Robot cleaner and control method and medium of the same

• US 20090048727A1
• Filed: 07/10/2008
• Published: 02/19/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/17/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Chung, Woo Ram, Joo, Jae Man, Hong, Jun Pyo, Yoo, Kyung Hwan, Kim, Dong Won, Kim, Chang Woo
• Application Number:
  US12/216,802
• Publication Number:
  US 20090048727A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/26
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 2201/04 Automatic control of the travelling movement; Automatic obstacle detection
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0238 using obstacle or wall sensors G05D1/0246 and G05D1/0289 take precedence; lidar systems designed for anti-collision purposes G01S17/93
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0274 using mapping information stored in a memory device navigation using map-matching G01C21/30

Abstract

Disclosed herein are a robot cleaner that is capable of reflecting an obstacle sensed by obstacle sensors on a local map and a control method and medium of the same. The robot cleaner includes an obstacle sensor to sense an obstacle, a memory to store a local map, and a control unit to calculate an obstacle position using the obstacle sensor and to reflect the obstacle position around the robot cleaner on the local map.

Claims

1. A robot cleaner comprising:

an obstacle sensor to sense an obstacle;

a memory to store a local map including a plurality of cells; and

a control unit to calculate an obstacle position by the obstacle sensor and reflect the calculated obstacle position on the local map.

2. The robot cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the local map is a predetermined zone around the robot cleaner.

3. The robot cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the obstacle sensor is a position sensitive detector.

4. The robot cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the control unit calculates an obstacle distance using an incidence point of an infrared ray sensed by the obstacle sensor and a trigonometrical function, and calculates the obstacle position using the calculated obstacle distance, an installation position of the obstacle sensor, and an angle between a viewing direction of the obstacle sensor and an advancing direction of the robot cleaner.

5. The robot cleaner according to claim 4, wherein the control unit determines whether cells reflecting the calculated obstacle position are included in cells corresponding to an advance zone of the robot cleaner on the local map, and, when it is determined that the cells reflecting the calculated obstacle position exist, change the advancing direction of the robot cleaner.

6. The robot cleaner according to claim 5, wherein, after changing the advancing direction of the robot cleaner, the control unit determines again whether cells reflecting the calculated obstacle position are included in the cells corresponding to an advance zone of the robot cleaner on the local map, and, when it is determined that the cells reflecting the calculated obstacle position exist, change the advancing direction of the robot cleaner.

7. The robot cleaner according to claim 5, wherein the control unit controls the robot cleaner to selectively or wholly perform wall tracing advance, obstacle lock determination, and obstacle lock escape, using the local map.

8. A robot cleaner comprising:

an obstacle sensor to sense an obstacle;

a memory to store a local map including a plurality of cells; and

a control unit to calculate an obstacle zone by the obstacle sensor and reflect the calculated obstacle zone on the local map.

9. The robot cleaner according to claim 8, wherein

the robot cleaner is recognized to be less than its actual size on the local map, and

the obstacle zone is a zone enlarged to have a predetermined radius from an obstacle position calculated by the obstacle sensor as the center thereof.

10. The robot cleaner according to claim 9, wherein the predetermined radius is a radius of the robot cleaner.

11. The robot cleaner according to claim 10, wherein the size of the robot cleaner recognized on the local map is less than the cell size of the local map.

12. The robot cleaner according to claim 9, wherein the control unit determines whether the obstacle zone is reflected on a cell corresponding to a line extending in an advancing direction of the robot cleaner to evade the obstacle.

13. A control method of a robot cleaner, comprising:

calculating an obstacle distance by an obstacle sensor;

calculating an obstacle position based on the obstacle distance and an installation position of the obstacle sensor; and

reflecting the obstacle position on a local map including a plurality of cells, the cell on which the obstacle position is reflected being a cell corresponding to the calculated obstacle position.

14. The control method according to claim 13, further comprising:

performing wall tracing control using the cell on which the obstacle position is reflected.

15. The control method according to claim 13, further comprising:

controlling the robot cleaner to evade the obstacle when the cell on which the obstacle position is reflected exists on an advance path of the robot cleaner of the local map.

22. At least one computer readable medium storing instructions that control at least one processing element to perform the method of claim 13.

16. A control method of a robot cleaner, comprising:

calculating an obstacle distance by an obstacle sensor;

calculating an obstacle position based the obstacle distance and an installation position of the obstacle sensor;

calculating an obstacle zone based on the obstacle position; and

reflecting the obstacle zone on a local map including a plurality of cells, the cell on which the obstacle zone is reflected being a cell corresponding to the calculated obstacle zone.

17. The control method according to claim 16, wherein

the obstacle zone is a circle having a predetermined radius from the obstacle position as the center thereof, and

the robot cleaner is recognized to be less than its actual size on the local map.

18. The control method according to claim 16, further comprising:

performing wall tracing control using the cell on which the obstacle zone is reflected.

19. The control method according to claim 16, further comprising:

controlling the robot cleaner to evade the obstacle when the cell on which the obstacle zone is reflected exists on a line extending from the center of the robot cleaner in an advancing direction of the robot cleaner.

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

when determining that the robot cleaner is locked by the obstacle zone on the local map, initializing the local map and controlling the robot cleaner to rotate at a speed lower than an advance speed of the robot cleaner in place to re-create a local map.

21. The control method according to claim 20, further comprising:

controlling the robot cleaner to perform obstacle lock escape using the re-created local map.

23. At least one computer readable medium storing instructions that control at least one processing element to perform the method of claim 16.