DETECTING APPARATUS OF ROBOT CLEANER AND CONTROLLING METHOD OF ROBOT CLEANER

• US 20110098853A1
• Filed: 10/24/2008
• Published: 04/28/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/30/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Park, Dong-Woo, Kim, Sung-Woon, YI, Dong-Hoon, Yoon, Hyoung-Hwa, Park, Jong-II, Yoon, Jeong-Suk
• Granted Patent: US 8,798,792 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/245
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 2201/04 Automatic control of the travelling movement; Automatic obstacle detection
• 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: G05D 1/0219 ensuring the processing of the whole working surface
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0225 involving docking at a fixed facility, e.g. base station or loading bay parking aids B62D15/027
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0255 using acoustic signals, e.g. ultra-sonic singals sonar systems designed for anti-collision purposes G01S15/93
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/027 comprising intertial navigation means, e.g. azimuth detector inertial navigation G01C21/16; inertial navigation combined with non-inertial navigation instruments G01C21/165

Abstract

A method for controlling a robot cleaner includes: detecting a cleaning target space, setting a cleaning region within the detected cleaning space and cleaning the set cleaning region; if the set cleaning region is completely cleaned, moving to a not-yet-cleaned region adjacent to a cleaning completion spot of the cleaning region; and setting a new cleaning region in the not-yet-cleaned region and performing cleaning. Without repeating a cleaning region in the cleaning target space, the robot cleaner can extend its cleaning region, so the cleaning efficiency of the robot cleaner can be improved. Also, the robot cleaner can be smoothly enter a new cleaning target space or released therefrom. In particular, even when the entrance of the new cleaning target space is narrow, the robot cleaner can smoothly enter the new cleaning target space and gets out thereof.

Claims

1. A robot cleaner comprising:

a detecting unit for detecting a cleaning region or a not-yet-cleaned region in a cleaning target region; and

a controller for setting the detected cleaning region and a new cleaning region in the detected not-yet-cleaned region and issuing a cleaning command.

2. The robot cleaner of claim 1, wherein when cleaning in the detected cleaning region is completed and a not-yet-cleaned region adjacent to the cleaning completion spot of the cleaning region is detected, the controller controls the robot cleaner to move to the detected not-yet-cleaned region to clean it.

3. The robot cleaner of claim 2, wherein when an accumulated movement distance of the robot cleaner traveling in the cleaning target space reaches a pre-set certain movement distance, the controller corrects the location of the robot cleaner.

4. The robot cleaner of claim 1, wherein the detecting unit detects the surface of a wall or a corner when the robot cleaner travels.

5. The robot cleaner of claim 4, wherein when at least one of a first condition in which the number of non-detections of the surface of the wall is accumulated twice and a second condition in which the number of detections of the corner is accumulated twice is met, the controller recognizes a corresponding travel region as a cleaning target space.

6. The robot cleaner of claim 4, wherein if the non-detections of the surface of the wall and the detections of the corner occur successively, it is considered that the first and second conditions are met.

7. The robot cleaner of claim 4, wherein the robot cleaner comprises a storage unit for storing the number of non-detections of the surface of the wall and the number of detections of the corner.

8. The robot cleaner of claim 4, wherein the controller executes a cleaning mode of the robot cleaner with respect to a region recognized as a cleaning target space.

9. A method for controlling a robot cleaner comprising:

detecting a cleaning target space, setting a cleaning region within the detected cleaning space and cleaning the set cleaning region;

moving to a not-yet-cleaned region adjacent to a cleaning completion spot of the cleaning region when the set cleaning region is completely cleaned; and

setting a new cleaning region in the not-yet-cleaned region and performing cleaning.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the moving to the not-yet-cleaned region comprises:

determining whether or not there is a not-yet-cleaned region adjacent to the cleaning completion spot of the certain cleaning region when cleaning of the set cleaning region is completed;

setting the not-yet-cleaned region as a new cleaning region when it is determined that there is the not-yet-cleaned region; and

moving to the new cleaning region.

11. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

correcting the location of the robot cleaner when an accumulated movement distance of the robot cleaner within the cleaning target space reaches a pre-set reference distance.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the location of the robot cleaner is corrected based on a docking station.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the cleaning region is set by repeatedly performing a travel pattern that the robot cleaner travels a certain distance and then changes its travel direction in the cleaning target space.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein the cleaning region is set based on a middle point of a certain travel distance calculated after the robot cleaner travels the certain distance in the cleaning target space.

15. The method of claim 9, wherein the detecting of the cleaning target space comprises:

detecting an obstacle by the robot cleaner; and

recognizing a corresponding region as a cleaning target space based on the obstacle detection result.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein, in detecting the obstacle, the robot cleaner detects at least one wall surface forming the cleaning target space and at least one corner in the space.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the recognizing of the cleaning target space comprises:

determining whether or not at least one of a first condition, in which the robot cleaner does not detect the wall surface while traveling is accumulated two times, and a second condition, in which the robot cleaner detects the corner is accumulated two times, is met; and

recognizing a corresponding region as a cleaning target space when at least one of the first and second conditions is met.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

storing the number of non-detections of the surface of the wall and the number of detections of the corner as recognized by a detecting unit in a storage unit.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein, in determining the conditions, it is determined whether or not at least one of the first and second conditions is met based on the value stored in the storage unit.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein, in determining the conditions, if the non-detections of the surface of the wall and the detections of the corner occur successively, it is determined that the first and second conditions are met, respectively.

21. The method of claim 17, wherein, in recognizing the cleaning target space, the robot cleaner executes a cleaning mode in the region recognized as the cleaning target space.