Control method of autonomous cleaner, control device, non-transitory computer-readable recording medium storing a control program, and autonomous cleaner

• US 10,694,910 B2
• Filed: 02/15/2018
• Issued: 06/30/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 03/01/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Kuhara, Shunsuke
• Primary Examiner(s): Soofi, Yazan A
• Application Number:
  US15/897,233
• Publication Number:
  US 20180249874A1
• Time in Patent Office: 866 Days
• Field of Search: 701 25
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 2201/04 Automatic control of the travelling movement; Automatic obstacle detection
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 5/22 with rotary fans
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/0488 Combinations or arrangements of several tools, e.g. edge cleaning tools
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/2805 Parameters or conditions being sensed
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/2852 Elements for displacement of the vacuum cleaner or the accessories therefor, e.g. wheels, casters or nozzles
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/2857 User input or output elements for control, e.g. buttons, switches or displays
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0219 ensuring the processing of the whole working surface
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0231 using optical position detecting means position-fixing by using electromagnetic waves other than radio waves, e.g. optical position detecting means G01S5/16
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0274 using mapping information stored in a memory device navigation using map-matching G01C21/30

Abstract

A management device that controls an autonomous cleaner includes a processing circuitry that obtains an electronic floor plan of a predetermined space, the predetermined space being a cleaning range of the autonomous cleaner. The management device estimates a person-present position at which a person is present in the predetermined space, and divides the predetermined space into a plurality of cleaning target areas to be individually cleaned by the autonomous cleaner. The management device further identifies a cleaning target area including the person-present position where the person is estimated to be present, as a person-present cleaning target area. The management device further identifies a cleaning target area around the person-present cleaning target area as a surrounding cleaning target area. The management device determines, among the multiple cleaning target areas, cleaning target areas other than the person-present cleaning target area and the surrounding cleaning target area to be cleanable areas.

Claims

1. A control method of a control device having a processor and a memory, and that controls an autonomous cleaner, the method comprising:

obtaining, by the processor, an electronic floor plan of a predetermined space, the predetermined space being a cleaning range of the autonomous cleaner;

estimating, by the processor, a person-present position at which a person is present in the predetermined space;

dividing, by the processor, the predetermined space into a plurality of cleaning target areas to be individually cleaned by the autonomous cleaner;

identifying, by the processor, a cleaning target area including the person-present position where the person is estimated to be present, among the plurality of cleaning target areas, as a person-present cleaning target area;

identifying, by the processor, cleaning target areas adjacent to the person-present cleaning target area as surrounding cleaning target areas;

excluding, by the processor and from the plurality of cleaning target areas, the person-present cleaning target area and the surrounding cleaning target areas from cleaning by the autonomous cleaner; and

determining, by the processor and among the plurality of cleaning target areas, cleaning target areas other than the person-present cleaning target area and the surrounding cleaning target areas to be cleanable areas,

wherein at least one unoccupied cleaning target area is present between each of the cleanable areas and the person-present cleaning target area.

2. The control method according to claim 1, further comprising:

outputting, by the processor, cleaning instruction information to cause the autonomous cleaner to perform a cleaning operation on the cleanable areas.

3. The control method according to claim 1, further comprising:

identifying, by the processor and among the surrounding cleaning target areas, at least one surrounding cleaning target area that overlaps the identified person-present cleaning target area, based on predetermined surrounding area information that correlates each of the plurality of cleaning target areas.

4. The control method according to claim 1, further comprising:

identifying, by the processor, the cleaning target areas located within a predetermined range of the person-present position where the person is estimated to be, as the surrounding cleaning target areas.

5. The control method according to claim 1,

wherein, among the surrounding cleaning target areas, at least one surrounding cleaning target area shares at least one side or one point defining the at least one surrounding cleaning target area with the person-present cleaning target area.

