ROBOT CLEANER AND CONTROL METHOD THEREOF

• US 20140366292A1
• Filed: 06/16/2014
• Published: 12/18/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/17/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: JUNG, Jae Young, KIM, Dong Won, YOON, Sang Sik, LEE, Byoung ln, CHOI, Sang Hwa, LEE, Sahng Jin
• Granted Patent: US 10,945,578 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 15/98
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/282 having rotary tools
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/4008 Arrangements of switches, indicators or the like
• 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 11/4041 Roll shaped surface treating tools
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/4083 Liquid supply reservoirs; Preparation of the agents, e.g. mixing devices
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 2201/06 Control of the cleaning action for autonomous devices; Automatic detection of the surface condition before, during or after cleaning
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 901/01 Mobile robot
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 901/46 Sensing device
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 137/7722 Line condition change responsive valves

Abstract

A robot cleaner and a control method thereof may judge whether or not water is received in the robot cleaner performing wet cleaning. The robot cleaner includes a main body, moving units, a cleaning unit mounted on the main body and contacting a floor surface to perform cleaning, a water supply unit supplying water to the cleaning unit, and a sensing unit provided on at least a portion of the water supply unit to sense whether or not there is water within the water supply unit. The sensing unit includes a housing, a transmission part radiating electromagnetic waves, a reception part receiving the electromagnetic waves radiated by the transmission part, and a stepped part provided on at least a portion of the housing along a moving path of the electromagnetic waves radiated by the transmission part and received by the reception part.

Claims

1. A robot cleaner comprising:

a main body;

moving units to move the main body;

a cleaning unit mounted on the main body and to contact a floor surface to perform cleaning;

a water supply unit to supply water to the cleaning unit; and

a sensing unit provided on at least a portion of the water supply unit to sense whether or not there is water within the water supply unit,

wherein the sensing unit includes;

a housing;

a transmission part provided on at least a portion of the sensing unit and to radiate electromagnetic waves;

a reception part provided on at least a portion of the sensing unit and to receive the electromagnetic waves radiated by the transmission part; and

a stepped part provided on at least a portion of the housing along a moving path of the electromagnetic waves radiated by the transmission part and received by the reception part.

2. The robot cleaner according to claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the stepped part is inclined.

3. The robot cleaner according to claim 1, wherein a reflective plate to reflect the electromagnetic waves radiated by the transmission part is located on one side surface of the sensing unit.

4. The robot cleaner according to claim 3, wherein the reception part and the transmission part are located on one surface of the sensing unit opposite the reflective plate.

5. The robot cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the reception part and the transmission part are provided opposite each other.

6. The robot cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the transmission part and the reception part are disposed within a protrusion part protruding above the cleaning unit.

7. The robot cleaner according to claim 6, wherein the sensing unit further includes a holder surrounding the transmission part and the reception part so as to prevent an error due to sensing of electromagnetic waves.

8. The robot cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the water supply unit includes a receiver part to receive water and a water supply pump to supply water from the receiver part to the cleaning unit.

9. The robot cleaner according to claim 8, wherein the sensing unit is located in at least a portion of the receiver part.

10. The robot cleaner according to claim 9, wherein a controller provided in the sensing unit judges whether or not water is received in the receiver part by measuring electromagnetic waves received by the reception part.

11. The robot cleaner according to claim 9, wherein a controller provided in the sensing unit judges whether or not water is received in the receiver part by measuring a change of an amount of electric current supplied to the water supply pump.

26. The robot cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the stepped part provides a linear amount of water between the transmission part and the reception part proportional to a volume of water in the water supply unit such that an amount of electromagnetic waves received by the reception part is determined according to the volume of water in the water supply unit.

12. A robot cleaner comprising:

a main body;

moving units to move the main body;

a cleaning unit mounted on the main body and to contact a floor surface to perform cleaning;

a water supply unit to supply water to the cleaning unit; and

a controller to judge whether or not water is received in the water supply unit by sensing, without contacting the water, electrical change within the water supply unit.

13. The robot cleaner according to claim 12, wherein the water supply unit includes a receiver part to receive water and a water supply pump to supply water from the receiver part to the cleaning unit.

