling mechanism including driving wheels as an example, the first threshold can be the obstacle limit that the driving wheels can cross. The first threshold can be the same as the outer limit of the driving wheels. It is related to the diameter and the driving power it possesses.

It should be understood that the matching of the first threshold with the passable height of the running gear here may be understood as: the first threshold is positively correlated with the passable height of the running gear.

In a possible implementation, the unreachable area of the base may be a vertical coverage area (such as a wall, a table leg), or a surface with a certain height difference from the ground (such as a desktop, a sofa surface, etc.).

In a possible implementation, the inaccessible area of the base is an area with a passable width smaller than a second threshold, and the second threshold matches the lateral width of the body. Exemplarily, the second threshold may be 20 cm, 25 cm, 30 cm, etc., and the first threshold may be related to the lateral width of the body.

It should be understood that the matching of the second threshold with the lateral width of the body may be understood as: the second threshold is positively correlated with the lateral width of the body.

In a possible implementation, the inaccessible area of the base may be an area in a gap, a corner area, etc., for example, a narrow space and a gap such as a table and chair legs, an area covered by sundries, and the like.

In a possible implementation, the inaccessible area of the base is an area whose passable height is less than a third threshold, and the third threshold matches the longitudinal height of the body. Exemplarily, the third threshold may be 20 cm, 25 cm, 30 cm, 35 cm, 40 cm, 45 cm, 50 cm, etc., and the third threshold may be related to the longitudinal height of the body.

It should be understood that the matching of the third threshold with the longitudinal height of the body may be understood as: the third threshold is positively correlated with the longitudinal height of the body.

In a possible implementation, the inaccessible area of the base may be an area in a gap, for example, the bottom of a piece of furniture.

Optionally, in a possible implementation, the carrying mechanism also includes a tool storage area, and the tool storage area is used to fix a plurality of cleaning tools (such as cleaning tools related to vacuuming and cleaning tools related to scrubbing) etc.), because the position of the tool storage area in the bearing mechanism is fixed, therefore, the control mechanism can know the specific position of each cleaning tool in the tool storage area (can be configured in advance), and then can control the The posture of the flexible robotic arm and the connection state of the target interface are used to replace the cleaning tool on the target interface in the tool storage area. For example, the flexible mechanical head can be connected with cleaning tools related to vacuuming, and the control mechanism can control the flexible mechanical head to perform dust suction operations on the area to be cleaned. Clean the area of the tool, and remove the cleaning tool related to vacuuming by controlling the connection status of the target interface, and connect the cleaning tool related to scrubbing to the target interface by controlling the connection status of the target interface, and control the flexible mechanical head The posture to be cleaned is scrubbed.

Exemplarily, the target interface can be composed of two ends of the electrical coupling connection, one end of which is attached to the end of the mechanical arm, and the other end is attached to the cleaning tool; both ends of the interface also reserve hollow water, electricity, and gas pipelines, so that With a mechanical guide card slot to ensure the alignment of the coupling when docking.

In the embodiment of the present application, the control mechanism can control the flexible mechanical arm to realize the automatic switching of cleaning tools, which greatly reduces the operation difficulty of the user.

In order to further expand the operating coverage of the robotic arm, optionally, the embodiment of the present application may also be equipped with a lifting mechanism on the carrying mechanism (for example, on the chassis platform of the carrying mechanism) to increase the stroke of the flexible robotic arm in the vertical height, which can Expanding the three-dimensional coverage of flexible manipulators. Specifically, in a possible implementation, the carrying mechanism further includes: a lifting mechanism, and the lifting mechanism is used to control the movement of the flexible mechanical arm in the vertical direction. Exemplarily, the lifting mechanism can be driven by a motor and transmission components.

In a possible implementation, when the current area to be cleaned is an area inaccessible to the base of the carrying mechanism, the control mechanism can control the expansion and contraction of the flexible mechanical arm in the axial direction through the contraction mechanism, and control at least The deformation of one of the joint units in the axial direction or the radial direction is used to control the attitude of the flexible robotic arm to perform cleaning tasks for the area to be cleaned.

In a possible implementation, when the current area to be cleaned is an area inaccessible to the base of the carrying mechanism, the control mechanism can control the expansion and contraction of the flexible mechanical arm in the axial direction through the contraction mechanism, and control the expansion and contraction of the flexible mechanical arm in the axial direction through the lifting mechanism controlling the movement of the flexible robot arm in the vertical direction, and controlling the deformation of at least one of the joint units in the axial direction or the radial direction, so as to control the posture of the flexible robot arm, so as to perform tasks for the Cleaning tasks for sweeping areas.

In a possible implementation, the control mechanism can control the movement of the flexible mechanical arm in the vertical direction through the lifting mechanism when the current area to be cleaned is an area inaccessible to the base of the carrying mechanism, and control The deformation of at least one of the joint units in the axial direction or the radial direction controls the attitude of the flexible robotic arm to perform cleaning tasks for the area to be cleaned.

In a possible implementation, the control mechanism may determine whether the area to be cleaned is an accessible area or an inaccessible area through information collected by sensors carried by the body itself. Exemplarily, the control mechanism may include a plurality of functional modules, wherein the robot mapping module can divide the pre-established or real-time environment map into regions, and judge whether to is the reachable area of the chassis; if it is an unreachable area of the chassis, it will be temporarily marked as the reachable area of the manipulator; after the division is completed, the map will contain multiple discrete areas.

In a possible implementation, the height of the body is greater than 25 cm.

In a possible implementation, the body is also fixed with a sensor; the control mechanism is also used to: acquire the position of the target area to be cleaned, and The relationship between them determines attitude information, the position of the target area is determined according to the information collected by the sensor, and the attitude information is used to control the attitude of the flexible robotic arm when performing the cleaning task.

In a possible implementation, the target area is determined based on a cleaning instruction of the terminal device, and the cleaning instruction carries indication information of the target area.

In a possible implementation, the control mechanism is further configured to: send information of multiple candidate areas to be cleaned to the terminal device, where the multiple candidate areas to be cleaned include the target area; The cleaning command sent.

In a possible implementation, the cleaning robot is a sweeping robot, a glass cleaning robot or an air cleaning robot.

In a second aspect, the present application provides a flexible mechanical arm, one end of the flexible mechanical arm is fixed to the carrying mechanism of the cleaning robot, the other end of the flexible mechanical arm is used to fix the cleaning tool, and the flexible mechanical arm includes a series Multiple joint units of ;

At least one of the joint units in the plurality of joint units is used by the control mechanism of the cleaning robot to control the posture of the flexible mechanical arm by controlling the deformation in the axial direction or the radial direction, so as to perform cleaning tasks ;

There are M target cavities running through the inside of the flexible manipulator, and the M is a positive integer;

At least one of the M target cavities is used to pass airflow when performing the cleaning task; or,

At least one target cavity among the M target cavities is used to accommodate electric wires; or,

At least one target cavity among the M target cavities is used for circulating liquid.

In a possible implementation, the multiple joint units connected in series are made of flexible material.

A target cavity runs through the interior of the flexible manipulator;

said target cavity for passage of airflow while performing said cleaning task; or,

the target cavity is for receiving electrical wires; or,

The target cavity is used for fluid flow.

On the one hand, through the above method, aiming at the problem of small coverage caused by the existing cleaning robot based on the arrival cleaning method (that is, the cleaning method through the cleaning port installed on the robot chassis), by installing on the cleaning robot The flexible robotic arm performs cleaning tasks through the posture control of the flexible robotic arm, which can achieve cleaning in areas that are not accessible to the robot chassis, greatly improving the cleaning coverage.

In a possible implementation, a target cavity runs through the inside of the flexible robotic arm, and the target cavity is used for passing airflow when performing the cleaning task. Specifically, the cleaning task can include dust collection for the target area, the carrying mechanism of the cleaning robot can include a dust collector, a filter assembly (optional) and a vacuum source, and the target cavity of the flexible robotic arm can communicate with the vacuum source, The end of the flexible robotic arm close to the connecting tool head (or the cleaning tool itself) can be used as a suction port, through the suction of the vacuum source and the filtering effect of the filter assembly, the end of the flexible robotic arm close to the connecting tool head can absorb dust or debris and other garbage, and collect dust or debris and other garbage in the dust collector through the target cavity of the flexible robot arm. Optionally, when performing the dust collection task, the other end of the flexible mechanical arm can be connected to the head and the tool head related to the dust collection task. In order to improve the cleaning efficiency of the floor, a rolling brush can also be set at the suction port. The dust on the ground is slapped by the rotating brush, so that the dust is raised and then sucked into the flexible robotic arm.

In a possible implementation, a target cavity runs through the interior of the flexible robotic arm; the target cavity is used for circulating liquid. Specifically, for some cleaning tasks that require dragging and wiping, it is necessary to assist the behavior of spraying liquid (such as detergent or water, etc.) to the area to be cleaned. The target cavity, when performing cleaning tasks that require dragging and wiping, on the one hand, the flexible robotic arm can perform dragging and wiping actions through its own posture changes, and at the same time, the control structure can also squeeze liquid into the target cavity, This makes it possible to spray liquid (such as cleaning agent or water, etc.) to the area to be cleaned when cleaning tasks are performed.