7. The control method according to claim 2, further comprising:

outputting, by the processor, when position information indicating a current position of the autonomous cleaner is obtained with respect to the cleanable areas, the cleaning instruction information to cause the autonomous cleaner to clean a cleanable area, among the cleanable areas, that is closest to the current position of the autonomous cleaner.

8. The control method according to claim 2, further comprising:

managing, by the processor, cleaning history of the autonomous cleaner with regard to each of the plurality of cleaning target areas; and

outputting, by the processor, the cleaning instruction information to cause the autonomous cleaner to clean a cleanable area, among the cleanable areas, having an earliest cleaning completion time.

9. The control method according to claim 1, further comprising:

managing, by the processor, cleaning history of the autonomous cleaner with regard to each of the plurality of cleaning target areas;

re-estimating, by the processor, when a cleaning operation for cleaning the cleanable areas by the autonomous cleaner has been completed, an updated person-present position at which a person is present;

re-identifying, by the processor, a cleaning target area including the updated person-present position where the person is re-estimated to be present, among the plurality of cleaning target areas, as an updated person-present cleaning target area;

re-identifying, by the processor, cleaning target areas adjacent to the updated person-present cleaning target area as updated surrounding cleaning target areas; and

determining, by the processor and among the plurality of cleaning target areas, updated cleaning target areas, for which a cleaning operation has not been performed by the autonomous cleaner, other than the updated person-present cleaning target area and the updated surrounding cleaning target areas, to be updated cleanable areas.

10. The control method according to claim 2, further comprising:

managing, by the processor, cleaning time zone information indicating a predetermined time schedule zone, which specifies a duration of time in which the autonomous cleaner is to perform the cleaning operation; and

outputting, when a current time is within the time schedule zone indicated by the cleaning time zone information, the cleaning instruction information.

11. The control method according to claim 10, further comprising:

obtaining, by the processor, cleanable areas for which the cleaning operation was not completed within the time schedule zone indicated in the cleaning time zone information, as incomplete cleaning target areas; and

determining, by the processor, among the plurality of cleaning target areas, cleaning target areas including the incomplete cleaning target areas, and other than the person-present cleaning target area and the surrounding cleaning target areas, to be cleanable areas.

12. The control method according to claim 3, further comprising:

determining, by the processor and based on predetermined conditions, one surrounding area information set from a plurality of surrounding area information sets, the plurality of surrounding information sets being included in the surrounding area information; and

identifying, by the processor, the surrounding cleaning target areas of the identified person-present cleaning target area based on the one surrounding area information set.

13. The control method according to claim 1, further comprising:

judging, by the processor, whether or not the cleanable areas are shared cleaning target areas, based on related area information correlating predetermined shared cleaning target areas, among the plurality of cleaning target areas, that are used by multiple people at least as passages, and cleaning target areas other than the shared cleaning target areas relating to the shared cleaning target areas;

identifying, by the processor, when the cleanable areas are determined to include the shared cleaning target areas, cleaning target areas correlated with the shared cleaning target areas as being related cleaning target areas, based on the related area information;

judging, by the processor, whether or not the people are present in the identified related cleaning target areas; and

determining, by the processor, when people are determined not to be present in the identified related cleaning target areas, the shared cleaning target areas to be the cleanable areas.

6. A control method of a control device having a processor and a memory, and that controls an autonomous cleaner, the method comprising:

obtaining, by the processor, an electronic floor plan of a predetermined space, the predetermined space being a cleaning range of the autonomous cleaner;

estimating, by the processor, a person-present position at which a person is present in the predetermined space;

dividing, by the processor, the predetermined space into a plurality of cleaning target areas to be individually cleaned by the autonomous cleaner;

identifying, by the processor, a cleaning target area including the person-present position where the person is estimated to be present, among the plurality of cleaning target areas, as a person-present cleaning target area;

identifying, by the processor, a cleaning target area around the person-present cleaning target area as a surrounding cleaning target area;

determining, by the processor and among the plurality of cleaning target areas, cleaning target areas other than the person-present cleaning target area and the surrounding cleaning target area to be cleanable areas;

outputting, by the processor, cleaning instruction information to cause the autonomous cleaner to perform a cleaning operation on the cleanable areas; and

outputting, by the processor, when one or more areas of the plurality of cleanable areas have been identified as the cleanable areas, the cleaning instruction information including an instruction to cause the autonomous cleaner to clean a cleanable area, among the cleanable areas, that is located at a position farthest from the person-present cleaning target area.