14. The robot cleaner according to claim 13, wherein the controller judges whether or not water is received in the receiver part by measuring the amount of current supplied to the water supply pump according to operation of the water supply pump.

15. The robot cleaner according to claim 13, further comprising a sensing unit located on at least a portion of the receiver part and provided with a sensor unit to judge whether or not water is received in the water supply unit.

16. The robot cleaner according to claim 15, wherein the sensor unit includes a transmission part to radiate electromagnetic waves and a reception part to receive the radiated electromagnetic waves.

17. The robot cleaner according to claim 16, wherein the sensing unit includes a stepped part provided on at least a portion of the housing along a moving path of the electromagnetic waves radiated by the transmission part and received by the reception part.

18. The robot cleaner according to claim 17, wherein a reflective plate to reflect the electromagnetic waves radiated by the transmission part is located on one side surface of the sensing unit, and the reception part and the transmission part are located on one surface opposite the reflective plate.

19. The robot cleaner according to claim 17, wherein the reception part and the transmission part are provided opposite each other.

20. The robot cleaner according to claim 15, wherein the controller judges whether or not water is received in the receiver part based on data of the sensor unit.

21. A control method of a robot cleaner which has a main body, a cleaning unit rotatably mounted on the main body and cleaning a floor surface through a wet cleaning method, a water supply unit to supply water to the cleaning unit, and a sensing unit provided to judge whether or not there is water within the water supply unit, the control method comprising:

judging whether or not the water supply unit is mounted on the cleaning unit;

calculating the received amount of electromagnetic waves by causing the sensing unit to transmit electromagnetic waves and to receive the transmitted electromagnetic waves, if the water supply unit is mounted on the cleaning unit;

judging whether or not water is received in the water supply unit by calculating the received amount of electromagnetic waves; and

displaying whether or not water is received in the water supply unit through a display unit.

22. The control method according to claim 21, further comprising displaying a notification representing insufficiency of water in the water supply unit through the display unit, if the received amount of electromagnetic waves exceeds a first reference value.

23. The control method according to claim 21, further comprising displaying a notification representing insufficiency of water in the water supply unit through the display unit by judging whether or not a time taken for the robot cleaner to travel from input of a cleaning command to the robot cleaner by a user corresponds to a second reference value, if the received amount of electromagnetic waves exceeds a first reference value.

24. The control method according to claim 21, further comprising displaying a notification representing insufficiency of water in the water supply unit through the display unit, if a time during which the robot cleaner performs cleaning exceeds a third reference value.

25. The control method according to claim 21, wherein whether or not the water supply unit is mounted on the cleaning unit is judged by recognizing whether or not data generated from at least one of the water supply unit and the cleaning unit is greater than 0.

27. An apparatus comprising:

a water supply unit configured to receive water and to supply the received water;

a sensing unit including a transmission part to radiate electromagnetic waves inside the water supply unit, a reception part to receive the radiated electromagnetic waves and a stepped part provided along a moving path of the electromagnetic waves radiated by the transmission part and received by the reception part such that an amount of the radiated electromagnetic waves received by the reception part corresponds to a volume of water in the water supply unit; and

a controller to judge whether or not water is received in the water supply unit by sensing a change in transmission of the electromagnetic waves through the water supply unit.

28. The apparatus according to claim 27, wherein at least a portion of the stepped part is inclined.

29. The apparatus according to claim 27, further comprising a reflective plate to reflect the electromagnetic waves radiated by the transmission part located on one side surface of the sensing unit.

30. The apparatus according to claim 29, wherein the reception part and the transmission part are located on one surface of the sensing unit opposite the reflective plate.

31. The apparatus according to claim 27, wherein the reception part and the transmission part are provided opposite each other.

32. The apparatus according to claim 27, wherein the stepped part provides a linear amount of water between the transmission part and the reception part proportional to a volume of water in the water supply unit.

33. The apparatus according to claim 27, wherein:

the apparatus is a robot cleaner;

the robot cleaner further comprises a cleaning unit to contact a floor surface to perform cleaning of the floor surface by the robot cleaning; and

the water supply unit supplies the water received by the water supply unit to the cleaning unit so that the cleaning unit performs cleaning of the floor surface with the water supplied by the water supply unit.