Optionally, in some cleaning tasks, the cleaning tool may need auxiliary power to operate (for example, a rotating head that needs to be driven by electricity, etc.), and a power supply can be provided inside the carrying mechanism. Due to the long length of the flexible mechanical arm, it can A target cavity for accommodating electric wires is provided in the mechanical arm, and the electric wires in the target cavity can provide electrical energy for cleaning tools connected to the flexible mechanical arm when the flexible mechanical arm performs cleaning tasks. Optionally, the other end of the flexible mechanical head can be detachably connected to the cleaning tool. For example, the other end of the flexible mechanical arm includes a target interface, and the target interface is used to detachably connect the cleaning tool. The target interface can be In order to carry out the detachable connection parts of the cleaning tool based on electromagnetic properties, the target interface needs to use electric energy to realize the connection and detachment of the cleaning tool. Due to the long length of the flexible manipulator, it can be set in the flexible manipulator to accommodate the wires The target cavity of the target cavity can provide electrical energy for the target interface on the flexible manipulator when the flexible manipulator is connected and detached from the cleaning tool through the wires in the target cavity.

In a possible implementation, the length of the flexible robotic arm is greater than 20 cm, or the outer diameter of the flexible robotic arm is less than 10 cm.

In a possible implementation, the number of the multiple joint units is greater than or equal to three.

In a possible implementation, the cleaning task indicates cleaning of a target area, where the target area is an area not accessible to the base of the carrying mechanism and accessible to the flexible robotic arm.

In a possible implementation, the flexible robotic arm is also used to be controlled by the control mechanism to be recovered into the mechanical arm storage cavity of the cleaning robot, or controlled by the control mechanism to be recovered from the mechanical arm storage cavity released to the external environment.

In a possible implementation, the other end of the flexible robotic arm includes a target interface, and the target interface is used for detachably connecting the cleaning tool.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a method for controlling a cleaning robot, the cleaning robot comprising: a body, the body including a control mechanism and a carrying mechanism;

The methods include:

The control mechanism controls the posture of the flexible mechanical arm by controlling the deformation of at least one joint unit in the axial direction or the radial direction, so as to perform cleaning tasks.

Through the above method, aiming at the problem of small coverage caused by the existing cleaning robot based on the arrival cleaning method (that is, cleaning through the cleaning port installed on the robot chassis), by installing a flexible mechanical arm on the cleaning robot , and the cleaning task is carried out through the attitude control of the flexible robotic arm, which can realize the cleaning of the inaccessible area of the robot chassis, and greatly improve the cleaning coverage.

In a possible implementation, a target cavity runs through the inside of the flexible robotic arm, and the target cavity is used for passing airflow when performing the cleaning task.

In a possible implementation, a target cavity runs through the interior of the flexible robotic arm; the target cavity is used for circulating liquid.

In a possible implementation, the inaccessible area of the base includes at least one of the following:

An area where the vertical height from the ground is greater than a first threshold, and the first threshold matches the passable height of the running gear;

an area of traversable width less than a second threshold matching the lateral width of the body; and,

An area where the passable height is less than a third threshold, the third threshold matching the longitudinal height of the body.

In a possible implementation, the carrying mechanism includes a mechanical arm storage cavity, and the mechanical arm storage cavity is used for accommodating all or part of the flexible mechanical arm.

In a possible implementation, the method also includes:

The control mechanism controls to recover the flexible robot arm into the robot arm storage chamber, or release the flexible robot arm from the robot arm storage chamber to the external environment.

In a possible implementation, the bearing mechanism further includes a tool storage area, and the tool storage area is used to fix a plurality of cleaning tools;

The method also includes:

The control mechanism replaces the cleaning tool on the target interface in the tool storage area by controlling the posture of the flexible robot arm and the connection state of the target interface.

In a possible implementation, the carrying mechanism further includes: a lifting mechanism, the lifting mechanism is used to control the movement of the flexible mechanical arm in the vertical direction.

In a possible implementation, controlling the posture of the flexible robotic arm by controlling the deformation of at least one joint unit in the axial direction or the radial direction includes:

controlling the posture of the flexible robotic arm by controlling the deformation of at least one joint unit in the axial direction or the radial direction, and controlling the movement of the flexible robotic arm in the vertical direction through the lifting mechanism, so as to Perform cleaning tasks.

In a possible implementation, the height of the body is greater than 25 cm.

In a possible implementation, the body is also fixed with a sensor;

The method also includes:

The control mechanism acquires the position of the target area to be cleaned, and determines posture information according to the relationship between the position of the target area and the current position of the cleaning robot, and the position of the target area is based on the sensor The collected information is determined, and the posture information is used to control the posture of the flexible robotic arm when performing the cleaning task.

In a possible implementation, the method also includes:

The control mechanism sends information of multiple candidate areas to be cleaned to the terminal device, and the multiple candidate areas to be cleaned include the target area;

The cleaning instruction sent by the terminal device is received.

The embodiment of the present application provides a cleaning robot, including: a body, the body includes a control mechanism and a bearing mechanism; a walking mechanism is installed on the base of the bearing mechanism, and the walking mechanism is used to drive the movement of the body; The carrying mechanism is fixed with a flexible robotic arm, one end of the flexible robotic arm is fixed to the carrying mechanism, the other end of the flexible robotic arm is used to fix the cleaning tool, and the flexible robotic arm includes a plurality of joint units connected in series. Each joint unit in the plurality of joint units has the ability of continuous deformation; the carrying mechanism may include a storage cavity, and the storage cavity is used to accommodate the flexible mechanical arm in a recovery state. Specifically, the flexible manipulator can be released from the accommodation cavity to the environment when the flexible manipulator is required to perform the cleaning task, and perform the cleaning task; In the cavity; the control mechanism is used to control the posture of the flexible mechanical arm by controlling the deformation of at least one of the joint units in the axial direction or the radial direction, so as to perform cleaning tasks. Through the above method, aiming at the problem of small coverage caused by the existing cleaning robot based on the arrival cleaning method (that is, cleaning through the cleaning port installed on the robot chassis), by installing a flexible mechanical arm on the cleaning robot , and the cleaning task is carried out through the attitude control of the flexible robotic arm, which can realize the cleaning of the inaccessible area of the robot chassis, and greatly improve the cleaning coverage.

Description of drawings

Fig. 1 is a structural representation of the cleaning robot in the present application;

Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of an application architecture in this application;

Fig. 3 is a structural representation of the cleaning robot in the present application;

Fig. 4 is a structural representation of the cleaning robot in the present application;

Figure 5a is a structural representation of the cleaning robot in the present application;

Figure 5b is a structural representation of the cleaning robot in this application;

Fig. 6 is a structural representation of the cleaning robot in the present application;

Fig. 7 is a structural representation of the cleaning robot in the present application;

Figure 8a is a structural representation of the cleaning robot in the present application;

Figure 8b is a structural representation of the cleaning robot in this application;

Fig. 9a is a structural representation of the cleaning robot in the present application;

Figure 9b is a schematic structural view of the cleaning robot in this application;

Figure 10a is a structural representation of the cleaning robot in the present application;

Figure 10b is a structural representation of the cleaning robot in this application;

Figure 11a is a structural representation of the cleaning robot in the present application;

Figure 11b is a structural representation of the cleaning robot in this application;

Fig. 12 is a structural representation of the cleaning robot in the present application;

Figure 13 is a schematic diagram of an application scenario in this application;

Figure 14 is a structural representation of the cleaning robot in the present application;

FIG. 15 is a schematic structural diagram of a control device of a cleaning robot in the present application.

Detailed ways

The specific implementation manner of the present application will be described by way of example in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application below. However, the implementation of the present application may also include combining these embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the present application, such as adopting other embodiments and making structural changes. The detailed description of the following examples should therefore not be read in a limiting sense. The terms used in the embodiments of the application are only used to explain the specific embodiments of the application, and are not intended to limit the application.

One or more structural components of functions, modules, features, units, etc. mentioned in the specific embodiments of the application can be understood as consisting of any physical or tangible components (for example, composed of software, hardware, etc. (eg, logic functions implemented by a processor or a chip), etc., or any other combination) are implemented in any way. In some embodiments, the shown separation of various devices in the figures into different modules or units may reflect the use of corresponding different physical and tangible components in actual implementations. Optionally, a single module in the drawings of the embodiments of the present application may also be implemented by multiple actual physical components. Likewise, any two or more modules depicted in the figures may also reflect different functions performed by a single actual physical component.

Regarding the method flow chart of the embodiment of the present application, certain operations are described as different steps performed in a certain order. Such flowcharts are illustrative and not restrictive. Certain steps described herein can be grouped together and performed in a single operation, can be divided into multiple sub-steps, and can be performed in an order different than that shown herein . What is shown in the flowcharts can be implemented in any way by any circuit structure or tangible mechanism (for example, by software running on a computer device, hardware (for example, logical functions implemented by a processor or a chip), etc., or any combination thereof). The various steps are shown.

