Auto-cleaning system, cleaning robot and method of controlling the cleaning robot

• US 10,265,858 B2
• Filed: 02/02/2017
• Issued: 04/23/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Yoon, Sang Sik, Chung, Woo Ram
• Primary Examiner(s): Oh, Harry Y
• Application Number:
  US15/423,116
• Publication Number:
  US 20170144311A1
• Time in Patent Office: 810 Days
• Field of Search: 700257
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/4011 Regulation of the cleaning machine by electric means; Control systems and remote control systems therefor
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 2201/00 Robotic cleaning machines, i.e. with automatic control of the travelling movement or the cleaning operation
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 2201/04 Automatic control of the travelling movement; Automatic obstacle detection
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/2857 User input or output elements for control, e.g. buttons, switches or displays
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 11/0085 Cleaning
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 13/003 by means of an audio-responsive input audible safety signals B25J19/061
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/1697 Vision controlled systems
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/39441 Voice command, camera detects object, grasp, move
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/45098 Vacuum cleaning robot
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0016 characterised by the operator's input device input arrangements for computing systems in general G06F3/00

Abstract

A cleaning robot that performs cleaning while travelling a space to be cleaned, the cleaning robot including: a travelling unit that moves the cleaning robot; a cleaning unit that cleans the space to be cleaned; an image capturing unit that captures an image viewed from the cleaning robot; a voice input unit to which a user'"'"'s voice instructions are input; and a controller obtaining the user'"'"'s motion instructions through the image capturing unit and determining a restricted area in which entry of the cleaning robot is prohibited and/or a focused cleaning area to be intensely cleaned by the cleaning robot based on the user'"'"'s motion instructions or the user'"'"'s voice instructions when the user'"'"'s voice instructions are input through the voice input unit. The restricted area and the focused cleaning area may be input to the cleaning robot through the user'"'"'s voice and motion.

Claims

1. An auto-cleaning system comprising:

a cleaning robot configured to perform cleaning while travelling a space to be cleaned; and

a user terminal configured to control the cleaning robot remotely,

wherein the cleaning robot receives a voice input of a user, and in response to the receiving of the voice input of the user, the cleaning robot captures an image of the space to be cleaned, identifies a position indicated by the user based on the captured image of the space to be cleaned, and transmits, to the user terminal, the captured image of the space to be cleaned and information regarding the position indicated by the user, and

the user terminal receives, from the cleaning robot, the image of the space to be cleaned and the information regarding the position indicated by the user, displays the image of the space to be cleaned and the information regarding the position indicated by the user, and receives information regarding another position from the user.

2. The auto-cleaning system of claim 1, wherein the cleaning robot comprises an image capturing unit configured to capture the image of the space to be cleaned and receive a motion of the user, and a voice input unit configured to receive a voice of the user, and

the cleaning robot identifies a focused cleaning area and/or a restricted area based on the voice input through the voice input unit and the motion input through the image capturing unit.

3. The auto-cleaning system of claim 2, wherein, when the voice is input through the voice input unit, the cleaning robot rotates toward the user and receives the motion through the image capturing unit.

4. The auto-cleaning system of claim 1, wherein the user terminal comprises a touch screen panel on which the image of the space to be cleaned is displayed and a user input is received from the user, and

when the information regarding the another position from the user is input through the touch screen panel, the information regarding the another position from the user is overlappingly displayed on the image of the space to be cleaned through the touch screen panel.

5. The auto-cleaning system of claim 4, wherein the user terminal determines absolute coordinates in the space to be cleaned that correspond to the another position from the user.

6. The auto-cleaning system of claim 5, wherein the user terminal identifies image coordinates of the another position from the user, identifies relative coordinates of the another position from the user in which the cleaning robot is set as an origin, based on the image coordinates, and identifies absolute coordinates of the another position from the user in the space to be cleaned, based on the relative coordinates and a position of the cleaning robot.

7. An auto-cleaning method comprising:

moving a cleaning robot in a space to be cleaned;

receiving a voice input of a user;

in response to the receiving of the voice input of the user, capturing, by the cleaning robot, an image of the space to be cleaned;

identifying, by the cleaning robot, a position indicated by the user based on the captured image of the space to be cleaned;

transmitting, from the cleaning robot, the image of the space to be cleaned and information regarding the position indicated by the user to a user terminal;

displaying, on the user terminal, the image of the space to be cleaned and the information regarding the position indicated by the user received from the cleaning robot; and

receiving, by the user terminal, information regarding another position from the user.

8. The auto-cleaning method of claim 7, wherein the identifying of the position indicated by the user includes:

identifying a focused cleaning area and/or a restricted area based on a voice of the user input through a voice input unit and the motion of the user input through an image capturing unit.

9. The auto-cleaning method of claim 8, wherein the identifying of the position indicated by the user further includes:

rotating the cleaning robot toward the user when the voice of the user is input through the voice input unit; and

capturing the motion of the user through the image capturing unit.

10. The auto-cleaning method of clam 7, wherein the information regarding the another position from the user is input through a touch screen panel of the user terminal, and the information regarding the another position from the user is overlappingly displayed on the image of the space to be cleaned through the touch screen panel.

11. The auto-cleaning method of claim 10, further comprising

determining, by the user terminal, absolute coordinates in the space to be cleaned that correspond to the another position from the user.

12. The auto-cleaning method of claim 11, wherein the determining of the absolute coordinates includes:

identifying image coordinates of the another position from the user from the touch screen panel;

identifying relative coordinates of the another position from the user in which the cleaning robot is set as an origin, based on the image coordinates; and

identifying absolute coordinates of the another position from the user in the space to be cleaned, based on the relative coordinates and a position of the cleaning robot.