402results about "Docking stations/operations" patented technology

A method for energy management in a robotic device includes providing a base station for mating with the robotic device, determining a quantity of energy stored in an energy storage unit of the robotic device, and performing a predetermined task based at least in part on the quantity of energy stored. Also disclosed are systems for emitting avoidance signals to prevent inadvertent contact between the robot and the base station, and systems for emitting homing signals to allow the robotic device to accurately dock with the base station.

A system includes a docking station, for location on a surface to be worked, and a self-propelled working tool. The station has a primary transmission part. The tool has a body, a surface-engaging wheel, and a secondary transmission part. The station and the tool can establish contact with each other and the tool can drive up to the station and achieve a docking position wherein the transmission parts contact and cooperate. In one aspect, the secondary transmission part is located on an upper portion of the body. In another aspect, the station includes a part spaced upwardly away from the surface, with the primary transmission part located thereon and directed downwardly. In another aspect, a portion of the body is located beneath a portion of the part upon which the primary part is located and the wheel remains engaged with the surface when in the docking position.

The present invention discloses a system for automatically exchanging cleaning tools of a robot cleaner and a method therefor. The system for automatically exchanging the cleaning tools of the robot cleaner includes the robot cleaner for deciding whether a currently-mounted first cleaning tool is suitable for a bottom state of a cleaning area, and returning to and being docked on an exchange unit when the first cleaning tool is not suitable for the bottom state, and the exchange unit for exchanging the first cleaning tool currently mounted on the robot cleaner with a second cleaning tool suitable for the bottom state when the robot cleaner is docked.

Disclosed is a mobile robot system having a plurality of exchangeable work modules, thereby providing a mobile robot capable of performing various functions at a low cost. The mobile robot system comprises a plurality of work modules, which perform different works, respectively; a module station for connecting the plurality of work modules; and a mobile robot, which selects and connects to one of the plurality of work modules from the module station according to a work task to be performed. The mobile robot autonomously operates to perform the work task.

A robot cleaner includes a main brush to sweep or scatter dust off a floor, a main brush motor to rotate the main brush, a Revolution Per Minute (RPM) detector to detect an RPM of the main brush motor, and a control unit to determine a type of floor according to the RPM of the main brush motor acquired by the RPM detector and control an operation of the robot cleaner based on the determined type of floor. A carpet mode to clean only a carpet area and a hard floor mode to clean a hard floor area excluding the carpet area are given based on detected information relating to the material of a floor, which enables partial cleaning with respect to a cleaning area selected by a user and adjustment in the number of cleaning operations or the intensity of cleaning according to the material of the floor.

A battery charging station, for a robot, includes a base, two side-walls barriers, a stop, a supporting arm, a charging connector, and a transmitter. The side-walls barriers are separately mounted on the base. The stop is mounted on the back of the base to form a docking space together with the barriers and the base. The supporting arm is cantilever mounted on the stop by one free end thereof with the other end extending into the space over the docking space. The charging connector is mounted on the free end of the supporting arm and is configured for providing an electrical connection between the robot and a power source. The transmitter is positioned on the upper surface of the supporting arm and is configured for emitting signals for the robot to locate the re battery charging station.

The invention relates to a ground cleaning robot. The ground cleaning robot comprises a charging seat and a robot main body, wherein a transmission unit is arranged on the charging seat and comprises a pair of lateral transmitting elements which are arranged on the left side and the right side of the charging seat; each lateral transmitting element can alternatively transmit far signals and near signals with the same transmission angle and different transmission radiuses; the far signals and the near signals respectively form a far signal coverage area and a near signal coverage area; the right side part of the far signal coverage area on the left side and the left side part of the far signal coverage area on the right side are overlapped to form a butt joint area; the robot main body comprises rechargeable batteries and a receiving unit; the receiving unit at least comprises three receiving elements; the three receiving elements are respectively arranged at the front end, the front end left side and the front end right side of the robot main body. With arrangement of the three receiving elements and the two lateral transmitting elements on the charging seat, the robot can utilize a simple method to realize charging butt joint between the robot main body and the charging seat.