The description below may identify one or more features as "optional". Statements of this type should not be interpreted as an exhaustive indication of features that may be considered optional; ie, other features may be considered optional although not expressly identified in the text. Furthermore, any recitation of a single entity is not intended to preclude the use of a plurality of such entities; similarly, any recitation of multiple entities is not intended to preclude the use of a single entity. Finally, the term "exemplary" refers to one implementation of potentially many implementations.

The terms "first", "second" and the like in the specification and claims of the present application and the above drawings are used to distinguish similar objects, and are not necessarily used to describe a specific sequence or sequence. It should be understood that the terms used in this way can be interchanged under appropriate circumstances, and this is merely a description of the manner in which objects with the same attribute are described in the embodiments of the present application. Furthermore, the terms "comprising" and "having", as well as any variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, system, product, or apparatus comprising a series of elements is not necessarily limited to those elements, but may include elements not expressly included. Other elements listed explicitly or inherent to the process, method, product, or apparatus.

This application can be applied to cleaning robots (or called cleaning robots, cleaning robots). Cleaning robots refer to robots that can autonomously perform cleaning tasks in their working environment, including floor sweeping robots and glass cleaning robots. Among them, the sweeping robot, also known as automatic cleaning machine, smart vacuum cleaner, robot vacuum cleaner, etc., is a kind of smart household appliances, which can automatically complete the floor cleaning work in the room by virtue of certain artificial intelligence.

Depending on the realization form of the cleaning robot, the shape of the cleaning robot will also be different. Taking the outer contour shape of the cleaning robot as an example, the outer contour shape of the cleaning robot may be an irregular shape or some regular shape. For example, the outer contour shape of the cleaning robot may be a regular shape such as a circle, an ellipse, a square, a triangle, a drop shape, or a D shape. Correspondingly, irregular shapes are called irregular shapes, such as the outer contours of humanoid robots, unmanned vehicles, and drones, etc. are irregular shapes.

Referring to FIG. 1 , FIG. 1 is a schematic outline of a cleaning robot in an embodiment of the present application.

In the cleaning scene where the cleaning robot is used indoors, the cleaning robot can be connected to the terminal device through the network, and the user can configure the information related to the cleaning task on the terminal device and transmit the cleaning instruction to the cleaning robot. As shown in FIG. 2 , it is a schematic diagram of an application architecture provided by the embodiment of the present application, and the application architecture includes a terminal device 10 and a cleaning robot 30 . The terminal device 10 and the cleaning robot 30 establish a connection based on a communication network.

Wherein, the communication network may be a local area network, or a wide area network switched through a relay (relay) device, or may include both a local area network and a wide area network. When the communication network is a local area network, for example, the communication network may be a short distance communication network such as a wifi hotspot network, a wifiP2P network, a bluetooth network, a zigbee network or a near field communication (near field communication, NFC) network. When the communication network is a wide area network, exemplary, the communication network may be a third-generation mobile communication technology (3rd-generation wireless telephone technology, 3G) network, a fourth-generation mobile communication technology (the 4th generation mobile communication technology, 4G ) network, the fifth-generation mobile communication technology (5th-generation mobile communication technology, 5G) network, the future evolution of the public land mobile network (public land mobile network, PLMN) or the Internet, etc.

In addition, in a possible embodiment, in the scenario shown in FIG. 1 , the terminal device 10 may also communicate with the cleaning robot 30 through the server 20.

In some embodiments of the present application, the terminal device 10 may be a portable device, such as a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a wearable device with a wireless communication function (such as a smart watch), and the like. Portable devices have algorithmic computing capabilities. Exemplary embodiments of portable devices include, but are not limited to, portable devices onboard or other operating systems. The above-mentioned portable device may also be other portable devices, as long as it has algorithm computing capability. It should also be understood that, in some other embodiments of the present application, the above-mentioned terminal device may not be a portable device, but a desktop computer with algorithm computing capability.

Fig. 3 depicts a schematic diagram of the internal structure of the cleaning robot 30. As shown in Fig. 3, the cleaning robot 30 includes a processor 401 (for example, it can be used as a control mechanism in the embodiment of the present application), a driving system 402 including a driver, a sensor system 403, The wireless communication system 404 and the memory 405 , the above-mentioned components may be connected through one or more communication buses 406 .

Wherein, the drive system 402 is used to drive the cleaning robot to move.

The wireless communication system 404 is used to establish a network connection with the server 20 or the terminal device 10 .

Wherein, the sensor system 403 includes a camera 403a for photographing or scanning environmental information. Camera 403a may be a high-definition camera with a wide-angle lens. For example, a high-definition wide-angle camera of the fisheye type.

The sensor system 403 may also include a navigation sensor 403b, a motion sensor 403c, a cliff sensor 403d. Among them, the navigation sensor 403b is used to calculate the position of the cleaning robot 30 in the space, and to generate a working map of the robot. For example, the navigation sensor 403b may specifically be a dead reckoning sensor, an obstacle detection and avoidance (ODOA) sensor, a localization and mapping (SLAM) sensor, and the like.

In some embodiments, one or more motion sensors 403c in sensor system 403 are used to generate a signal indicative of the motion of cleaning robot 30, for example, the signal of motion may include distance traveled, amount of rotation, velocity or acceleration of cleaning robot 30 wait.

In some examples, one or more cliff sensors 403d in the sensor system 403 are used to detect obstacles (such as thresholds, stairs, etc.) below the cleaning robot 30 . The processor 401 navigates the cleaning robot 30 away from the detected obstacle in response to the signal from the cliff sensor 403d.

It should be noted that, in addition to the sensors shown in FIG. 3 , the sensor system 403 may also include other types of sensors such as anti-skid sensors, infrared anti-collision sensors, etc., which are not shown in the embodiment of the present application.

The processor 401 is configured to run the computer program stored in the memory 405 to control the attitude of the cleaning robot according to the detection results collected by the sensor system.

Robot technology and related applications have gradually penetrated into people's daily work, production and life. Household cleaning robots have the ability to move autonomously, actively perceive the environment, and actively intervene. Existing household cleaning robot products mainly exist in the form of mobile chassis, which can realize cleaning functions such as suction, sweeping and mopping. After several years of evolution, although the earlier products are more intelligent, there are still many problems in terms of coverage and cleaning effect. Specifically, the cleaning hardware architecture of existing sweeping robots is designed around the mopping and sweeping unit on the bottom of the mobile chassis. In the movable area, it is easy to get stuck in a narrow area, and there are dead corners that cannot be cleaned.

In order to solve the above problems, the present application provides a cleaning robot. Referring to FIG. 4, FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a cleaning robot provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. The machine body 500 includes a control mechanism and a carrying mechanism; the base 502 of the carrying mechanism is equipped with a running mechanism, and the running mechanism is used to drive the body 500 to move.

In a possible implementation, the carrying mechanism may include a base 502 on which a traveling mechanism may be installed for driving the body 500 to move. The base 502 can also be provided with a rolling brush opening, which is used as an air vent for cleaning the ground.

Optionally, the running mechanism may include driving wheels distributed on both sides of the bottom of the machine body 500, and the center line of the driving wheels is substantially parallel to the roller brush opening. Optionally, the traveling mechanism may also include a steering assembly, which is located inside the machine body 500, and the driving wheels are connected to the steering assembly. Under the action of the above-mentioned steering assembly, the driving wheel can change the driving direction as required during driving, thereby realizing the displacement control of the self-moving device. The steering assembly may include components such as a steering gear, a steering transmission mechanism, etc. For its specific structure, reference may be made to the prior art, which will not be described in detail in this application.

In a possible implementation, the carrying mechanism may be fixed with a flexible robotic arm 501, one end of the flexible robotic arm 501 is fixed to the carrying mechanism, and the other end of the flexible robotic arm 501 is used to fix the cleaning tool. The flexible robotic arm 501 includes a plurality of joint units connected in series.

It should be understood that the so-called flexibility here does not limit the material of the mechanical arm to a material that can be easily deformed by external forces, but refers to the structure of the mechanical arm itself that enables it to have multi-angle, multi-directional flexibility and displacement capabilities. From the point of view, the robotic arm can perform the same deformation effect (such as snake-like movement) similar to the mechanical arm of flexible material.

In a possible implementation, referring to FIG. 4 , the carrying mechanism can be provided with an accommodating area for accommodating the flexible mechanical arm 501 (for example, it can be called an accommodating bin), and the carrying mechanism can also include a telescopic mechanism, which can provide a flexible mechanical arm. The curling, stretching and other operations of the arm 501 are adapted to its cleaning and covering actions such as probing in and avoiding obstacles, and the drive controller of the mechanism cooperates with the control mechanism to realize storage and release. The following introduces the above institutions respectively:

In a possible implementation, the flexible robotic arm 501 may include multiple joint units (or may be referred to as joint discs), and adjacent joints may have axial and radial rotational displacements, and then multiple The displacements of the joint units are accumulated in series, which can realize high-redundancy continuous flexible deformation (that is, high-redundancy flexible posture change).

