ROBOT CLEANER AND CONTROL METHOD FOR THE SAME

• US 20130098402A1
• Filed: 10/16/2012
• Published: 04/25/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/21/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: YOON, Sang Sik, Kim, Dong Won, Lee, Jun Hwa, Han, Seung Il, So, Jea Yun
• Granted Patent: US 9,596,971 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 134/18
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/33 having means for storing dirt
• 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 11/4055 for lifting the tools to a non-working position
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/4069 Driving or transmission means for the cleaning tools
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 2201/04 Automatic control of the travelling movement; Automatic obstacle detection
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/0488 Combinations or arrangements of several tools, e.g. edge cleaning tools
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/0494 Height adjustment of dust-loosening tools
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0219 ensuring the processing of the whole working surface

Abstract

A robot cleaner and a control method for the same are disclosed. The robot cleaner and control method are capable of detecting malfunction of an auxiliary cleaning unit, and controlling travel of the robot cleaner in accordance with the detection result, to achieve efficient cleaning of an edge area even when there is an error in the auxiliary cleaning unit. The robot cleaner includes a plurality of auxiliary cleaning units mounted to a bottom portion of the robot cleaner such that the auxiliary cleaning units are extendable and retractable, a sensing unit to sense an extension, retraction, or rotation state of each of the auxiliary cleaning units, and a control unit to determine whether the auxiliary cleaning units operate normally, based on a sensing result of the sensing unit, and to control travel of the robot cleaner, based on a result of the determination.

Claims

1. A robot cleaner to remove foreign matter from a floor while traveling on the floor, comprising:

a plurality of auxiliary cleaning units mounted to a bottom portion of the robot cleaner such that the auxiliary cleaning units are extendable and retractable;

a sensing unit to sense an operation state of each of the auxiliary cleaning units; and

a control unit to determine whether the auxiliary cleaning units operate normally, based on a sensing result of the sensing unit, and to control travel of the robot cleaner, based on a result of the determination.

2. The robot cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the operation state includes at least one of extension, retraction and rotation states of the auxiliary cleaning units.

3. The robot cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the control unit determines whether the sensing result received from the sensing unit after transmission of a command to operate each of the auxiliary cleaning units, corresponds to the command.

4. The robot cleaner according to claim 3, wherein:

when the sensing result from the sensing unit does not correspond to the command, the control unit repeats the transmission of the command, the sensing result reception and the determination until the sensing result from the sensing unit corresponds to the command or a number of repetition times reaches a predetermined value; and

when the sensing result of the sensing unit does not correspond to the command even after the number of repetition times reaches the predetermined value, the control unit determines that the auxiliary cleaning unit does not normally operate.

5. The robot cleaner according to claim 1, wherein, when the control unit determines that one of the plural auxiliary cleaning units does not normally operate, the control unit controls travel of the robot cleaner such that the at least one auxiliary cleaning unit, which operates normally among the plural auxiliary cleaning units, travels along an area adjacent to an edge portion of a cleaning region.

6. The robot cleaner according to claim 1, wherein, when the control unit determines that one of the plural auxiliary cleaning units does not normally operate, for wall tracing travel, the control unit controls travel of the robot cleaner such that the at least one auxiliary cleaning unit, which operates normally among the plural auxiliary cleaning units, travels along the wall of a cleaning region.

7. The robot cleaner according to claim 1, wherein, when the control unit determines that one of the plural auxiliary cleaning units does not normally operate, for zigzag travel, the control unit controls travel of the robot cleaner such that the at least one auxiliary cleaning unit, which operates normally among the plural auxiliary cleaning units, travels zigzag from an area adjacent to the normally operating auxiliary cleaning units to the opposite area of a cleaning region

8. The robot cleaner according to claim 7, wherein, the control unit controls travel of the robot cleaner such that the at least one auxiliary cleaning unit, which operates normally among the plural auxiliary cleaning units, again travels along the area adjacent to the edge portion of the cleaning region, cleaning of which has not been executed.

9. The robot cleaner according to claim 1, wherein:

the plural auxiliary cleaning units comprise an auxiliary cleaning unit mounted to a left side of the robot cleaner and an auxiliary cleaning unit mounted to a right side of the robot cleaner;

when the control unit determines that the left auxiliary cleaning unit does not normally operate among the plural auxiliary cleaning unit, for spiral travel, the control unit controls travel of the robot cleaner such that the robot cleaner executes spiral travel in a counterclockwise direction; and

when the control unit determines that the right auxiliary cleaning unit does not normally operate among the plural auxiliary cleaning unit, after transmitting the command to the plural auxiliary cleaning units, for spiral travel, the control unit controls travel of the robot cleaner such that the robot cleaner executes spiral travel in a clockwise direction.

10. The robot cleaner according to claim 5, wherein the control unit repeats the determination as to whether the auxiliary cleaning units operate normally, at predetermined intervals, after it is determined that at least one the auxiliary cleaning unit does not normally operate, and then controls travel of the robot cleaner such that a current travel mode of the robot cleaner is returned to an original travel mode, when it is determined that all the auxiliary cleaning units, which have not normally operated, operates normally.

11. The robot cleaner according to claim 1, further comprising:

an indicator to visibly and audibly notify an abnormal operation of the auxiliary cleaning units when the control unit determines that the at least one auxiliary cleaning unit does not normally operate.

12. The robot cleaner according to claim 2, wherein the sensing unit comprises at least one of a contact sensor, with which each of the auxiliary cleaning units comes into contact in an extended state, an encoder mounted to a driver which drives each of the auxiliary cleaning units, and a Hall sensor mounted to the driver, the sensing unit senses the extension and retraction state of each of the auxiliary cleaning units.

