Robot cleaner

• US 10,772,478 B2
• Filed: 08/07/2018
• Issued: 09/15/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 08/07/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Yoon, Sungho, Park, Jeongseop, Lim, Jihyun
• Primary Examiner(s): Chin, Randall E
• Application Number:
  US16/057,572
• Publication Number:
  US 20190150692A1
• Time in Patent Office: 770 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/161 with supply of cleaning agents
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/185 with supply of cleaning agents
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/293 the tools being disc brushes
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/305 the tools being disc brushes
• 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 11/4038 Disk shaped surface treating tools
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/4041 Roll shaped surface treating tools
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/4066 Propulsion of the whole machine
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 2201/04 Automatic control of the travelling movement; Automatic obstacle detection
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/28 Installation of the electric equipment, e.g. adaptation or attachment to the suction cleaner; Controlling suction cleaners by electric means
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 11/0085 Cleaning
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0223 involving speed control of the vehicle vehicle fittings for automatically controlling, i.e. preventing speed from exceeding an arbitrarily established velocity or maintaining speed at a particular velocity, as selected by the vehicle operator B60K31/00

Abstract

A robot cleaner includes a cleaning module having a left spin-mop and a right spin-mop configured to contact a floor while rotating in a clockwise direction or in a counterclockwise direction when viewed from above. The robot cleaner also includes a controller that manages the cleaning module such that, when the robot cleaner travels in a zigzag pattern including a first travel, during which the robot cleaner travels straight in a first direction, and a second travel, during which the robot cleaner travels straight in a second direction, which is opposite the first direction, a movement trajectory of the left spin-mop or the right spin-mop during the second travel overlaps a movement trajectory of the left spin-mop and a movement trajectory of the right spin-mop during the first travel.

Claims

1. A robot cleaner comprising:

a first spin-mop and a second spin-mop that contact a floor while rotating in a clockwise direction or in a counterclockwise direction when viewed from above; and

a controller that manages respective rotational directions and rotational speeds of the first spin-mop and the second spin-mop to move the robot cleaner such that;

the robot cleaner travels in a zigzag pattern that includes a first travel during which the robot cleaner moves in a first direction, and a second travel during which the robot cleaner moves in a second direction which is opposite to the first direction, and

a first region of the floor over which one of the first spin-mop or the second spin-mop moves during the second travel overlaps a second region of the floor over which the first spin-mop moves during the first travel and a third region of the floor over which the second spin-mop moves during the first travel.

2. The robot cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the controller selectively changes the rotational directions and speeds of the first spin-mop and the second spin-mop to control a turning direction and a turning radius of the robot cleaner.

3. The robot cleaner according to claim 1, wherein an uncleaned region is present between the second region of the floor over which the first spin-mop moves during the first travel and the third region of the floor over which the second spin-mop moves during the first travel, and the first region of the floor over which the one of the first spin-mop or the second spin-mop moves during the second travel passes over the uncleaned region.

4. The robot cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the controller further manages the respective rotational directions and rotational speeds of the first spin-mop and the second spin-mop such that:

the zigzag pattern includes a third travel during which the robot cleaner travels in the first direction after the second travel, and

a fourth region of the floor over which the first spin-mop or the second spin-mop moves during the third travel overlaps the first region of the floor over which one of the first spin-mop or the second spin mop moves during the second travel and a fifth region of the floor over which another one of the first spin-mop or the second spin-mop moves during the second travel.

5. The robot cleaner according to claim 4, wherein the controller further manages the respective rotational directions and rotational speeds of the first spin-mop and the second spin-mop such a region of the floor over which one of the first or second spin-mops moves during an (N+1)-th straight travel overlaps both regions of the floors over which the first spin-mop and the second spin-mop move during an N-th straight travel.

6. The robot cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the controller manages the respective rotational directions and rotational speeds of the first spin-mop and the second spin-mop such that the first travel and the second travel are repeatedly performed in sequence.

