Autonomous cleaner and method of controlling the same

• US 9,259,129 B2
• Filed: 07/25/2012
• Issued: 02/16/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 08/22/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Jang, Hwi Chan, Kim, Dong Won, Jung, Hyun Soo, Han, Seung Il, Lee, Jun Hwa
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Khoi
• Assistant Examiner(s): PECHE, JORGE O
• Application Number:
  US13/557,707
• Publication Number:
  US 20130054022A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,301 Days
• Field of Search: 700/245, 700/258, 901/1
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 2201/04 Automatic control of the travelling movement; Automatic obstacle detection
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/2805 Parameters or conditions being sensed

Abstract

An autonomous cleaner has an enhanced structure capable of conducting an efficient cleaning task according to the material quality or the condition of the floor surface of a cleaning space.

The autonomous cleaner includes a body, a driving wheel to drive the body, a driving wheel assembly having the driving wheel, and a control unit. The control unit detects a displacement of the driving wheel corresponding to a reference position by sensing a sensor target, determines material quality or condition of a floor surface according to the displacement of the driving wheel, and controls the driving of the autonomous cleaner according to the determined material quality or the condition of the floor surface.

Claims

1. A method of controlling an autonomous cleaner comprising a body, and at least one driving wheel assembly to drive the body, the at least one driving wheel assembly having a driving wheel, a driving motor to drive the driving wheel and a housing accommodating the driving wheel and the driving motor, the method comprising:

detecting, by a sensor, a displacement of the driving wheel corresponding to a reference position by sensing a sensor target, the sensor target provided to be movable with the driving wheel inside the housing;

determining, by one or more processors, material quality or condition of a floor surface according to the displacement of the driving wheel, and

controlling a driving of the autonomous cleaner according to the determined material quality or the condition of the floor surface.

2. The method of controlling the autonomous cleaner of claim 1,

wherein the sensor is configured to sense a gap distance between the sensor and the sensor target.

3. The method of controlling the autonomous cleaner of claim 2, wherein when the gap distance between the sensor and the sensor target is maintained at a constant value, it is determined that the autonomous cleaner is driving on a hard floor area.

4. The method of controlling the autonomous cleaner of claim 2, wherein when the gap distance between the sensor and the sensor target is substantially changed while having a constant period, it is determined that the autonomous cleaner is driving on a tile area.

5. The method of controlling the autonomous cleaner of claim 2, wherein when the gap distance between the sensor and the sensor target is continuously fluctuating within a constant range, it is determined that the autonomous cleaner is driving on a carpet area.

6. The method of controlling the autonomous cleaner of claim 2, wherein when the gap distance between the sensor and the sensor target is substantially increased or substantially decreased, it is determined that the autonomous cleaner is driving on an intersecting area of a hard floor area and a carpet area, or on a raised area.

7. The method of controlling the autonomous cleaner of claim 1, wherein the controlling the driving of the autonomous cleaner comprises adjusting the torque or the rotation frequency of the driving wheel according to the determined material quality or the condition of the floor surface.

8. The method of controlling the autonomous cleaner of claim 1, further comprising:

determining whether the displacement of the driving wheel is within a predetermined reference range; and

changing the driving course of the autonomous cleaner such that the displacement of the driving wheel is within the reference range when the determined displacement of the driving wheel is out of the reference range.

9. The method of controlling the autonomous cleaner of claim 1, wherein the sensor target is the driving wheel.

10. An autonomous cleaner comprising:

a body;

at least one driving wheel assembly to drive the body;

the at least one driving wheel assembly having a driving wheel, a driving motor to drive the driving wheel and a housing accommodating the driving wheel and the driving motor;

a sensor target provided to be movable with the driving wheel inside the housing;

a sensor configured to sense a displacement of the driving wheel corresponding to a reference position by sensing the sensor target; and

at least one processor which provides a control unit configured to determine material quality or condition of a floor surface according to the displacement of the driving wheel, and to control a driving of the autonomous cleaner according to the determined material quality or the condition of the floor surface.

11. The autonomous cleaner of claim 10, wherein when the displacement of the driving wheel is maintained at a constant value the control unit determines that the autonomous cleaner is driving on a hard floor area.

12. The autonomous cleaner of claim 10, wherein when the displacement of the driving wheel is substantially changed while having a constant period the control unit determines that the autonomous cleaner is driving on a tile area.

