METHOD OF CONTROLLING A CLEANER

• US 20150331424A1
• Filed: 05/14/2015
• Published: 11/19/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/15/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Noh, Dongki, Baek, Seungmin, Kim, Hyungrock
• Granted Patent: US 9,851,720 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/009 Carrying-vehicles; Arrangements of trollies or wheels; Means for avoiding mechanical obstacles
• 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: 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 1/0234 using optical markers or beacons optical beacons per se G01S1/70
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0246 using a video camera in combination with image processing means
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0248 in combination with a laser lasers per se H01S

Abstract

Disclosed herein is a method of controlling a cleaner including a movable body for suctioning and a following body for collecting the dust suctioned by the movable body, the method including: (a) acquiring an image for a view around the following body; (b) acquiring position information of the movable body in an real space, based on the image; (c) acquiring position information of an obstacle in the real space, based on the image; (d) setting a travel direction such that the following body avoids the obstacle to follow the movable body, based on the position information of the movable body and the position information of the obstacle; and (e) controlling the following body to travel in the set travel direction.

Claims

1. A method of controlling a cleaner comprising a movable body for suctioning and a following body for collecting dust particles suctioned by the movable body, the method comprising:

acquiring, by an image acquisition unit, an image of a view around the following body;

acquiring, by a controller, position information of the movable body in a real space based on the image;

acquiring, by the controller, position information of an obstacle in the real space based on the image;

setting, by the controller, a travel direction such that the following body avoids the obstacle to follow the movable body based on the movable body position information and the obstacle position information; and

controlling the following body to travel in the set travel direction.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the travel direction is determined based on a linear combination of a first vector in a direction toward the movable body from the following body, which is obtained based on the movable body position information, and a second vector in a direction toward the following body from the obstacle, which is obtained based on the obstacle position information.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the first vector has a magnitude that is proportional to a distance from the following body to the movable body, which is obtained based on the movable body position information.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein the second vector has a magnitude that is inversely proportional to a distance from the following body to the obstacle, which is obtained based on the obstacle position information.

5. The method according to claim 2, wherein:

the movable body includes a marker, and

the movable body position information is determined based on a position of the marker displayed on the image.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein:

the movable body position information is acquired in an upper region on the image where the position of the marker moves downward on the image as the position of the marker becomes more distant from the following body in real space.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the obstacle position information is acquired in a lower region on the image, whereby the lower region is located below the upper region on the image.

8. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

radiating, by a pattern light irradiation unit, light having a predetermined pattern toward a front of the following body while the light is radiated downward so as to form a predetermined angle with a horizontal plane,

wherein the obstacle position information is determined based on a position of the pattern displayed on the image.

9. The method according to claim 2, further comprising:

connecting, by a hose, the movable body to the following body and guiding, using the hose, the dust particles suctioned by the movable body to the following body;

obtaining, by a sensor, a direction of tension acting on the following body from the hose; and

determining the travel direction based on a linear combination of the first vector, the second vector, and a third vector in a direction in which the tension acts.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein:

the hose includes a marker, and

the third vector is obtained based on a position of the marker displayed on the image.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the third vector has a magnitude that is inversely proportional to a flexibility of the hose.

12. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

repeatedly setting the travel direction while the following body travels such that the following body avoids the obstacle to follow the movable body based on the movable body position information and the obstacle position information.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein:

the movable body includes a marker;

determining the movable body position information based on a position of the marker displayed on the image;

repeatedly acquiring, while the following body is traveling, the movable body position information in the real space based on the image; and

when the movable body position information is not acquired while the following body is traveling, changing a direction of the following body such that the marker is displayed on the image based on a previously acquired movable body position information.

14. The method according to claim 1, further comprising setting an active following mode for the cleaner, such that while the cleaner is operating in the active following mode,

the image of the view around the following body is acquired,

based on the image, the movable body position information and the obstacle position information in the real space is acquired;

the travel direction is set such that the following body avoids the obstacle to follow the movable body based on the movable body position information and the obstacle position information; and

the following body is controlled to travel in the set travel direction.

15. The method according to claim 14, further comprising:

releasing the setting of the active following mode when the movable body position information in the real space based on the image is not acquired.

16. A cleaner comprising:

a movable body to suction particles;

a following body to follow the movable body and collect the particles suctioned by the movable body;

a travel unit to allow the following body to travel;

an image acquisition unit to acquire an image of a view around the following body; and

a controller to acquire position information of the movable body in a real space, wherein, based on the image, the controller acquires position information of an obstacle in the real space, sets a travel direction such that the following body avoids the obstacle to follow the movable body based on the movable body position information and the obstacle position information, and controls the travel unit such that the following body travels in the set travel direction.

17. The cleaner according to claim 16, further comprising:

a marker disposed in the movable body, wherein

the controller comprises a marker information acquisition module to acquire the movable body position information based on a position of the marker displayed on the image acquired by the image acquisition unit.

18. The cleaner according to claim 17, wherein:

the movable body position information is obtained based on the position of the marker displayed in an upper region on the image acquired by the image acquisition unit, where the position of the marker is moved downward on the image as the position of the marker becomes more distant from the following body in the real space.

19. The cleaner according to claim 18, wherein the controller further comprises an obstacle information acquisition module to acquire the obstacle position information in a lower region on the image, whereby the lower region is located below the upper region on the image.

20. The cleaner according to claim 19, wherein:

the marker information acquisition module to obtain a first vector in a direction toward the movable body from the following body, based on the movable body position information,

the obstacle information acquisition module to obtain a second vector in a direction toward the following body from the obstacle, based on the obstacle position information, and

the controller further comprises a travel operation setting module to determine the travel direction, based on a linear combination of the first vector and the second vector.