Referring to Fig. 5a, Fig. 5a shows a partial structure of a flexible robotic arm 501, wherein the flexible robotic arm 501 may include a plurality of joint units connected in series.

In a possible implementation, the control mechanism can control the posture of the flexible robotic arm 501 by controlling the rotational displacement of at least one joint unit in the axial direction and the radial direction.

In a possible implementation, the control mechanism can plan the posture change of the flexible robotic arm 501 based on the current cleaning task to be performed, the surrounding environment information collected by the sensor, and the position of the cleaning robot itself, so as to realize the cleaning task. Regarding the control How the mechanism calculates and obtains the posture information will be described in subsequent embodiments.

In a possible implementation, the joint units can be combined and connected in series through ropes, screw rods, hinges, etc., and driven indirectly by the motor and transmission components, so that the relative axial direction between the joint units can be generated. , Radial rotation displacement, the displacement of each joint is accumulated in series, so as to realize continuous flexible deformation with high redundancy. Wherein, the above-mentioned control parameters indirectly driven by the motor and the transmission component may come from the control mechanism.

In a possible implementation, the length of the flexible robotic arm 501 is greater than 20 cm. For example, the length of the flexible robotic arm 501 may be 25cm, 26cm, 27cm, 28cm, 30cm, 35cm, 40cm, 45cm and so on. In order to make the cleaning coverage area of the flexible manipulator 501 larger (for example, it may be an inaccessible area of the chassis, for example, it may include the vertical coverage area, the area in the gap, the corner area, etc.), the flexible manipulator 501 needs to meet Sufficient length so that, in the extended state, it can cover the above-mentioned cleaning coverage area.

In a possible implementation, the outer diameter of the flexible robotic arm 501 is less than 10 cm. For example, the flexible robotic arm 501 may have a length of 9 cm, 8 cm, 7 cm, 6 cm, 5 cm, 4 cm, and so on. In order to make the cleaning coverage area of the flexible manipulator 501 (for example, an inaccessible area of the chassis, for example, the area in the gap, the area of the corner, etc.) larger, the outer diameter of the flexible manipulator 501 needs to be small enough, so that Capable of covering the clean coverage area mentioned above. Optionally, since only a part of the flexible robotic arm 501 (the area near the end of the connecting tool head) may need to enter the inaccessible area of the chassis when performing cleaning tasks, the flexible robotic arm 501 meets the above-mentioned requirements. The position required for the outer diameter can be the end closer to the connecting tool head.

In a possible implementation, the number of the multiple joint units is greater than or equal to three. In the case that the size of the joint units is limited, in order to enable the flexible manipulator 501 to have higher flexibility, the number of joint units of the flexible manipulator 501 should be sufficient (the more the number, the more complicated the structure, but The overall posture flexibility is higher). Exemplarily, the number of joint units of the flexible robotic arm 501 may be 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and so on.

In a possible implementation, the cleaning task may include vacuuming of the target area, auxiliary spraying of cleaning fluid (or other liquids), replacement of the cleaning tool 503, etc., requiring a hollow structure inside the flexible robotic arm 501 to perform During cleaning tasks, the replacement cleaning tool 503 can be powered by air flow, liquid, and fixed wires, etc.

In a possible implementation, a target cavity runs through the inside of the flexible robotic arm 501, and the target cavity is used to pass airflow when performing the cleaning task (the target cavity can also be referred to as an air path) channels, as shown in Fig. 6 for an example). Specifically, the cleaning task may include vacuuming the target area, and the carrying mechanism of the cleaning robot may include a dust collector, a filter assembly (optional) and a vacuum source, and the target cavity of the flexible robotic arm 501 may communicate with the vacuum source , the end of the flexible mechanical arm 501 close to the connecting tool head (or the cleaning tool 503 itself) can be used as a suction port, and the end of the flexible mechanical arm 501 close to the connecting tool head can be sucked by the suction of the vacuum source and the filtering effect of the filter assembly. Garbage such as dust or debris is collected in the dust collector through the target cavity of the flexible mechanical arm 501. Optionally, when performing the dust collection task, the other end of the flexible mechanical arm 501 can be connected to the head and the tool head related to the dust collection task. In order to improve the cleaning efficiency of the floor, a rolling brush can also be set at the dust suction port. The dust on the ground is slapped by the rotation of the roller brush, and the dust is lifted up and then sucked into the flexible mechanical arm 501 .

In a possible implementation, a target cavity runs through the inside of the flexible robotic arm 501; the target cavity is used for circulating liquid (the target cavity can also be called a water channel, and an example can be referred to in Fig. 6). Specifically, for some cleaning tasks that require dragging and wiping, it is necessary to assist the behavior of spraying liquid (such as detergent or water, etc.) to the area to be cleaned. When performing cleaning tasks that require dragging and wiping, on the one hand, the flexible robotic arm 501 can perform dragging and wiping actions through its own posture changes, and at the same time, the control structure can also squeeze into the target cavity Liquid, so that when cleaning tasks are performed, liquid (such as detergent or water, etc.) is sprayed to the area to be cleaned.

In a possible implementation, a target cavity runs through the interior of the flexible robotic arm 501; the target cavity is used to accommodate electric wires.

Optionally, in some cleaning tasks, the cleaning tool 503 may need to be supplemented with electric energy to run (for example, a rotating head that needs to be powered by electricity, etc.), and a power supply may be provided inside the carrying mechanism. Since the length of the flexible mechanical arm 501 is relatively long, it can A target cavity for accommodating electric wires is set in the flexible mechanical arm 501, and the cleaning tool 503 connected on the flexible mechanical arm 501 can be provided with electric energy (the target) by the electric wires in the target cavity when the flexible mechanical arm 501 performs cleaning tasks. The cavity can also be referred to as a circuit channel, as shown in FIG. 6 for an example). Optionally, the other end of the flexible robotic head can be detachably connected to the cleaning tool 503. For example, the other end of the flexible robotic arm 501 includes a target interface, and the target interface is used to detachably connect the cleaning tool. The interface can be a detachable connection part of the cleaning tool based on electromagnetic properties. The target interface needs to use electric energy to realize the connection and disassembly of the cleaning tool. Since the length of the flexible robotic arm 501 is relatively long, it can be set in the flexible robotic arm 501 The target cavity for accommodating electric wires can provide electrical energy for the target interface on the flexible robotic arm 501 when the flexible robotic arm 501 is connected to and detached from the cleaning tool through the electric wires in the target cavity.

It should be understood that one or more of the above-mentioned target cavities may run through the flexible robotic arm 501 , and when there are multiple target cavities, the multiple target cavities may have the above-mentioned multiple functions. Exemplarily, there may be 10 target cavities running through the flexible manipulator 501, wherein the centermost target cavity is used for passing airflow, a part of the remaining 9 target cavities can be used for flowing liquid, and the other part Can be used to hold wires.

Optionally, this application adopts a hollow skeleton structure design, uses multiple sets of annular joints as the basic module, integrates air, water, and electrical pipelines into the interior of the skeleton structure, and is relatively decoupled from each joint; among them, the air passage runs through the snake The shaped arm is coaxial with its center, and the water and circuit channels (or one of the water and electric channels) are distributed around the air channel and arranged in a circular array (the number is not limited) to ensure better symmetry.

The flexible robotic arm 501 is driven in series by multi-section modular joints, forming a hollow structure and embedded with water, electricity, and air channels. After being integrated with cleaning equipment, it carries a switchable tool head at its end for operation; the mobile chassis interior Carry cleaning equipment (such as a fan), and equipped with a rotating telescopic mechanism that can be used for the storage and release of the flexible mechanical arm 501 and a lifting mechanism 505 that supports its up and down movement. When performing cleaning, it cooperates with the mechanical arm to achieve smart mobile cleaning.

Optionally, in some cleaning tasks, the other end of the flexible mechanical head needs to replace the cleaning tool 503. For example, some cleaning tasks need to be vacuumed first and then scrubbed, and then the flexible mechanical head needs to be cleaned by the cleaning tool 503 related to vacuuming first. area to be vacuumed, and then replaced with a cleaning tool 503 related to scrubbing to scrub the area to be cleaned. In the above scenario, the flexible mechanical head can be connected to a cleaning tool 503 related to vacuuming, and the control mechanism can control the flexible mechanical head. The head performs dust suction operation on the area to be cleaned, and then the control mechanism can control the flexible mechanical head to move to the area where the cleaning tool 503 related to scrubbing is fixed, and remove the cleaning tool 503 related to dust suction through the power control target interface in the wire , and connect the cleaning tool 503 related to scrubbing to the target interface, and control the flexible mechanical head to scrub the area to be cleaned.

In addition, for different types of objects to be cleaned, different cleaning tools 503 may also be correspondingly configured.

