Autonomous mobile robot cleaner

• US 20050171644A1
• Filed: 01/27/2005
• Published: 08/04/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 01/30/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Funai Electric Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Funai Electric Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Tani, Takao
• Application Number:
  US11/043,194
• Publication Number:
  US 20050171644A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/253
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 2201/04 Automatic control of the travelling movement; Automatic obstacle detection
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/009 Carrying-vehicles; Arrangements of trollies or wheels; Means for avoiding mechanical obstacles
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/2805 Parameters or conditions being sensed
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/281 the amount or condition of incoming dirt or dust
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/2826 the condition of the floor
• 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 9/2894 Details related to signal transmission in suction cleaners
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/12 executed aboard the object being navigated; Dead reckoning
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 22/00 Measuring distance traversed on the ground by vehicles, persons, animals or other moving solid bodies, e.g. using odometers, using pedometers
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0219 ensuring the processing of the whole working surface
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0238 using obstacle or wall sensors G05D1/0246 and G05D1/0289 take precedence; lidar systems designed for anti-collision purposes G01S17/93
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0259 using magnetic or electromagnetic means
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0272 comprising means for registering the travel distance, e.g. revolutions of wheels measuring distance traversed on the ground by vehicles, e.g. using odometers G01C22/00
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0274 using mapping information stored in a memory device navigation using map-matching G01C21/30

Abstract

An autonomous mobile robot cleaner that can thoroughly clean areas along walls or other obstacles in a room. During a cleaning operation, the robot cleaner creates map information about already cleaned areas and areas where an obstacle is present and stores the map information in a memory. The robot cleaner performs a basic cleaning operation to clean areas while moving in the areas in accordance with a predetermined movement procedure. Subsequently, the robot cleaner performs an uncleaned area cleaning operation to clean uncleaned areas that cannot be cleaned by the basic cleaning operation, based on the map information. Thereafter, the robot cleaner performs an edge cleaning operation to clean the edge of an obstacle based on the map information.

Claims

1. An autonomous mobile robot cleaner having a main body, comprising:

an obstacle detection means to detect an obstacle around the main body;

a moving means to move and turn the main body;

a cleaning means to clean an area in which the main body moves;

a cleaning operation control means to control the moving means and the cleaning means based on an output of the obstacle detection means so as to clean, while moving the main body, the area in which the main body moves; and

a map information memory means to store map information about an area where an obstacle is present,

wherein the cleaning operation control means performs a basic cleaning operation to move the main body in accordance with a predetermined movement procedure, and

wherein thereafter the cleaning operation control means performs an edge cleaning operation to move the main body along the perimeter of the obstacle based on the map information stored in the map information memory means.

2. The autonomous mobile robot cleaner according to claim 1, further comprising:

a moving distance detection means to detect a moving distance of the main body;

a moving direction detection means to detect a moving direction of the main body; and

a map information creating means to create the map information based on outputs of the obstacle detection means, the moving distance detection means, and the moving direction detection means,

wherein the cleaning operation control means performs the edge cleaning operation based on map information updated during the cleaning operation by the map information creating means.

3. The autonomous mobile robot cleaner according to claim 2, wherein the map information creating means creates, during the basic cleaning operation, map information indicating an already cleaned area and an area where an obstacle is present.

4. The autonomous mobile robot cleaner according to claim 2,

wherein cleaning operations controlled by the cleaning operation control means include:

(i) an initial operation to turn the main body 360 degrees at a cleaning start position for detection of presence or absence of an obstacle around the cleaning start position;

(ii) the basic cleaning operation to perform cleaning while moving the main body from the cleaning start position in accordance with the predetermined movement procedure;

(iii) an uncleaned area cleaning operation to clean, after the basic cleaning operation, an uncleaned area that cannot be cleaned by the basic cleaning operation; and

(iv) the edge cleaning operation to clean an edge of an obstacle while moving the main body along the perimeter of the obstacle.

5. The autonomous mobile robot cleaner according to claim 2,

wherein after the basic cleaning operation, the cleaning operation control means performs an uncleaned area cleaning operation to move the main body in an area that is left uncleaned, based on map information updated during the basic cleaning operation by the map information creating means,

wherein the cleaning operation control means repeats the uncleaned area cleaning operation, until there is no uncleaned area, based on map information updated during the cleaning operations by the map information creating means, and

wherein after there is no uncleaned area, the cleaning operation control means performs the edge cleaning operation to move the main body along the perimeter of an obstacle based on updated map information.