13. The autonomous cleaner of claim 10, wherein when the displacement of the driving wheel is continuously fluctuating within a constant range the control unit determines that the autonomous cleaner is driving on a carpet area.

14. The autonomous cleaner of claim 10, wherein when the displacement of the driving wheel is substantially increased or substantially decreased, the control unit determines that the autonomous cleaner is driving on an intersecting territory of a hard floor area and a carpet area, or on a raised area.

15. The autonomous cleaner of claim 10, wherein the control unit is configured to determine whether the displacement of the driving wheel is within a predetermined reference range and,

to change the driving course of the autonomous cleaner so that the displacement of the driving wheel is within the reference range when the control unit determines that the displacement of the driving wheel is out of the reference range.

16. The autonomous cleaner of claim 10, wherein the control unit is configured to determine that the autonomous cleaner is driving over a drive-over obstacle when the displacement of the driving wheel has a positive value and continuously increases, and

to control the autonomous cleaner to drive while avoiding the drive-over obstacle when the displacement of the driving wheel continuously increases and reaches the established maximum threshold value.

17. The autonomous cleaner of claim 10, wherein the control unit is configured to determine that the autonomous cleaner is passing a caught-in obstacle when the displacement of the driving wheel has a negative value and decreases continuously , and

to control the autonomous cleaner to drive while avoiding the caught-in obstacle in a case when the displacement of the driving wheel is continuously increases and reaches the established minimum threshold value.

18. The autonomous cleaner of claim 10, wherein the control unit is configured to provide a map with reference to the area where the autonomous cleaner drives according to a displacement pattern of the driving wheel detected by the sensor, and one or more of a hard floor area, a tile area, a carpet area, an intersecting area, a raised area, a drive-over obstacle, and a caught-in obstacle are encoded on the map.

19. The autonomous cleaner of claim 18, wherein the control unit is configured to control the autonomous cleaner to drive in a direction perpendicular to a longitudinal direction of the intersecting area or the raised area by using the map.

20. The autonomous cleaner of claim 18, wherein the control unit is configured to control the autonomous cleaner not to simultaneously drive on areas having different material quality to each other by using the map.

21. The autonomous cleaner of claim 18, wherein the control unit is configured to control the autonomous cleaner to drive while avoiding the drive-over obstacle or the caught-in obstacle by using the map.

22. The autonomous cleaner of claim 10, wherein the sensor detects the gap distance between the sensor and the sensor target.

23. The autonomous cleaner of claim 10, wherein the sensor target is the driving wheel.

24. An autonomous cleaner comprising:

a body;

a driving wheel to drive the body;

a driving wheel assembly having the driving wheel;

a sensor target provided at the driving wheel assembly;

a sensor configured to sense a displacement of the driving wheel corresponding to a reference position by sensing the sensor target; and

at least one processor which provides a control unit configured to determine material quality or condition of a floor surface according to a displacement pattern of the driving wheel, and to provide a map which encodes the determined material quality or the condition of the floor surface.

25. The autonomous cleaner of claim 24, wherein the control unit differently controls the driving of the autonomous cleaner according to the material quality or the condition of the floor surface which is encoded on the map.

26. The autonomous cleaner of claim 24, wherein the control unit determines a type of an obstacle according to the displacement pattern of the driving wheel, and encodes the determined type and location of the obstacle on the map.

27. The autonomous cleaner of claim 26, wherein the control unit controls the autonomous cleaner to drive while avoiding the obstacle which is encoded on the map.

28. A method of controlling an autonomous cleaner comprising a body, and at least one driving wheel assembly to drive the body the at least one driving wheel assembly having a driving wheel, a driving motor to drive the driving wheel and a housing accommodating the driving wheel and the driving motor, the method comprising:

detecting, by a sensor, a displacement of the driving wheel corresponding to a reference position by sensing a gap distance between the sensor and a sensor target, the sensor target provided to be movable with the driving wheel inside the housing,

determining, by one or more processors, material quality or condition of a floor surface according to the displacement of the driving wheel;

controlling a driving of the autonomous cleaner according to the determined material quality or the condition of the floor surface;

determining whether the displacement of the driving wheel is within a predetermined reference range; and

changing the driving course of the autonomous cleaner such that the displacement of the driving wheel is within the reference range when the determined displacement of the driving wheel is out of the reference range.

29. The method of controlling the autonomous cleaner of claim 28, wherein the controlling the driving of the autonomous cleaner comprises adjusting the torque or the rotation frequency of the driving wheel according to the determined material quality or the condition of the floor surface.