Optionally, in a possible implementation, the carrying mechanism also includes a tool storage area, and the tool storage area is used to fix a plurality of cleaning tools (such as cleaning tools 503 related to vacuuming, and cleaning tools related to scrubbing). tool 503, etc.), since the position of the tool storage area in the carrying mechanism is fixed, the control mechanism can know the specific position of each cleaning tool 503 in the tool storage area (which can be configured in advance), and then can pass The attitude of the flexible robot arm 501 and the connection state of the target interface are controlled, and the cleaning tool is replaced on the target interface in the tool storage area. For example, the flexible mechanical head can be connected with a cleaning tool 503 related to vacuuming, and the control mechanism can control the flexible mechanical head to perform dust suction operations on the area to be cleaned, and then the control mechanism can control the posture of the flexible mechanical head to move to a fixed tool 503 related to scrubbing. area of the cleaning tool 503, and remove the cleaning tool 503 related to vacuuming by controlling the connection state of the target interface, and connect the cleaning tool 503 related to scrubbing to the target interface by controlling the connection state of the target interface, and Control the posture of the flexible mechanical head to scrub the area to be cleaned.

Exemplarily, the target interface can be composed of two ends of the electrical coupling connection, one end of which is attached to the end of the mechanical arm, and the other end is attached to the cleaning tool 503; both ends of the interface also reserve hollow water, electricity, and gas pipelines, There is a mechanical guide card slot to ensure the alignment of the coupling during docking.

In the embodiment of the present application, the control mechanism can control the flexible mechanical arm 501 to realize the automatic switching of the cleaning tool 503, which greatly reduces the operation difficulty of the user.

Optionally, in a possible implementation, the carrying mechanism may include a storage cavity 504, and the storage cavity 504 is used to accommodate the flexible robot arm 501 in a recovered state. Specifically, the flexible robotic arm 501 can be released from the accommodating chamber to the environment and perform the cleaning task when the flexible robotic arm 501 is required to perform the cleaning task, and the flexible robotic arm 501 can be released 501 is recovered into the holding chamber.

Exemplarily, when the control mechanism determines that the current target area to be cleaned is an inaccessible area of the chassis (and is an accessible area of the flexible manipulator 501), it can control the flexible manipulator 501 to release from the chamber to the environment, and perform cleaning tasks.

Optionally, in a possible implementation, a telescoping mechanism (or called the driver of the flexible robotic arm 501) for realizing the expansion and contraction of the flexible robotic arm 501 can be fixed in the carrying mechanism, and the control mechanism can be controlled by The telescoping mechanism is used to recover the flexible robotic arm 501 into the storage chamber 504, or release the flexible robotic arm 501 from the storage chamber 504 to the external environment.

Exemplarily, referring to FIG. 7, FIG. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a storage cavity 504, wherein the storage cavity 504 can be composed of a rotating disk with a groove and a guide shell, and the retraction mechanism can be a motor fixed in the storage cavity 504 and transmission parts, this mechanism can provide operations such as curling and stretching of the flexible robotic arm 501, and adapt its cleaning and covering actions such as probing into and avoiding obstacles. The driving controller of the mechanism and the driving controller of the flexible robotic arm 501 Cooperate to realize the storage and release of the flexible robot arm 501. When storing, the flexible robotic arm 501 coils in the groove of the turntable in a curled posture; when releasing, the turntable drives the flexible robotic arm 501 to be sent out tangentially along the exit. The driver of the flexible robotic arm 501 cooperates with the movement of the rotating disk to realize, but not limited to: the postures of the flexible robotic arm 501 such as full retraction, partial extension (for example, half extension), and full extension.

Exemplarily, referring to Fig. 8a and Fig. 8b, Fig. 8a and Fig. 8b are schematic diagrams of the retractable posture of the flexible mechanical arm 501 driven by the contraction mechanism.

Exemplarily, referring to Fig. 9a and Fig. 9b, Fig. 9a and Fig. 9b are schematic diagrams of postures when the contraction mechanism drives the flexible robotic arm 501 to be partially out (eg half out).

Exemplarily, referring to Fig. 10a and Fig. 8b, Fig. 10a and Fig. 10b are schematic diagrams of the postures of the flexible mechanical arm 501 driven by the contraction mechanism when it is fully deployed.

In order to further expand the operating coverage of the robotic arm, optionally, the embodiment of the present application may also be equipped with a lifting mechanism 505 on the carrying mechanism (for example, on the chassis platform of the carrying mechanism) to increase the stroke of the flexible robotic arm 501 in the vertical height , the three-dimensional coverage of the flexible robotic arm 501 can be expanded. Specifically, in a possible implementation, the carrying mechanism further includes: a lifting mechanism 505, and the lifting mechanism 505 is used to control the movement of the flexible mechanical arm 501 in the vertical direction. Exemplarily, the lifting mechanism 505 may be driven by a motor and transmission components. Referring to Fig. 11a, Fig. 11a shows a schematic view of the lifting and lowering of the cleaning robot.

In the embodiment of the present application, the control mechanism can control the posture of the flexible robotic arm 501 by controlling the deformation of at least one of the joint units in the axial direction or the radial direction, so as to perform cleaning tasks.

In a possible implementation, the joint unit may be provided with a servo motor, an encoder may be provided in the servo motor, and the rotation angle of the servo motor may be detected by the encoder. The detected rotation angle is fed back to the control mechanism, and the attitude of the flexible robot arm 501 is controlled through the feedback control in the control mechanism.

In a possible implementation, the control mechanism can plan the attitude information of the flexible manipulator 501 based on the current cleaning task, the surrounding environment information collected by the sensor and the position of the cleaning robot itself, and control the flexible robot arm 501 based on the attitude information. The robotic arm 501 performs cleaning tasks.

Next, we introduce how the control mechanism determines the attitude information.

In a possible implementation, when the area to be cleaned is an area accessible by the chassis, the control structure can be implemented without the need for the flexible robotic arm 501, and the cleaning task can be performed through the cleaning port at the bottom of the chassis, while the area to be cleaned is When the area that is not accessible to the chassis is accessible by the flexible robotic arm 501 , the posture of the flexible robotic arm 501 can be controlled to perform cleaning tasks.

In a possible implementation, the inaccessible area of the base 502 is an area whose vertical height from the ground is greater than a first threshold, and the first threshold matches the passable height of the walking mechanism. Exemplarily, the first threshold can be 2cm, 3cm, 4cm and above. Taking the traveling mechanism including driving wheels as an example, the first threshold can be the obstacle limit that the driving wheels can cross. The first threshold can be the same as the outer limit of the driving wheels. It is related to the diameter and the driving power it possesses.

In a possible implementation, the unreachable area of the base 502 may be a vertical coverage area (such as a wall, a table leg), or a surface with a certain height difference from the ground (such as a desktop, a sofa surface, etc.) .

In a possible implementation, the inaccessible area of the base 502 is an area whose passable width is smaller than a second threshold, and the second threshold matches the lateral width of the body 500 . Exemplarily, the second threshold may be 20 cm, 25 cm, 30 cm, etc., and the first threshold may be related to the lateral width of the body 500 .

It should be understood that the matching of the second threshold with the lateral width of the body 500 may be understood as: the second threshold is positively correlated with the lateral width of the body 500 .

In a possible implementation, the inaccessible area of the base 502 may be an area in a gap, a corner area, etc., for example, a narrow space and a gap such as a table and chair legs, an area covered by sundries, and the like.

In a possible implementation, the inaccessible area of the base 502 is an area whose passable height is less than a third threshold, and the third threshold matches the longitudinal height of the body 500 . Exemplarily, the third threshold may be 20 cm, 25 cm, 30 cm, 35 cm, 40 cm, 45 cm, 50 cm, etc., and the third threshold may be related to the longitudinal height of the body 500 .

It should be understood that the matching of the third threshold with the longitudinal height of the body 500 may be understood as: the third threshold is positively correlated with the longitudinal height of the body 500 .

In a possible implementation, the inaccessible area of the base 502 may be an area in a gap, for example, the bottom of a piece of furniture.

In a possible implementation, the control mechanism can control the expansion and contraction of the flexible mechanical arm 501 in the axial direction through the contraction mechanism when the current area to be cleaned is an area inaccessible to the base 502 of the carrying mechanism, and The deformation of at least one joint unit in the axial direction or the radial direction is controlled to control the posture of the flexible robotic arm 501 to perform cleaning tasks for the area to be cleaned.

In a possible implementation, the control mechanism can control the expansion and contraction of the flexible mechanical arm 501 in the axial direction through the contraction mechanism when the current area to be cleaned is an area inaccessible to the base 502 of the carrying mechanism. The lifting mechanism 505 controls the movement of the flexible robotic arm 501 in the vertical direction, and controls the deformation of at least one of the joint units in the axial direction or radial direction, so as to control the posture of the flexible robotic arm 501 to perform A cleaning task for the area to be cleaned.

In a possible implementation, the control mechanism can control the movement of the flexible mechanical arm 501 in the vertical direction through the lifting mechanism 505 when the current area to be cleaned is an area inaccessible to the base 502 of the carrying mechanism , and controlling the deformation of at least one joint unit in the axial direction or the radial direction to control the posture of the flexible robotic arm 501, so as to perform cleaning tasks for the area to be cleaned.