A method for docking an autonomous mobile floor cleaning robot with a charging dock, the robot including a receiver coil and a structured light sensor, the charging dock including a docking bay and a transmitter coil, includes: positioning the robot in a prescribed docked position in the docking bay using the structured light sensor and by sensing a magnetic field emanating from the transmitter coil; and thereafter induction charging the robot using the receiver coil and the transmitter coil with the robot in the docked position.

A robot cleaning device includes a debris detecting unit. The robot cleaning device includes a body, a driving unit to enable the body to travel, a drum brush unit provided at the body, to sweep up debris, using a brush and a rotating drum, a debris box to store the debris swept up by the drum brush unit, a debris detecting unit to detect whether debris has been introduced into the debris box through the drum brush unit during a cleaning operation, and a controller to determine whether debris is introduced into the debris box and whether debris has been accumulated in the debris box in a predetermined amount, based on introduction or non-introduction of debris detected by the debris detecting unit.

A system includes a docking station, for location on a surface to be worked, and a self-propelled working tool. The station has a primary transmission part. The tool has a body, a surface-engaging wheel, and a secondary transmission part. The station and the tool can establish contact with each other and the tool can drive up to the station and achieve a docking position wherein the transmission parts contact and cooperate. In one aspect, the secondary transmission part is located on an upper portion of the body. In another aspect, the station includes a part spaced upwardly away from the surface, with the primary transmission part located thereon and directed downwardly. In another aspect, a portion of the body is located beneath a portion of the part upon which the primary part is located and the wheel remains engaged with the surface when in the docking position.

A coverage robot docking station includes a base having a robot receiving surface. The base defines a power receptacle for receiving a power supply. The base also defines a beacon receptacle for receiving a beacon. A side wall extends from the base, where the side wall and the receiving surface of the base define a robot holder. At least one charging contact is disposed on the robot receiving surface for charging a received robot.

A robot cleaner includes a body to travel on a floor, an obstacle sensing unit to sense an obstacle approaching the body, an auxiliary cleaning unit mounted to a bottom of the body, to be extendable and retractable, and a control unit to control extension or retraction of the auxiliary cleaning unit when the obstacle is sensed, through adjustment of an extension or retraction degree of the auxiliary cleaning unit.

The invention discloses a cleaning robot and a control method thereof and belongs to the field of smart home. The method comprises: acquiring a marked position of a charging pile in a map, wherein the map is a map drawn by the cleaning robot; controlling the cleaning robot to move to a position in front of the marked position and identifying the charging pile; if the charging pile is not identified, generating a searching path based on the marked position; controlling the cleaning robot to move forward according to the searching path, and identifying the charging pile in a movement process. By adopting the cleaning robot and the control method thereof, the problems that an actual position of the charging pile is different from the marked position in the map and the cleaning robot cannot find the charging pile and cannot perform pile returning action are solved and the effects of improving the intelligent degree of the cleaning robot and reducing manual intervention are realized.

A robot system and a control method thereof in which, when a robot is located in a docking region, the robot calculates a distance by emitting infrared rays and detecting ultrasonic waves oscillated from a charging station, measures a distance from the charging station and performs docking with charging station. The distance between the robot and the charging station is precisely measured, thereby performing smooth and correct docking of the robot with the charging station. Further, the robot emits infrared rays only while performing docking with the charging station and thus reduces power consumption required for infrared ray emission, and wakes up a circuit in the charging station based on the infrared rays emitted from the robot and thus reduces power consumption of the charging station.

