Robot cleaner, docking station, robot cleaner system including robot cleaner and docking station, and method of controlling robot cleaner

• US 9,134,733 B2
• Filed: 06/07/2011
• Issued: 09/15/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/19/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Yoo, Kyung Hwan, Joo, Jae Man, Kim, Dong Won, Lee, Jun Hwa, Hong, Jun Pyo, Chung, Woo Ram, Jung, Jae Young, Jang, Hwi Chan, Ko, Jang Youn, Song, Jeong Gon, Jeung, Sam Jong
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Khoi
• Assistant Examiner(s): OH, HARRY Y
• Application Number:
  US13/067,528
• Publication Number:
  US 20110236026A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,561 Days
• Field of Search: 700247-249, 700/255, 700258-259, 382/153, 332/109, 332/112, 332/115, 332/149, 375/238, 375/239, 375/300, 375/353, 329/312, 329/313, 370/212, 370/213
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 2201/00 Robotic cleaning machines, i.e. with automatic control of the travelling movement or the cleaning operation
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 2201/022 Recharging of batteries
• 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 1/0234 using optical markers or beacons optical beacons per se G01S1/70
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0276 using signals provided by a source external to the vehicle involving a plurality of vehicles G05D1/0287; automatically controlling vehicle speed responsive to externally generated signals B60K31/0058

Abstract

A robot cleaner system is described including a docking station to form a docking area within a predetermined angle range of a front side thereof, to form docking guide areas which do not overlap each other on the left and right sides of the docking area, and to transmit a docking guide signal such that the docking guide areas are distinguished as a first docking guide area and a second docking guide area according to an arrival distance of the docking guide signal. The robot cleaner system also includes a robot cleaner to move to the docking area along a boundary between the first docking guide area and the second docking guide area when the docking guide signal is sensed and to move along the docking area so as to perform docking when reaching the docking area.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a docking station having a first transmission unit to transmit a first docking signal in a first direction, the first docking signal comprising at least a first signal pulse and a second signal pulse, wherein the first signal pulse has a pulse width that has a different time length than a pulse width of the second signal pulse; and

a robot cleaner comprising;

a reception unit to receive the first docking signal from the docking station; and

a control unit configured to determine if the received first docking signal is an unreflected wave received directly from the first transmission unit or if the received first docking signal is a reflected wave produced by reflection of the first docking signal by an obstacle, the control unit to control movement of the robot cleaner based on whether the received first docking signal is determined to be the reflected wave or the unreflected wave.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the docking station further comprises a second transmission unit to transmit a second docking signal in a second direction, the second docking signal comprising at least a first signal pulse and a second signal pulse, wherein the first signal pulse has a pulse width that has a different time length than a pulse width of the second signal pulse.

3. The system according to claim 2, wherein the first docking signal sensed by the robot cleaner located in a first short-distance docking guide area is distinguished from the first docking signal sensed by the robot cleaner in a first long-distance docking guide area, and

the second docking signal sensed by the robot cleaner located in a second short-distance docking guide area is distinguished from the second docking signal sensed by the robot cleaner in a second long-distance docking guide area.

4. The system according to claim 3, wherein the docking station further comprises a third transmission unit to transmit a third docking signal in a direction towards a front side of the docking station between the first docking signal and the second docking signal.

5. The system according to claim 4, wherein the first short-distance docking guide area and the second short-distance docking guide area do not overlap each other.

6. The system according to claim 1, wherein the first signal pulse and the second signal pulse are consecutive signal pulses.

7. The system according to claim 2, wherein the docking station further comprises a third transmission unit to transmit a third docking signal from a central portion of a front side of a main body thereof within a predetermined angle range such that a docking area which does not overlap the first docking guide area or the second docking guide area is formed,

wherein pulse widths of a plurality of signal pulses included in the docking signal are adjusted to different lengths.

8. The system according to claim 7, wherein the adjusting of the pulse widths of the plurality of signal pulses to the different lengths comprises adjusting pulse widths of consecutive signal pulses to different lengths.

9. The system according to claim 7, wherein the third transmission unit to transmit the third docking signal includes a light emitting unit to generate the third docking signal and a guide portion to guide a traveling direction of the third docking signal such that the third docking signal is formed at the central portion of the front side of the main body within the predetermined angle range.

10. The system according to claim 1, wherein the first transmission unit to transmit the first docking guide signal includes a light emitting unit to generate the first docking guide signal and a shading plate to block some of the first docking guide signal so as to reduce a spreading angle of the first docking guide signal.

11. The system according to claim 10, wherein the docking station further comprises a lens unit provided outside the light emitting unit so as to spread the first docking guide signal.

