Going back and charging system for sweeping robot and method for controlling the same

• US 9,989,968 B2
• Filed: 08/12/2016
• Issued: 06/05/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 11/20/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Midea Robozone Technology Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Jiangsu Midea Cleaning Appliances Co., Ltd. (Midea Group Co., Ltd)
• Inventors: Shen, Qiang, Shen, Luokun
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Dalena
• Application Number:
  US15/235,731
• Publication Number:
  US 20170147001A1
• Time in Patent Office: 662 Days
• Field of Search: 701 23, 701 28, 701300, 701523, 700245, 700258, 700218, 700259, 31856812, 31856816, 320109
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 2201/02 Docking stations; Docking operations
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/00 Control of position, course, altitude or attitude of land, water, air or space vehicles, e.g. using automatic pilots drive control systems specially adapted for autonomous road vehicles B60W60/00
• 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 1/0242 using non-visible light signals, e.g. IR or UV signals

Abstract

A going back and charging system for a sweeping robot and a method for controlling the same are provided. The system includes: a charging station, configured to emit infrared signals to divide an area in front of the charging station into six different signal regions; six infrared receiving tubes; and a going back and charging control device, configured to control the six infrared receiving tubes to be turned on if the sweeping robot needs to be charged, to control the sweeping robot to walk toward the middle near field region if any one of the six infrared receiving tubes receives an infrared signal emitted from the charging station, and to control the sweeping robot to continue to walk until the sweeping robot docks with the charging station successfully if the fifth infrared receiving tube and the sixth infrared receiving tube receive an infrared signal of the middle near field region.

Claims

1. A going back and charging system for a sweeping robot, comprising:

a charging station, configured to emit a plurality of differently encoded groups of infrared signals, so as to divide an area in front of the charging station into six different signal regions, wherein the six different signal regions comprise;

a left near field region, a middle near field region, a right near field region, a left far field region, a middle far field region and a right far field region;

six infrared receiving tubes, disposed on the sweeping robot, wherein a first infrared receiving tube, a second infrared receiving tube, a third infrared receiving tube and a fourth infrared receiving tube are respectively disposed at four corners of the sweeping robot in a symmetrical manner with respect to a front-rear direction and a left-right direction, a fifth infrared receiving tube and a sixth infrared receiving tube are disposed at a front end or a rear end of the sweeping robot, and the fifth infrared receiving tube and the sixth infrared receiving tube are symmetrical with respect to the front-rear direction; and

a going back and charging control device, configured to;

control the six infrared receiving tubes to be turned on if it is determined that the sweeping robot needs to be charged;

control the sweeping robot to walk toward the middle near field region if any one of the six infrared receiving tubes receives an infrared signal emitted from the charging station; and

control the sweeping robot to continue to walk until the sweeping robot docks with the charging station successfully if the fifth infrared receiving tube and the sixth infrared receiving tube receive an infrared signal of the middle near field region.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein an angle between a receiving surface of the first infrared receiving tube and a receiving surface of the second infrared receiving tube is 90°

, an angle between the receiving surface of the first infrared receiving tube and a receiving surface of the third infrared receiving tube is 90°

, an angle between the receiving surface of the second infrared receiving tube and a receiving surface of the fourth infrared receiving tube is 90°

, an angle between the receiving surface of the third infrared receiving tube and the receiving surface of the fourth infrared receiving tube is 90°

, and an angle between a receiving surface of the fifth infrared receiving tube and a receiving surface of the sixth infrared receiving tube is 90°