The invention relates to the technical field of cleaning robots, and particularly relates to a cleaning robot and a cleaning robot system. The cleaning robot comprises a mopping piece for mopping the floor, therefore, the mopping function can be realized, stubborn dirty marks on the floor can be cleaned up, and the ground cleaning effect can be improved. Furthermore, the cleaning effect of the cleaning robot can be further improved by increasing the relative motion between the mopping piece and the floor and leading the mopping piece to swing relative to the floor, and the like.

A robot cleaner (100) includes a main brush (160) to sweep or scatter dust off a floor, a main brush motor to rotate the main brush, a Revolution Per Minute (RPM) detector to detect an RPM of the main brush motor, and a control unit to determine a type of floor according to the RPM of the main brush motor acquired by the RPM detector and control an operation of the robot cleaner (100) based on the determined type of floor. A carpet mode to clean only a carpet area and a hard floor mode to clean a hard floor area excluding the carpet area are given based on detected information relating to the material of a floor, which enables partial cleaning with respect to a cleaning area selected by a user and adjustment in the number of cleaning operations or the intensity of cleaning according to the material of the floor.

A cleaning robot includes a propulsion mechanism to propel the robot on a floor, a robotic arm with a gripper at its distal end, and a plurality of different cleaning tools, each cleaning tool including a handle that is configured to be grasped by the gripper. At least one of a plurality of receptacles is configured to hold one of the cleaning tools. A controller is configured to autonomously operate the propulsion system to transport the robot to region to be cleaned, operate the robotic arm to bring the gripper to a receptacle that is holding a selected cleaning tool, operate the gripper to grasp a handle of the selected cleaning tool and to manipulate the cleaning tool when cleaning the region, and operate the robotic arm and the gripper to return the selected cleaning tool to its receptacle.

A robot cleaning system comprises a cleaning robot, a mopping module capable of being detachably connected with the cleaning robot, and a base station allowing the cleaning robot to park. The cleaningrobot is characterized in that the cleaning robot comprises a main body; a moving module arranged on the main body and driving the cleaning robot to move on the working surface; and a connecting assembly used for detachably arranging the mopping module on the robot body; the base station comprises: a storage module used for storing at least one mopping module; an operation position formed on thebase station, wherein an interval space is formed between the operation position and the storage module so that the cleaning robot can be parked to replace the mopping module; and a transmission module used for transmitting the mopping module between the storage module and the operation position; the robot cleaning system further comprises a control unit, and the control unit controls the connecting assembly to install and / or uninstall the corresponding mopping module at the operation position so that the mopping module can be replaced by the robot. The cleaning robot has the beneficial effects that the cleaning robot is more intelligent, and the corresponding base station is compact in structure and small in occupied area.

A coverage robot includes a chassis, a drive system, and a cleaning assembly. The cleaning assembly includes a housing and at least one driven cleaning roller including an elongated core with end mounting features defining a central longitudinal axis of rotation, multiple floor cleaning bristles extending radially outward from the core, and at least one compliant flap extending radially outward from the core to sweep a floor surface. The flap is configured to prevent errant filaments from spooling tightly about the core to aid subsequent removal of the filaments. In another aspect, a coverage robot includes a chassis, a drive system, a controller, and a cleaning assembly. The cleaning assembly includes a housing and at least one driven cleaning roller. The coverage robot includes a roller cleaning tool carried by the chassis and configured to longitudinally traverse the roller to remove accumulated debris from the cleaning roller.

Provided are a method and apparatus for ensuring a cleaning robot to return to a charge station. The method includes the steps of: (a) measuring a battery usable time, a running speed, and an actual return distance of a cleaning robot during a cleaning operation; (b) calculating an allowable return distance on the basis of the battery usable time and the running speed; (c) comparing the actual return distance with the allowable return distance; and (d) returning the cleaning robot to the charge station when the actual return distance is larger than the allowable return distance as a result of the comparison. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the cleaning robot from being not returned to the charge station, thereby providing convenience to a user.