7. The robot cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the controller further manages the respective rotational directions and rotational speeds of the first spin-mop and the second spin-mop such that:

the zigzag pattern includes a fourth travel in which the robot cleaner travels in the first direction after the second travel, and

a fourth region of the floor over which the first spin mop or the second spin-mop moves during the fourth travel overlaps one of the second region over which the first mop moves during the second travel or the third region over which the second spin-mop moves during the second travel.

8. The robot cleaner according to claim 7, wherein the controller further manages the respective rotational directions and rotational speeds of the first spin-mop and the second spin-mop such that:

the robot cleaner repeatedly performs a travel pattern in which an N-th straight travel, an (N+1)-th straight travel, an (N+2)-th straight travel, and an (N+3)-th straight travel are sequentially performed,

a region of the floor over which one of the first or second spin-mops moves during the (N+1)-th straight travel overlaps both regions of the floor over which the first spin-mop and the second spin-mop move during the N-th straight travel,

a region of the floor over which one of the first or second spin-mops moves during the (N+2)-th straight travel overlaps a region of the floor over which one of the first and second spin-mops moves during the (N+1)-th straight travel, and

a region of the floor over which one of the first or second spin-mops moves during the (N+3)-th straight travel overlaps both regions of the floor over which the first spin-mop and the second spin-mop move during the (N+2)-th straight travel.

9. The robot cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the controller manages the first spin-mop and the second spin-mop such that the first spin-mop and the second spin-mop are rotated in opposite directions at different speeds to turn the robot cleaner.

10. The robot cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the controller manages the first spin-mop and the second spin-mop such that the first spin-mop and the second spin-mop are rotated in a common rotational direction at different speeds to turn the robot cleaner.

11. The robot cleaner according to claim 1, further comprising a water supply that supplies water to the first spin-mop and the second spin-mop.

12. The robot cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the first spin-mop and the second spin-mop are included in a first cleaning module, and wherein the robot cleaner further comprises a second cleaning module spaced apart from the first spin-mop and the second spin-mop in a forward direction or a rearward direction.

13. The robot cleaner according to claim 12, wherein the second cleaning module collects foreign matter from the floor.

14. The robot cleaner according to claim 13, wherein the second cleaning module includes:

sweeping rollers that rotate to contact the floor and introduce foreign matter on the floor into the second cleaning module.

15. The robot cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the first spin-mop and the second spin-mop are inclined upward toward a center of the robot cleaner.

16. A robot cleaner comprising:

a first spin-mop and a second spin-mop that contact a floor while rotating; and

a controller that manages respective rotational directions and rotational speeds of the first spin-mop and the second spin-mop to move the robot cleaner such that;

the robot cleaner travels in a zigzag pattern that includes a first travel during which the robot cleaner moves in a first direction, and a second travel during which the robot cleaner moves in a second direction which is opposite to the first direction,

an uncleaned region is present between regions of the floor over which the first spin-mop and the second spin-mop move during the first travel, and

one of the first spin-mop or the second spin-mop moves over the uncleaned region during the second travel.

17. The robot cleaner according to claim 16, wherein the controller further manages the respective rotational directions and rotational speeds of the first spin-mop and the second spin-mop such that:

the zigzag pattern includes a third travel during which the robot cleaner travels in the first direction after the second travel, and

one of the first spin-mop or the second spin-mop moves during the third travel to overlap regions of the floor over which the first spin-mop and the second spin-mop move during the second travel.

18. The robot cleaner according to claim 17, wherein the controller further manages the respective rotational directions and rotational speeds of the first spin-mop and the second spin-mop such a region of the floor over which one of the first or second spin-mops moves during an (N+1)-th straight travel overlaps both regions of the floors over which the first spin-mop and the second spin-mop move during an N-th straight travel.

19. The robot cleaner according to claim 16, wherein the controller manages the first spin-mop and the second spin-mop such that the first spin-mop and the second spin-mop are rotated in opposite directions at different speeds or are rotated in a common rotational direction at different speeds to turn the robot cleaner.

20. The robot cleaner according to claim 16, further comprising a second cleaning module spaced apart from the first spin-mop and the second spin-mop, the second cleaning module including one or more sweeping rollers that rotate to contact the floor and collect foreign matter on the floor.