In a possible implementation, the control mechanism may determine whether the area to be cleaned is an accessible area or an inaccessible area through information collected by sensors carried by the machine body 500 itself.

For a cleaning robot, in order to be able to move autonomously in its working environment, it needs to perceive its working environment. In this embodiment, a sensor is set on the cleaning robot, such as but not limited to a laser sensor, the laser sensor can collect environmental information in the working environment of the cleaning robot, and transmit the collected environmental information to the control mechanism; the control mechanism receives the laser The environmental information transmitted by the sensor senses the working environment of the cleaning robot according to the environmental information, and then performs functional control of the cleaning robot. Based on the environmental information collected by the laser sensor in three dimensions including direction, distance and reflectivity, the cleaning robot can be controlled to implement various functions based on environmental perception. For example, it can realize functions such as object recognition, tracking and classification on the visual algorithm; in addition, based on the high precision of laser ranging, it can also realize functions such as strong real-time, robust and high-precision positioning and building maps, and then It can also provide comprehensive support for motion planning and path navigation based on the constructed high-precision environmental map.

Exemplarily, the control mechanism may include a plurality of functional modules, wherein the robot mapping module may divide the pre-established or real-time environmental map (for example, based on sensor information) into areas, and according to the distance of obstacles in the area, Density, clearance, height (or at least one of them) and other factors to determine whether it is an accessible area of the chassis; if it is an inaccessible area of the chassis and an accessible area of the robotic arm, it can be marked as an accessible area of the robotic arm, optional Yes, after the division is completed, the environment map can be divided into one or more discrete areas (each discrete area can be a connected area to be cleaned).

In a possible implementation, the cleaning task is used to instruct to clean the area to be cleaned, and the body 500 is also fixed with a sensor; the control mechanism is also used to: obtain the position of the area to be cleaned, and according to the The relationship between the position of the area to be cleaned and the current position of the sweeping robot determines the attitude information, the position of the area to be cleaned is determined according to the information collected by the sensor, and the attitude information is used to execute the The attitude of the flexible robotic arm 501 is controlled during the cleaning task.

In a possible implementation, the control mechanism may include multiple functional modules, and the multiple functional modules may realize the attitude planning function for cleaning tasks. Optionally, the robot logic control module (a functional module of the control mechanism) may Carry out the divide-and-conquer coverage strategy according to the positioning judgment result. If it is an accessible area of the chassis, set the coverage mode of the current area to the chassis coverage mode, and the robotic arm drive module (a functional module of the control mechanism) can control the retraction of the robotic arm ; If it is the reachable area of the robotic arm, the coverage mode of the current area can be set to the robotic arm-chassis cooperative coverage mode, and the robotic arm drive module will extend the robotic arm to a suitable operating pose. The robot logic control module can implement the tool combination strategy according to predetermined rules according to the features identified in the area by the robot perception module, and allocate cleaning tools 503 (optional) to the current scene. The tool scheduling mechanism can cooperate with the mechanical arm to perform tool quick change operation, so that the end of the mechanical arm can dock with the selected tool head (optional). The coverage path algorithm can extract the part of the area from the map, and plan the coverage path according to the coverage pattern. If it is the chassis coverage mode, perform 2D projection on the current area, and plan the ox farming coverage path (optional); if it is the cooperative coverage mode, plan the end-of-manipulator coverage waypoints for the plane part of the current area.

Referring to FIG. 12 , for example, according to the planned coverage path or waypoint, the cleaning action algorithm can perform cleaning action sequence planning to form a continuous motion trajectory to track the coverage path or waypoint and avoid obstacles. The planning of the cleaning action sequence includes the synchronous motion of the chassis, the rotating telescopic mechanism, the lifting mechanism 505, and the mechanical arm (optional). The drive control module of the chassis, mechanical arm, and rotation telescopic and translation mechanism executes the movement of each unit according to the planned cleaning action sequence.

In a possible implementation, in the clean coverage method, a divide-and-conquer coverage path planning strategy can be adopted, wherein the divide-and-conquer coverage path planning strategy divides the environment map M into a chassis reachable area layer M _a and an unreachable area map The layer M _b , M=M _a +M _b , implements reach-type coverage and mobile operation-type coverage respectively.

In a possible implementation, the layer division can first segment and plane detect the environment map, and screen the reachable area of the chassis according to the minimum passing diameter detection + plane height detection of the layer plane. If the size of the chassis is greater than the minimum passing size or the height of the plane is higher than a preset threshold, it is judged as an inaccessible area: use the clustering algorithm to classify the data in the environmental map to obtain the area set {R _i }, and then use the Hough transform or RANSAC algorithm to classify each type R The planes in _i are detected and segmented to obtain a set of planes

For each plane in R _i

According to the minimum configuration projection size of the mobile chassis + tool head

and plane height

Determine whether it is the reachable area of the chassis. like

and

Then it is determined as an accessible area, and it is registered in the M _a layer,

in

for

The minimum passing distance in the 2D projection of , δ, ε are adjustable and controllable thresholds; otherwise, it is judged as an unreachable area of the chassis and registered into the M _b layer,

In a possible implementation, for the accessible area layer M _a of the chassis, the mechanical arm enters a retracted state, and its end is rigidly connected to the chassis. The robot performs ox farming chassis coverage path planning on the obstacle information I _obs of the corresponding layer, and generates a 'bow'-shaped route as the global target coverage path S _base-ref ; when performing coverage, the robot is based on its kinematics and dynamics constraints C _kin , C _dyn , generate 2D local motion trajectory S _base-exe to complete the tracking and obstacle avoidance of the covered path. Among them, the kinematics constraint C _kin is the geometric motion constraint (such as the minimum turning radius) and obstacle avoidance constraints formed by the structure including the vacuum tool and the chassis and its size; the kinematics constraint C _dyn is the maximum, Limits such as minimum speed and acceleration. The generation of 2D local trajectories is completed using local path planning methods including classical planning algorithms that support kinematics and dynamic constraints; if there are no dynamic or unknown obstacles in the environment, control-based methods such as Pure Pursuit and MPC can be preferred The classic trajectory tracking algorithm directly tracks the global path S _base-ref .

In a possible implementation, for the layer M _b of the inaccessible area of the chassis, the manipulator enters the extended state, and its arm body and end can move freely. At that time, the chassis and the manipulator enter the double-layer coordinated action planning. The arm part plans the end coverage point { _peef } and the obstacle avoidance attitude {q _arm }, and the chassis part plans its own obstacle avoidance pose {q _base } while ensuring the completeness of the kinematics of the manipulator (forward and inverse Kinematics has an effective solution for covering waypoints), the two are organically combined to generate a joint attitude sequence S _arm-base ={q _arm ⊙q _base }, to obtain a 3D motion trajectory, in order to complete the covering waypoint {p _eef } Tracking and motion obstacle avoidance. For this part of collaborative planning, the implementation method of this embodiment can be shown as follows:

For the mobile operation coverage in the unreachable area of the chassis, the arm and the chassis are planned for synchronous obstacle avoidance configuration to ensure that the end of the robotic arm traverses and tracks the previously planned waypoint {p _eef }, and customizes the cleaning task according to the site Constrain C _task for online optimization to generate continuous optimal motion trajectory S ^* _arm-base .

In a possible implementation, the robot arm plans to cover the waypoint {p _eef } at the layer _Mb :

In a possible implementation, each plane in the chassis unreachable layer is sampled at the end of the manipulator to cover waypoints, and the pose of the end tool without collision is used as the control point: for each discrete plane in M _b

Implement uniform grid array sampling (multiple times possible). Generate a grid point v _(x,y,h,ω) with a certain resolution (horizontal and vertical spacing d _x ,d _y ), where x,y are point coordinates, h is height, and ω is a randomly assigned rotation angle . Perform collision judgment for each sampling point v _{(x, y, h, ω)} , and judge whether the end tool pose ξ _{(x, y, h, ω)} using the current sample collides with the obstacle. The final non-collision discrete end tool pose set will be used as the current plane

The coverage pose control point {ξ _{π_(R_ii)} }; register the control point into the end coverage waypoint set {ξ _{π_(R_ii)} }→{p _eef }.