13. The system according to claim 1, wherein the first transmission unit is configured to transmit a repetitive waveform of the first docking signal, and wherein the first signal pulse and the second signal pulse are embedded within each repetitive waveform of the first docking signal.

14. The system according to claim 1, wherein, if it is determine that the received first docking signal is the unreflected wave, the control unit is configured to control the robot cleaner to move in a travel direction according to a transmission direction of the received first docking signal.

15. The system according to claim 1, wherein, if it is determined that the received first docking signal is the reflected wave, the control unit is configured to control the robot cleaner to move in a travel direction that is different from a transmission direction of the received first docking signal.

16. The system according to claim 13, wherein the control unit of the robot cleaner is configured to determine a time length between high points of the first and second signal pulses of the first docking signal received by the reception unit and to determine if the received first docking signal is the unreflected wave or the reflected wave based on the determined time length between the high points of the first and second signal pulses.

12. The docking system comprising:

a docking station comprising;

a transmission unit to transmit a single docking signal comprising a repetitive waveform having a first signal pulse and a second signal pulse embedded within each repetition of the repetitive waveform and wherein the docking signal is transmitted to both a short-distance docking guide area and to a long-distance docking guide area; and

a controller to control the docking signal to adjust a duration of a peak intensity of the first signal pulse to be different than a duration of a peak intensity of the second signal pulse transmitted by the transmission unit,

and the docking station is configured to communicate with a robot cleaner comprising;

a reception unit configured to receive the docking signal from the docking station; and

a control unit configured to determine if the received docking signal is received in the short-distance docking guide area or in the long-distance guide area based on the received docking signal.

17. The docking system according to claim 12 wherein the transmission unit comprises a first transmission unit to transmit a first docking signal comprising the first signal pulse and the second signal pulse and a second transmission unit to transmit a second docking signal comprising a third signal pulse and a fourth signal pulse to both the short-distance docking guide area and to the long-distance docking guide area.

18. The docking system according to claim 17, wherein the first docking signal and the second docking guide signal are distinguished from each other by a bit array.

19. The docking system according to claim 17, wherein the first transmission unit transmits the first docking signal at a spread angle of at least ninety degrees from the second docking signal transmitted by the second transmission unit thereby forming a docking area in a central area of a front side of the docking station located between the first docking signal and the second docking signal.

20. The docking system according to claim 19, wherein the docking area is implemented as a non-signal area.

21. The docking system according to claim 19, wherein the first docking signal and the second docking signal are transmitted so as to not overlap with each other.

22. The docking system according to claim 19, wherein the docking station further comprises a third transmission unit to transmit a third docking signal to the docking area from the central portion of the front side of the main body of the docking station within a predetermined angle range, and wherein the first transmission unit and the second transmission unit are mounted on either side of the third transmission unit.

23. The docking system according to claim 19, wherein the docking station further comprises a third transmission unit to transmit a third docking signal to the docking area from the central portion of the front side of the main body of the docking station within a predetermined angle range, such that the docking area does not overlap the short-distance docking guide area or the long-distance docking guide area.

26. The docking system according to claim 12, wherein the control unit is further configured to determine if the received docking signal is an unreflected wave received directly from the transmission unit or if the received docking signal is a reflected wave produced by reflection of the docking signal by an obstacle.

27. The docking system according to claim 26, wherein the control unit controls a movement of the robot cleaner based on whether the control unit determines the received docking signal to be the reflected wave or the unreflected wave.

24. A docking system comprising:

a docking station comprising;

a first transmission unit, disposed on the docking station, to transmit a single first docking signal comprising a first signal pulse and a second signal pulse to both a short-distance docking guide area and to a long-distance docking guide area;

a second transmission unit, disposed on the docking station, to transmit a single second docking signal comprising a third signal pulse and a fourth signal pulse to both the short-distance docking guide area and to the long-distance docking guide area; and

a controller to control the first docking signal to adjust a duration of a peak intensity of the first signal pulse to be different than a duration of a peak intensity of the second signal pulse transmitted by the first transmission unit; and

a robot cleaner comprising;

a reception unit to receive the first docking signal from the first transmission unit or the second docking signal from the second transmission unit; and

a control unit configured to determine if the received first docking signal or second docking signal is an unreflected wave received directly from the first transmission unit or the second transmission unit or if the received first docking signal or second docking signal is a reflected wave produced by reflection of the first docking signal or the second docking signal by an obstacle.

25. The system according to claim 24, wherein the control unit controls a movement of the robot cleaner based on whether the received first docking signal or second docking signal is determined to be the reflected wave or the unreflected wave.