14. A control method that controls an autonomous cleaner, the device comprising:

processing circuitry; and

a memory storage including at least one set of instructions that, when executed by the processing circuitry, cause the processing circuitry to perform operations including

obtaining an electronic floor plan of a predetermined space, the predetermined space being a cleaning range of the autonomous cleaner,

estimating a person-present position at which a person is present in the predetermined space,

dividing the predetermined space into a plurality of cleaning target areas to be individually cleaned by the autonomous cleaner,

identifying a cleaning target area including the person-present position where the person is estimated to be present, among the plurality of cleaning target areas, as a person-present cleaning target area,

identifying cleaning target areas adjacent to the person-present cleaning target area as surrounding cleaning target areas,

excluding, from the plurality of cleaning target areas, the person-present cleaning target area and the surrounding cleaning target areas from cleaning by the autonomous cleaner, and

determining, among the plurality of cleaning target areas, cleaning target areas other than the person-present cleaning target area and the surrounding cleaning target areas to be cleanable areas,

wherein at least one unoccupied cleaning target area is present between each of the cleanable areas and the person-present cleaning target area.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium storing a control program to control an autonomous cleaner, the program, when executed by a computer, causing the computer to execute a method including

obtaining an electronic floor plan of a predetermined space, the predetermined space being a cleaning range of the autonomous cleaner,

estimating a person-present position at which a person is present in the predetermined space,

dividing the predetermined space into a plurality of cleaning target areas to be individually cleaned by the autonomous cleaner,

identifying a cleaning target area including the person-present position where the person is estimated to be present, among the plurality of cleaning target areas, as a person-present cleaning target area,

identifying cleaning target areas adjacent to the person-present cleaning target area as surrounding cleaning target areas,

excluding, from the plurality of cleaning target areas, the person-present cleaning target area and the surrounding cleaning target areas from cleaning by the autonomous cleaner, and

determining, among the plurality of cleaning target areas, cleaning target areas other than the person-present cleaning target area and the surrounding cleaning target area to be cleanable areas,

wherein at least one unoccupied cleaning target area is present between each of the cleanable areas and the person-present cleaning target area.

16. An autonomous cleaner that cleans while autonomously traveling, comprising:

processing circuitry; and

a memory storage including at least one set of instructions that, when executed by the processing circuitry, cause the processing circuitry to perform operations including

obtaining an electronic floor plan of a predetermined space, the predetermined space being a cleaning range of the autonomous cleaner,

estimating a person-present position at which a person is present in the predetermined space,

dividing the predetermined space into a plurality of cleaning target areas to be individually cleaned by the autonomous cleaner,

identifying a cleaning target area including the person-present position where the person is estimated to be present, among the plurality of cleaning target areas, as a person-present cleaning target area,

identifying cleaning target areas adjacent to the person-present cleaning target area as surrounding cleaning target areas,

excluding, from the plurality of cleaning target areas, the person-present cleaning target area and the surrounding cleaning target areas from cleaning by the autonomous cleaner, and

determining, among the plurality of cleaning target areas, cleaning target areas other than the person-present cleaning target area and the surrounding cleaning target areas to be cleanable areas, and

moving to the cleanable area and performing a cleaning operation in the cleanable area,

wherein at least one unoccupied cleaning target area is present between each of the cleanable areas and the person-present cleaning target area.