In a possible implementation, chassis pose sampling is performed in the chassis reachable area layer to obtain collision-free samples: find the area adjacent to the above control points in M _a

Carry out the collaborative obstacle avoidance pose planning of the chassis, where

satisfy

ρ is the maximum active radius of the manipulator. against

The control point {ξ _{π_(R_ii)} }, in

Random sampling and collision detection are performed to obtain samples that pass collision detection

In a possible implementation, the maneuverability of the manipulator corresponding to the chassis pose sample can be calculated, and the samples whose maneuverability is greater than a preset threshold can be retained: for each sample

An additional completeness test of the forward and inverse kinematics models is required to ensure that the chassis pose samples can ensure that the end of the manipulator has reasonable operability when tracking { _peef }, is far away from the singular point pose, and can maintain sufficient redundancy. remaining degrees of freedom. This embodiment adopts an approximate operability test scheme: for all

The composed sample pairs are solved for inverse kinematics, the Jacobian matrix J(q) of the manipulator under the corresponding pose is calculated, and the operability is calculated by the determinant (singular value product) of the Jacobian matrix

like

Then register the sample

To be able to support the chassis pose of the robot arm to track the control point ξ _{π_(R_ii)} ,

In a possible implementation, sampling can be continued to ensure that at least one chassis pose that satisfies the maneuverability constraints can be found for each waypoint covered by the end of the manipulator: For the existing samples in {q _base }, if

make

(that is, there is a control point whose maneuverability is greater than a certain value that cannot be supported by all registered chassis poses), it is necessary to continue sampling and registering new chassis poses until {q _base },{ξ _{π_(R_ii)} } The set of sample pairs satisfies

(that is, there is a sample for each control point that makes the operation degree greater than a certain value),

∈ is the pre-defined minimum allowable operability threshold.

In a possible implementation, the classic sampling algorithm can be used to solve the robot joint space motion planning for the chassis-manipulator sample pair, calculate the joint obstacle avoidance attitude of the whole machine with the best maneuverability, and establish a graph structure and store it as a vertex: Establish a graph structure G=(V,E). for each

pair of samples

Use classic sampling planning algorithms such as RRT to sample and solve the feasible joint obstacle avoidance posture of the robot in the joint state space of the robot (the joint state space includes the degrees of freedom of the arm and the degrees of freedom of the translation, rotation, telescopic, and lifting modules of the chassis)

(Start searching with its inverse kinematics pose as the starting point until a set of collision-free poses is found), and calculate its actual operating degree based on forward kinematics

Multiple from each control point ξ

Select the one that corresponds to the largest actual operation degree as its reference joint obstacle avoidance attitude

and make it a node

Added to the top of the graph, v→V.

Use the classic planning algorithm to solve the above pairwise connected motion trajectories between the whole machine postures, and store them in the edges of the graph structure: For two adjacent vertices v _i , v _j ∈ V, use the classic sampling planning algorithm such as RRT In the joint state space, find a motion trajectory connected to v _i , v _j as its connected edge e _ij , and add it to the edge of the graph structure, e _ij →E.

In a possible implementation, the above-mentioned connected motion trajectories can be optimized twice: define a multi-objective optimization function J according to the preset target constraints, which can include covering waypoint tracking constraints/action smoothness constraints/execution time Constraint/obstacle avoidance constraint/end force, position constraint and other loss items, J＝J _c +J _d +J _μ +J _o +..., c:coverage, d:distance, o:obstalce, μ:tool , conduct online obstacle avoidance configuration optimization for each edge e _ij ∈ E, and update its corresponding edgecost. The optimization method can use algorithms such as gradient-based (such as CHOMP) or sampling-based (such as STOMP) to solve the optimal trajectory of the robot's whole-body coordinated motion.

In a possible implementation, the traversal of all machine postures can be optimized and solved to generate the best traversal action sequence: establish a TSP traveling salesman problem model for the graph structure G=(V,E), use genetic evolution (genetic algorithm ) or dynamic programming algorithm and other iterative optimization algorithms to solve the optimal control point traversal order; according to the optimal traversal order, connect the passing edges in the graph structure in turn, extract the corresponding whole body cooperative motion trajectory, and generate the optimal cleaning Action execution sequence.

In a possible implementation, due to the flexibility of the flexible robotic arm 501, the control mechanism can also implement actions such as sorting out ground objects, removing cables, placing slippers, etc., and realizing interactive cleaning of the space.

In a possible implementation, the target area to be cleaned may be determined by the cleaning robot according to information collected by the sensor; in a possible implementation, the target area to be cleaned may be specified by the user through the terminal device. Specifically, the target area is determined based on a cleaning instruction of the terminal device, and the cleaning instruction may carry indication information of the target area.

In a possible implementation, the control structure can determine at least one candidate area based on the information collected by the sensor. Optionally, the at least one candidate area can be an area accessible by the flexible robot arm 501, and the control mechanism can also provide The terminal device sends information of multiple candidate areas to be cleaned, and the terminal device can present multiple candidate areas to be cleaned for the user to choose from, and the user can select a target area from the multiple candidate areas to be cleaned, and then the terminal device can The cleaning instruction carrying the information of the target area is transmitted to the cleaning robot, and then the cleaning robot can perform a cleaning task for the target area.

The embodiment of the present application provides a cleaning robot, including: a body 500, the body 500 includes a control mechanism and a carrying mechanism; a running mechanism is installed on the base 502 of the carrying mechanism, and the running mechanism is used to drive the body 500 Movement; the carrying mechanism is fixed with a flexible mechanical arm 501, one end of the flexible mechanical arm 501 is fixed on the carrying mechanism, the other end of the flexible mechanical arm 501 is used to fix the cleaning tool, and the flexible mechanical arm 501 includes A plurality of joint units in series; the control mechanism is used to control the posture of the flexible robotic arm 501 by controlling the deformation of at least one joint unit in the axial direction or radial direction, so as to perform cleaning tasks. Through the above method, aiming at the problem of small coverage caused by the existing cleaning robot based on the arrival cleaning method (that is, cleaning through the cleaning port installed on the robot chassis), by installing a flexible mechanical arm on the cleaning robot 501, and the cleaning task is performed through the attitude control of the flexible robotic arm 501, which can realize the cleaning of the areas that are not accessible to the robot chassis, and greatly improve the cleaning coverage.

Next, we will describe an application scenario of this application by taking the cleaning and cleaning in the indoor environment, especially the narrow gaps, occluded areas, and cleaning coverage of some furniture surfaces that are common indoor areas and cannot be completed by conventional sweeping robots as an example:

As shown in Figure 13, in the scene where the cleaning robot needs to clean a living room, it includes 1. the gap under the low sofa, 2. the vase, shoe cabinet, and the gap between the walls, 3. the triangular area of the table and chair legs, 4. the coffee table Three-dimensional space areas such as the upper surface are to be cleaned. Among them, 1 and 2 mainly involve dust-type garbage, 3 mainly involve oil stains, viscous liquid and other types of garbage, and 4 mainly involve paper scraps, melon peels and other types of garbage; in addition, there are obstacles such as shoes near the shoe cabinet .

The cleaning robot performs the coordinated cleaning action of the whole machine in the above scenarios. The chassis, the rotating telescopic mechanism, and the flexible mechanical arm 501 can cooperate to mainly complete the cleaning of scenarios 1, 2, and 3. In the scenario 3, the robot can first carry the suction The dust head probes into the triangular area with a 3D three-dimensional arm shape, performs suction sweeping, and then moves to the tool rack in the 5th area (the side of the TV cabinet) to switch the scrubbing tool head, returns to the triangular area, and uses the hollow waterway for the second probe Spray the target area, and then use the tool head to repeatedly scrub the oil stains; in scene 4, the lifting mechanism 505 rises, additionally, first move to position 5 and switch the large-diameter suction head to clean the melon peel and paper scraps, and then Switch the scrubbing tool head, and the mechanical arm adopts an S-shaped arm posture to perform telescopic wiping to clean the desktop. At the shoe cabinet, a robotic arm uses its end to remove slippers and clean the floor beneath them.

Next, a structure (including software modules and hardware modules) of the cleaning robot is introduced:

The system architecture of the cleaning robot can be shown in Figure 14 below, mainly including robot hardware (including but not limited to mobile chassis, mechanical arm, lifting mechanism 505, rotating telescopic mechanism, quick-change mechanism, etc.), perception module (providing environmental information, It can be, but not limited to, rgb camera, tof camera, lidar, ultrasonic radar, millimeter wave radar, infrared and other equipment integrated environmental information acquisition and processing module), mapping module (provide environmental map model, can be 2D, 3D occupancy grid grid map, vector map, semantic map and other types of environmental model calculation and storage modules), positioning module (providing location information, which can be a robot and The relative position calculation module of the environment), logic control module (provides the decision-making of robot cleaning strategy and mobile operation behavior, which can be a platform integrated with embedded, distributed and other upper computer computing hardware and customized software algorithms, through real-time operating system and The chassis, manipulator and other hardware control drive modules of the robot conduct two-way communication, send control commands and receive feedback information from the lower computer) and the drive control module of each hardware of the robot (provide the drive control of each hardware of the robot. The lower computer controller, such as motor driver, Integration of sensors, embedded development boards). When performing operations, the robot's perception, mapping, and positioning modules perform online environmental information collection, map drawing, positioning, and relocation corrections, and pass the job site information and robot status to the logic control module, which executes the logic of cleaning coverage Control method and hardware driver control scheduling. The logic control method mainly includes the coverage area allocation strategy with complementary advantages of the chassis and the robotic arm, the cooperative mobile operation cleaning action control, and secondly includes the combined use strategy of the end tool head (responsible for the garbage type in the predefined cleaning scene) Carry out mode selection and tool allocation, customize the use of tools according to the scene) and scheduling control (responsible for tool switching and recycling). The coverage area allocation strategy is implemented by rule-based discriminant logic, using preprocessed environment maps and predefined allocation rules, and judging the working mode (independent/cooperative) of the robotic arm and chassis according to the state of the robot; the cleaning action control uses an online coverage path Planning and cleaning action optimization algorithm, online generation of cleaning action sequences based on environmental site information.