A battery charger having a charging side at the body thereof for receiving and charging a mobile robotic vacuum cleaner is disclosed. The charging side has a groove, a sound wave transmitter mounted in the groove and a baffle mounted in the groove in front side of the sound wave transmitter for reflecting the sound wave transmitted by the ultrasonic transmitter toward two opposite lateral sides of the charging side along the groove to form two opposing sound wave beams to form two opposing sound wave beams for receiving by a sound wave receiver of the mobile robotic vacuum cleaner for determination of the steering direction. Subject to the guide of the sound wave beams, the mobile robotic vacuum cleaner is accurately guided to the battery charger and will not pass over or impact the battery charger.

The invention provides a mother and child robot cooperative work system and an operation method thereof. The mother and child robot cooperative work system comprises: a mother robot (MR), a charging base (1000) and a child robot (CR), wherein the mother robot (MR) is provided with a control unit and an operation unit; the mother robot (MR) is in a wireless communication connection with the child robot (CR); the mother robot (MR) performs a cleaning operation in an operation area (S) under the control of the control unit, and identifies a cleanable area and an area requiring cleaning assistance in the cleaning process; the control unit in the mother robot (MR) controls the child robot (CR) to cooperatively complete a cleaning operation in the area requiring cleaning assistance after completion of cleaning in the cleanable area; and the mother robot (MR) is provided with a child robot position and posture sensing unit for inputting child robot position and posture information into the control unit, and the control unit controls the child robot (CR) to act according to needs. According to the mother and child robot cooperative work system and the operation method thereof, the mother robot effectively positions the child robot and controls the child robot to participate or not participate in a current operation, so as to realize reasonable assignment of operations for the mother robot and the child robot, and overcome a height obstacle in an operating environment. The mother and child robot cooperative work system has the advantages of simplified structure and high working efficiency.

The invention discloses a cleaning control method, a cleaning control device, a cleaning robot and a storage medium, and relates to the technical field of intelligent equipment. According to the cleaning control method, the cleaning robot acquires a map of a space to be cleaned as a first space map, divides the space to be cleaned into at least one cleaning area based on the first space map, setsa cleaning sequence for the cleaning area, and sequentially performs cleaning operation on the cleaning area of the space to be cleaned according to the cleaning sequence by taking the cleaning area as a unit. When the cleaning robot performs the cleaning operation, the cleaning operation is performed on the cleaning area of the space to be cleaned according to the cleaning sequence, so that the cleaning robot can be prevented from polluting the cleaned cleaning area when moving to the area where the base station is located for charging or cleaning a cleaning piece, the cleaning effect is enhanced, and the cleaning efficiency is improved.

The invention belongs to the technical field of cleaning equipment, and relates to a base station. The base station comprises a base station foundation and a cleaning tank, wherein the cleaning tank is arranged above the base station foundation; a liquid inlet structure, a liquid outlet structure and a protruding part are arranged on the cleaning tank; the protruding part is used for scraping anddecontaminating a mopping and wiping part of a cleaning robot; a sewage collecting cavity is formed between the base station foundation and the cleaning tank; and the liquid outlet structure communicates with the sewage collecting cavity. According to the base station, rubbish of the mapping and wiping part is scraped by the protruding part on the cleaning tank and falls into the cleaning tank, and sewage flows into the sewage collecting cavity formed between the base station foundation and the cleaning tank through the liquid outlet structure. After the cleaning is completed, the rubbish on the cleaning tank can be cleaned; and the base station is convenient to clean and low in cleaning difficulty, so that the user experience is improved.

A robot cleaner includes a body to travel on a floor, an obstacle sensing unit to sense an obstacle approaching the body, an auxiliary cleaning unit mounted to a bottom of the body, to be extendable and retractable, and a control unit to control extension or retraction of the auxiliary cleaning unit when the obstacle is sensed. The control unit recognizes a zone of a charger and performs a control operation to prevent the auxiliary cleaning unit from extending in the charger zone.