13. The robot cleaner according to claim 2, wherein the sensing unit comprises at least one of an encoder mounted to a driver which drives the rotation of each of the auxiliary cleaning units, and a Hall sensor mounted to the driver, the sensing unit senses the rotation state of each of the auxiliary cleaning units.

14. The robot cleaner according to claim 2, wherein the sensing unit comprises at least one of a contact sensor, an encoder and a Hall sensor, to sense at least one of the extension, retraction and rotation state of each of the auxiliary cleaning units.

15. A control method for a robot cleaner including a plurality of auxiliary cleaning units mounted to be extendable and retractable, comprising:

transmitting a command to operate the plural auxiliary cleaning units;

sensing an operation state of each of the plural auxiliary cleaning units;

determining, based on a result of the sensing, whether each of the plural auxiliary cleaning units operates normally in accordance with the command; and

controlling travel of the robot cleaner based on a result of the determination.

16. The control method according to claim 15, wherein the operation state includes at least one of extension, retraction and rotation of the plurality of auxiliary cleaning units.

17. The control method according to claim 15, wherein the determining whether each of the plural auxiliary cleaning units operates normally comprises determining whether the sensed operation state of the auxiliary cleaning unit corresponds to the command.

18. The control method according to claim 15, further comprising:

when the sensed operation state of the auxiliary cleaning unit does not correspond to the command, repeating the transmission of the command, the operation state sensing and the determination until the sensed operation state of the auxiliary cleaning unit corresponds to the command or a number of times of the repetition reaches a predetermined value; and

determining that the auxiliary cleaning unit does not normally operate, when the sensed operation state of the auxiliary cleaning unit does not correspond to the command even after the number of times of the repetition reaches the predetermined value.

19. The control method according to claim 15, wherein the controlling travel of the robot cleaner based on a result of the determination comprises controlling travel of the robot cleaner, when it is determined that one of the plural auxiliary cleaning units does not normally operate, such that the at least one auxiliary cleaning unit, which operates normally among the plural auxiliary cleaning units, travels along an area adjacent to an edge portion of a cleaning region.

20. The control method according to claim 15, wherein the controlling travel of the robot cleaner comprises controlling travel of the robot cleaner, when the command is associated with wall tracing travel, such that the at least one auxiliary cleaning unit, which operates normally among the plural auxiliary cleaning units, travels along wall of a cleaning region.

21. The control method according to claim 15, wherein the controlling travel of the robot cleaner comprises controlling travel of the robot cleaner, when the command is associated with zigzag travel, such that the auxiliary cleaning units, which operates normally among the plural auxiliary cleaning units, travels zigzag from an area adjacent to the normally operating auxiliary cleaning units to the opposite area of a cleaning region.

22. The control method according to claim 21, wherein the controlling travel of the robot cleaner further comprises controlling travel of the robot cleaner, such that the at least one auxiliary cleaning unit, which operates normally among the plural auxiliary cleaning units, again travels along the area adjacent to the edge portion of the cleaning region, cleaning of which has not been executed.

23. The control method according to claim 15, wherein:

the plural auxiliary cleaning units comprise an auxiliary cleaning unit mounted to a left side of the robot cleaner and an auxiliary cleaning unit mounted to a right side of the robot cleaner; and

the controlling travel of the robot cleaner comprises controlling travel of the robot cleaner such that the robot cleaner executes spiral travel in a counterclockwise direction when the command is associated with spiral travel and it is determined that the left auxiliary cleaning unit does not normally operate, and controlling travel of the robot cleaner such that the robot cleaner executes spiral travel in a clockwise direction when the command is associated with spiral travel and it is determined that the right auxiliary cleaning unit does not normally operate.

24. The control method according to claim 15, further comprising:

repeating the determination as to whether the auxiliary cleaning units operate normally, at predetermined intervals when it is determined that at least one the auxiliary cleaning unit does not normally operate, and then controlling travel of the robot cleaner such that a current travel mode of the robot cleaner is returned to an original travel mode when it is determined that all the auxiliary cleaning units, which have not normally operated, operates normally.

25. The control method according to claim 15, further comprising:

visibly and audibly notifying an abnormal operation of the auxiliary cleaning units when it is determined that the at least one auxiliary cleaning unit does not normally operate.

26. The control method according to claim 15, wherein the sensing the operation state of each of the plural auxiliary cleaning units is executed using at least one of a contact sensor, with which each of the auxiliary cleaning units comes into contact in an extended state, an encoder mounted to a driver which drives each of the auxiliary cleaning units, and a Hall sensor mounted to the driver, the sensing including sensing the extension and retraction state of each of the auxiliary cleaning units.

27. The control method according to claim 15, wherein the sensing the operation state of each of the plural auxiliary cleaning units is executed using at least one of a contact sensor, with which each of the auxiliary cleaning units comes into contact in an extended state, an encoder mounted to a driver which drives each of the auxiliary cleaning units, and a Hall sensor mounted to the driver, the sensing including sensing the extension and retraction state of each of the auxiliary cleaning units.

28. The control method according to claim 15, wherein the sensing the operation state of each of the plural auxiliary cleaning units is executed using at least one of an encoder mounted to a driver which drives each of the auxiliary cleaning units, and a Hall sensor mounted to the driver, the sensing including sensing the rotation state of each of the auxiliary cleaning units.

29. The control method according to claim 15, wherein the sensing the operation state of each of the plural auxiliary cleaning units is executed using at least one of a contact sensor, an encoder and a Hall sensor, the sensing including at least one of sensing the extension, retraction and rotation state of each of the auxiliary cleaning units.