.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein if the fifth infrared receiving tube and the sixth infrared receiving tube are disposed at the rear end of the sweeping robot,

if it is determined according to a received infrared signal that the sweeping robot is in the left far field region or in the right far field region, the going back and charging control device is configured to:

control the sweeping robot to walk toward the left near field region from the left far field region or to walk toward the right near field region from the right far field region;

control the sweeping robot to walk toward the middle near field region, after the sweeping robot enters the left near field region or the right near field region; and

control the rear end of the sweeping robot to align with and to approach the charging station until the rear end of the sweeping robot docks with the charging station successfully, after the sweeping robot enters the middle near field region;

or

if it is determined according to a received infrared signal that the sweeping robot is in the left near field region or in the right near field region, the going back and charging control device is configured to;

control the sweeping robot to walk toward the middle near field region; and

control the rear end of the sweeping robot to align with and to approach the charging station until the rear end of the sweeping robot docks with the charging station successfully, after the sweeping robot enters the middle near field region;

or

if it is determined according to a received infrared signal that the sweeping robot is in the middle near field region, the going back and charging control device is configured to;

control the rear end of the sweeping robot to align with and to approach the charging station until the rear end of the sweeping robot docks with the charging station successfully;

or

if it is determined according to a received infrared signal that the sweeping robot is in the middle far field region, the going back and charging control device is configured to;

control the sweeping robot to walk toward the middle near field region; and

control the rear end of the sweeping robot to align with and to approach the charging station until the rear end of the sweeping robot docks with the charging station successfully, after the sweeping robot enters the middle near field region.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein if the fifth infrared receiving tube and the sixth infrared receiving tube are disposed at the front end of the sweeping robot,

if it is determined according to a received infrared signal that the sweeping robot is in the left far field region or in the right far field region, the going back and charging control device is configured to:

control the sweeping robot to walk toward the left near field region from the left far field region or to walk toward the right near field region from the right far field region;

control the sweeping robot to walk toward the middle near field region, after the sweeping robot enters the left near field region or the right near field region; and

control the front end of the sweeping robot to align with and to approach the charging station until the front end of the sweeping robot docks with the charging station successfully, after the sweeping robot enters the middle near field region;

or

if it is determined according to a received infrared signal that the sweeping robot is in the left near field region or in the right near field region, the going back and charging control device is configured to;

control the sweeping robot to walk toward the middle near field region; and

control the front end of the sweeping robot to align with and to approach the charging station until the front end of the sweeping robot docks with the charging station successfully, after the sweeping robot enters the middle near field region;

or

if it is determined according to a received infrared signal that the sweeping robot is in the middle near field region, the going back and charging control device is configured to;

control the front end of the sweeping robot to align with and to approach the charging station until the front end of the sweeping robot docks with the charging station successfully;

or

if it is determined according to a received infrared signal that the sweeping robot is in the middle far field region, the going back and charging control device is configured to;

control the sweeping robot to walk toward the middle near field region; and

control the front end of the sweeping robot to align with and to approach the charging station until the front end of the sweeping robot docks with the charging station successfully, after the sweeping robot enters the middle near field region.

5. The system according to claim 1, wherein it is determined according to the received infrared signal that the sweeping robot is in the left far field region or in the right far field region or in the middle far field region, the going back and charging control device is further configured to:

block the infrared receiving tubes at the rear end of the sweeping robot, and control the sweeping robot to walk at a first preset speed according to an infrared signal received by the infrared receiving tubes at the front end of the sweeping robot.

6. The system according to claim 1, wherein if it is determined according to the received infrared signal that the sweeping robot is in the left near field region or in the right near field region, the going back and charging control device is further configured to:

control the sweeping robot to rotate to right by 90°

according to an infrared signal received from the left near field region, or control the sweeping robot to rotate to left by 90°

according to an infrared signal received from the right near field region, and then control the sweeping robot to walk toward the middle near field region at a second preset speed.

7. The system according to claim 1, wherein if it is determined according to the received infrared signal that the sweeping robot is in the middle near field region, the going back and charging control device is further configured to:

control the sweeping robot to rotate, until the fifth infrared receiving tube and the sixth infrared receiving tube can receive the infrared signal of the middle near field region.