The embodiment of the present application also provides a flexible mechanical arm, one end of the flexible mechanical arm is fixed to the carrying mechanism of the cleaning robot, the other end of the flexible mechanical arm is used to fix the cleaning tool, and the flexible mechanical arm includes a series of Multiple joint units;

A target cavity runs through the interior of the flexible manipulator;

the target cavity is for receiving electrical wires; or,

The target cavity is used for fluid flow.

The embodiment of the present application also provides a cleaning robot control method, the cleaning robot includes: a body, the body includes a control mechanism and a carrying mechanism;

The carrying mechanism is fixed with a flexible robotic arm, one end of the flexible robotic arm is fixed to the carrying mechanism, the other end of the flexible robotic arm is used to fix the cleaning tool, and the flexible robotic arm includes a plurality of joint units connected in series ;

The methods include:

In a possible implementation, the length of the flexible robotic arm is greater than 20 cm.

In a possible implementation, the method also includes:

The method also includes:

In a possible implementation, the height of the body is greater than 25 cm.

In a possible implementation, the body is also fixed with a sensor;

The method also includes:

In a possible implementation, the method also includes:

The cleaning instruction sent by the terminal device is received.

The embodiment of the present application also provides a control device for a cleaning robot. Please refer to FIG. 15. FIG. 15 is a schematic structural diagram of a control device for a cleaning robot provided in an embodiment of the present application. There are relatively large differences due to different, and may include one or more central processing units (central processing units, CPU) 1515 (for example, one or more processors) and memory 1532, one or more storage application programs 1542 or data 1544 storage medium 1530 (such as one or more mass storage devices). Wherein, the memory 1532 and the storage medium 1530 may be temporary storage or persistent storage. The program stored in the storage medium 1530 may include one or more modules (not shown in the figure), and each module may include a series of instruction operations for the control device of the cleaning robot. Furthermore, the central processing unit 1515 can be configured to communicate with the storage medium 1530, and execute a series of instruction operations in the storage medium 1530 on the control device 1500 of the cleaning robot.

The control device 1500 of the cleaning robot can also include one or more power sources 1526, one or more wired or wireless network interfaces 1550, one or more input and output interfaces 1558; or, one or more operating systems 1541, such as Windows ServerTM, Mac OS XTM, UnixTM, LinuxTM, FreeBSDTM, etc.

Specifically, the control device of the cleaning robot may execute the steps related to the control method of the cleaning robot in the above embodiments.

The embodiment of the present application also provides a computer program product, which, when running on a computer, causes the computer to perform the steps performed by the aforementioned cleaning robot control device.

An embodiment of the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, the computer-readable storage medium stores a program for signal processing, and when it is run on a computer, the computer executes the above-mentioned control device of the cleaning robot. steps to execute.

In addition, it should be noted that the device embodiments described above are only illustrative, and the units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components shown as units may or may not be A physical unit can be located in one place, or it can be distributed to multiple network units. Part or all of the modules can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment. In addition, in the drawings of the device embodiments provided in the present application, the connection relationship between the modules indicates that they have communication connections, which can be specifically implemented as one or more communication buses or signal lines.

Through the description of the above embodiments, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the present application can be implemented by means of software plus necessary general-purpose hardware, and of course it can also be realized by special hardware including application-specific integrated circuits, dedicated CPUs, dedicated memories, Special components, etc. to achieve. In general, all functions completed by computer programs can be easily realized by corresponding hardware, and the specific hardware structure used to realize the same function can also be varied, such as analog circuits, digital circuits or special-purpose circuit etc. However, for this application, software program implementation is a better implementation mode in most cases. Based on this understanding, the essence of the technical solution of this application or the part that contributes to the prior art can be embodied in the form of a software product, and the computer software product is stored in a readable storage medium, such as a floppy disk of a computer , U disk, mobile hard disk, ROM, RAM, magnetic disk or optical disk, etc., including several instructions to make a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a cleaning robot control device, or a network device, etc.) execute various embodiments of the application the method described.

In the above embodiments, all or part of them may be implemented by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it may be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product.

The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on the computer, the processes or functions according to the embodiments of the present application will be generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable devices. The computer instructions may be stored in or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium, for example, the computer instructions may be transferred from a website, computer, cleaning robot control A device or data center communicates to another site, computer, cleaning robot control device or data center via wired (e.g. coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g. infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) transmission. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that can be stored by a computer, or a data storage device such as a control device of a cleaning robot integrated with one or more available media, a data center, or the like. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, or a magnetic tape), an optical medium (such as a DVD), or a semiconductor medium (such as a solid state disk (Solid State Disk, SSD)), etc.

Claims

A cleaning robot, characterized by comprising: a body, the body including a control mechanism and a carrying mechanism;

The base of the carrying mechanism is equipped with a running mechanism, and the running mechanism is used to drive the movement of the body;

The carrying mechanism is fixed with a flexible robotic arm, one end of the flexible robotic arm is fixed to the carrying mechanism, the other end of the flexible robotic arm is used to fix the cleaning tool, and the flexible robotic arm includes a plurality of joint units connected in series , each joint unit in the plurality of joint units has the ability of continuous deformation;

The carrying mechanism includes a mechanical arm storage cavity, the mechanical arm storage cavity is used to accommodate all or part of the flexible mechanical arm, and the control mechanism is also used to recover the flexible mechanical arm to the mechanical arm storage cavity inside, or release the flexible robotic arm from the mechanical arm receiving cavity to the external environment;

The control mechanism is used to control the posture of the flexible mechanical arm by controlling the deformation of at least one joint unit in the axial direction or the radial direction, so as to perform cleaning tasks.
The cleaning robot according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of joint units connected in series are made of flexible materials.
The cleaning robot according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a target control member is fixed between adjacent joint units among the plurality of joint units, and the control mechanism is specifically used to control the target control member to The displacement in space is used to drive the deformation of the adjacent joint units in the axial direction or radial direction.
The cleaning robot according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a plurality of target control parts are deployed on the flexible mechanical arm, and the target control parts are close to the carrying mechanism on the flexible mechanical arm The deployment density at one end is smaller than that at the end away from the carrying mechanism.
The cleaning robot according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the distance between adjacent target control parts among the plurality of target control parts is greater than 10 cm.
The cleaning robot according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein there are M target cavities running through the inside of the flexible mechanical arm, and M is a positive integer;

At least one of the M target cavities is used to pass airflow when performing the cleaning task; or,

At least one target cavity among the M target cavities is used to accommodate electric wires; or,

At least one target cavity among the M target cavities is used for circulating liquid.
The cleaning robot according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the cleaning task instruction is aimed at cleaning a target area, and the target area is an area inaccessible to the base of the carrying mechanism, and is the The reachable area of the flexible manipulator.
The cleaning robot according to claim 7, wherein the inaccessible area of the base includes at least one of the following:

An area where the vertical height from the ground is greater than a first threshold, and the first threshold matches the passable height of the running gear;

an area of traversable width less than a second threshold matching the lateral width of the body; and,

An area where the passable height is less than a third threshold, the third threshold matching the longitudinal height of the body.
The cleaning robot according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the number of the plurality of joint units is greater than or equal to three.
The cleaning robot according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the other end of the flexible robotic arm includes a target interface, and the target interface is used for detachably connecting the cleaning tool.
The cleaning robot according to claim 10, wherein the carrying mechanism further includes a tool storage area, and the tool storage area is used to fix a plurality of cleaning tools;

The control mechanism is also used to:

By controlling the posture of the flexible robot arm and the connection state of the target interface, the cleaning tool is replaced on the target interface in the tool storage area.
The cleaning robot according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the carrying mechanism further comprises: a lifting mechanism, and the lifting mechanism is used to control the movement of the flexible mechanical arm in the vertical direction.
The cleaning robot according to claim 12, wherein the control mechanism is also used for:

The posture of the flexible robotic arm is controlled by controlling the movement of the flexible robotic arm in the vertical direction by the lifting mechanism.
The cleaning robot according to any one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that the control mechanism includes at least one control motor, and the at least one control motor is located at the bottom area of the carrying mechanism.
The cleaning robot according to any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein the body is also fixed with a sensor;

The control mechanism is also used to:

Acquiring the position of the target area to be cleaned, and determining posture information according to the relationship between the position of the target area and the current position of the cleaning robot, the position of the target area is determined according to the information collected by the sensor Yes, the posture information is used to control the posture of the flexible robotic arm when performing the cleaning task.
The cleaning robot according to claim 15, wherein the target area is determined based on a cleaning instruction of the terminal device, and the cleaning instruction carries indication information of the target area; the control mechanism is also used for:

sending information of multiple candidate areas to be cleaned to the terminal device, where the multiple candidate areas to be cleaned include the target area;

The cleaning instruction sent by the terminal device is received.