8. A method for controlling a going back and charging system for a sweeping robot, wherein the going back and charging system comprises:

a charging station and six infrared receiving tubes disposed on the sweeping robot, the charging station is configured to emit a plurality of differently encoded groups of infrared signals, so as to divide an area in front of the charging station into six different signal regions, the six different signal regions comprise;

a left near field region, a middle near field region, a right near field region, a left far field region, a middle far field region and a right far field region;

a first infrared receiving tube, a second infrared receiving tube, a third infrared receiving tube and a fourth infrared receiving tube are respectively disposed at four corners of the sweeping robot in a symmetrical manner with respect to a front-rear direction and a left-right direction, a fifth infrared receiving tube and a sixth infrared receiving tube are disposed at a front end or a rear end of the sweeping robot, and the fifth infrared receiving tube and the sixth infrared receiving tube are symmetrical with respect to the front-rear direction;

the method comprises;

controlling the six infrared receiving tubes to be turned on if it is determined that the sweeping robot needs to be charged;

controlling the sweeping robot to walk toward the middle near field region if any one of the six infrared receiving tubes receives an infrared signal emitted from the charging station; and

controlling the sweeping robot to continue to walk until the sweeping robot docks with the charging station successfully if the fifth infrared receiving tube and the sixth infrared receiving tube receive an infrared signal of the middle near field region.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein an angle between a receiving surface of the first infrared receiving tube and a receiving surface of the second infrared receiving tube is 90°

, an angle between the receiving surface of the first infrared receiving tube and a receiving surface of the third infrared receiving tube is 90°

, an angle between the receiving surface of the second infrared receiving tube and a receiving surface of the fourth infrared receiving tube is 90°

, an angle between the receiving surface of the third infrared receiving tube and the receiving surface of the fourth infrared receiving tube is 90°

, and an angle between a receiving surface of the fifth infrared receiving tube and a receiving surface of the sixth infrared receiving tube is 90°

.

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein controlling the sweeping robot to walk toward the middle near field region comprises:

if it is determined according to a received infrared signal that the sweeping robot is in the left far field region or in the right far field region, controlling the sweeping robot to walk toward the left near field region from the left far field region or to walk toward the right near field region from the right far field region, and controlling the sweeping robot to walk toward the middle near field region from the left near field region or from the right near field region after the sweeping robot enters the left near field region or the right near field region;

or

if it is determined according to a received infrared signal that the sweeping robot is in the left near field region or in the right near field region, controlling the sweeping robot to walk toward the middle near field region from the left near field region or from the right near field region;

or

if it is determined according to a received infrared signal that the sweeping robot is in the middle far field region, controlling the sweeping robot to walk toward the middle near field region from the middle far field region.

11. The method according to claim 8, wherein if it is determined according to the received infrared signal that the sweeping robot is in the left far field region or in the right far field region or in the middle far field region, the method further comprises:

blocking the infrared receiving tubes at the rear end of the sweeping robot, and controlling the sweeping robot to walk at a first preset speed according to an infrared signal received by the infrared receiving tubes at the front end of the sweeping robot.

12. The method according to claim 8, wherein if it is determined according to the received infrared signal that the sweeping robot is in the left near field region or in the right near field region, the method further comprises:

controlling the sweeping robot to rotate to right by 90°

according to an infrared signal received from the left near field region, or controlling the sweeping robot to rotate to left by 90°

according to an infrared signal received from the right near field region, and controlling the sweeping robot to walk toward the middle near field region at a second preset speed.

13. The method according to claim 8, wherein if it is determined according to the received infrared signal that the sweeping robot is in the middle near field region, the method further comprises:

controlling the sweeping robot to rotate, until the fifth infrared receiving tube and the sixth infrared receiving tube can receive the infrared signal of the middle near field region.

14. The method according to claim 8, wherein

if the fifth infrared receiving tube and the sixth infrared receiving tube are disposed at the rear end of the sweeping robot, controlling the sweeping robot to continue to walk until the sweeping robot docks with the charging station successfully comprises:

controlling the rear end of the sweeping robot to align with and to approach the charging station until the rear end of the sweeping robot docks with the charging station successfully;

if the fifth infrared receiving tube and the sixth infrared receiving tube are disposed at the front end of the sweeping robot, controlling the sweeping robot to continue to walk until the sweeping robot docks with the charging station successfully comprises;

controlling the front end of the sweeping robot to align with and to approach the charging station until the front end of the sweeping robot docks with the charging station successfully.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein instructions that, when executed by a processor of a device, causes the device to perform a method for controlling a going back and charging system for a sweeping robot, wherein

the going back and charging system comprises:

a charging station and six infrared receiving tubes disposed on the sweeping robot, the charging station is configured to emit a plurality of differently encoded groups of infrared signals, so as to divide an area in front of the charging station into six different signal regions, the six different signal regions comprise;

a left near field region, a middle near field region, a right near field region, a left far field region, a middle far field region and a right far field region;

a first infrared receiving tube, a second infrared receiving tube, a third infrared receiving tube and a fourth infrared receiving tube are respectively disposed at four corners of the sweeping robot in a symmetrical manner with respect to a front-rear direction and a left-right direction, a fifth infrared receiving tube and a sixth infrared receiving tube are disposed at a front end or a rear end of the sweeping robot, and the fifth infrared receiving tube and the sixth infrared receiving tube are symmetrical with respect to the front-rear direction;

the method comprises;

controlling the six infrared receiving tubes to be turned on if it is determined that the sweeping robot needs to be charged;

controlling the sweeping robot to walk toward the middle near field region if any one of the six infrared receiving tubes receives an infrared signal emitted from the charging station; and

controlling the sweeping robot to continue to walk until the sweeping robot docks with the charging station successfully if the fifth infrared receiving tube and the sixth infrared receiving tube receive an infrared signal of the middle near field region.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 15, wherein controlling the sweeping robot to walk toward the middle near field region comprises:

if it is determined according to a received infrared signal that the sweeping robot is in the left far field region or in the right far field region, controlling the sweeping robot to walk toward the left near field region from the left far field region or to walk toward the right near field region from the right far field region, and controlling the sweeping robot to walk toward the middle near field region from the left near field region or from the right near field region after the sweeping robot enters the left near field region or the right near field region;

or

if it is determined according to a received infrared signal that the sweeping robot is in the left near field region or in the right near field region, controlling the sweeping robot to walk toward the middle near field region from the left near field region or from the right near field region;

or

if it is determined according to a received infrared signal that the sweeping robot is in the middle far field region, controlling the sweeping robot to walk toward the middle near field region from the middle far field region.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 15, wherein if it is determined according to the received infrared signal that the sweeping robot is in the left far field region or in the right far field region or in the middle far field region, the method further comprises:

blocking the infrared receiving tubes at the rear end of the sweeping robot, and controlling the sweeping robot to walk at a first preset speed according to an infrared signal received by the infrared receiving tubes at the front end of the sweeping robot.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 15, wherein if it is determined according to the received infrared signal that the sweeping robot is in the left near field region or in the right near field region, the method further comprises:

controlling the sweeping robot to rotate to right by 90°

according to an infrared signal received from the left near field region, or controlling the sweeping robot to rotate to left by 90°

according to an infrared signal received from the right near field region, and controlling the sweeping robot to walk toward the middle near field region at a second preset speed.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 15, if it is determined according to the received infrared signal that the sweeping robot is in the middle near field region, the method further comprises:

controlling the sweeping robot to rotate, until the fifth infrared receiving tube and the sixth infrared receiving tube can receive the infrared signal of the middle near field region.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 15,

if the fifth infrared receiving tube and the sixth infrared receiving tube are disposed at the rear end of the sweeping robot, controlling the sweeping robot to continue to walk until the sweeping robot docks with the charging station successfully comprises:

controlling the rear end of the sweeping robot to align with and to approach the charging station until the rear end of the sweeping robot docks with the charging station successfully;

if the fifth infrared receiving tube and the sixth infrared receiving tube are disposed at the front end of the sweeping robot, controlling the sweeping robot to continue to walk until the sweeping robot docks with the charging station successfully comprises;

controlling the front end of the sweeping robot to align with and to approach the charging station until the front end of the sweeping robot docks with the charging station successfully.