Sweeping Robot

Abstract

The present invention relates to a sweeping robot. The sweeping robot comprises: a body, which is used to sweep while walking in a forward direction; a front camera, which is installed on the body and located at the front end of the body in the forward direction; and a rear camera, which is installed on the body and located at the rear end of the body in the forward direction. In the sweeping robot, the front end and the rear end of the body in the forward direction are respectively installed with a front camera and a rear camera, the front camera is used to detect the environment in front of the body, and the rear camera is used to detect the environment behind the body, which expands the detectable spatial angle (i.e., spatial range), which is beneficial for the sweeping robot to accurately obtain the actual situation on site during operation and perform corresponding reaction actions, avoiding collisions or being trapped.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of intelligent household appliances, and in particular to a sweeping robot. Background Art

[0002] With the development of economy and the progress of society, people have higher and higher requirements for the quality of life, so some intelligent appliances that can liberate human labor have emerged. Among them, sweeping robots, as a kind of intelligent appliances, play an increasingly important role in people's daily life.

[0003] A sweeping robot generally includes a housing and a roller brush assembly, a walking assembly and a traveling assembly mounted on the housing. The roller brush assembly is used to collect dust on the ground, the traveling assembly is used to drive the sweeping robot to move, and the power supply assembly is used to provide working energy for the roller brush assembly and the traveling assembly.

[0004] Since sweeping robots need to operate automatically, and there are often various obstacles or obstructions in the cleaning environment, sweeping robots need to have the ability to detect the environment. However, traditional sweeping robots are limited by the spatial angle and have great limitations in detecting the environment, which makes it impossible for sweeping robots to accurately obtain the actual situation on site and respond accordingly during operation, and they are prone to collisions or being trapped. Summary of the invention

[0005] Based on this, it is necessary to provide a sweeping robot that improves the above defects, in view of the fact that the sweeping robots in the prior art are restricted by the spatial angle and have great limitations in detecting the environment, which results in the sweeping robots being unable to accurately obtain the actual situation on site and perform corresponding response actions during operation, and are prone to collisions or getting trapped.

[0006] A sweeping robot, comprising:

[0007] The body is used for cleaning while traveling in the forward direction;

[0008] A front camera is mounted on the body and is located at the front end of the body in the forward direction; and

[0009] The rear camera is installed on the fuselage and is located at the rear end of the fuselage in the forward direction.

[0010] In one of the embodiments, the rear camera is capable of rotating relative to the body around a rotation axis.

[0011] In one of the embodiments, the rotation axis is perpendicular to the advancing direction.

[0012] In one embodiment, the rear camera includes a camera body, a mounting bracket and a rotating shaft, the camera body is mounted on the mounting bracket, the rotating shaft is fixedly connected to the mounting bracket and is rotatably connected to the body.

[0013] In one embodiment, the body has a support ear, and the support ear is provided with a first slot. The rotating shaft can be inserted into the first slot and can rotate relative to the support ear.

[0014] In one embodiment, the rear camera further includes a camera cover, the mounting bracket has a recess for accommodating the camera body, the camera cover is disposed in the recess, and the camera body is confined in the recess;

[0015] The camera cover is provided with a through hole corresponding to the camera body.

[0016] In one of the embodiments, the mounting bracket further has a first snap-fitting portion, and the camera cover has a first snap-fitting portion capable of snapping with the first snap-fitting portion.

[0017] In one embodiment, the first snap-fitting portion includes a snap-fitting hole, and the first snap-fitting portion includes an undercut that can be snap-fitted into the snap-fitting hole.

[0018] In one embodiment, the mounting bracket further has a second snap-fitting portion, and the camera cover further has a second snap-fitting portion capable of snapping with the second snap-fitting portion;

[0019] The first clip-fitting portion and the second clip-fitting portion are respectively located at two opposite sides of the recess.

[0020] In one embodiment, the second snap-fitting portion has two snap-fitting blocks arranged opposite to each other, a snap-fitting position is formed between the two snap-fitting blocks, and at least a portion of the second snap-fitting portion can be inserted into the snap-fitting position and snap-fitted with the two snap-fitting blocks.

[0021] In one embodiment, a protrusion is provided on one side of the two clamping blocks facing each other, and second clamping grooves are provided on two opposite sides of the second clamping portion, and each second clamping groove is used for the corresponding protrusion to be clamped into.

[0022] In one of the embodiments, the sweeping robot further includes a rotation driving assembly, which is mounted on the body and is transmission-connected to the rear camera.

[0023] The above-mentioned sweeping robot has a front camera and a rear camera installed at the front and rear ends of the body in the forward direction respectively. The front camera is used to detect the environment in front of the body, and the rear camera is used to detect the environment behind the body, which expands the detectable spatial angle (i.e., spatial range), which is beneficial for the sweeping robot to accurately obtain the actual situation on site during operation and perform corresponding response actions, avoiding collisions or being trapped. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a sweeping robot in one embodiment of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 2 for Figure 1 The schematic diagram of the exploded structure of the sweeping robot shown;

[0026] Figure 3 for Figure 2 The schematic diagram of the structure of the rear camera of the sweeping robot shown;

[0027] Figure 4 for Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the exploded structure of the rear camera shown;

[0028] Figure 5 for Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the structure of the mounting bracket and the rotating shaft of the rear camera shown;

[0029] Figure 6 for Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the structure of the mounting bracket and the rotating shaft shown in another viewing angle;

[0030] Figure 7 for Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the structure of the upper cover of the sweeping robot shown;

[0031] Figure 8 for Figure 7 A partial enlarged view of the upper cover at point A is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0032] In order to make the above-mentioned objects, features and advantages of the present invention more obvious and easy to understand, the specific embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the following description, many specific details are set forth to facilitate a full understanding of the present invention. However, the present invention can be implemented in many other ways different from those described herein, and those skilled in the art can make similar improvements without violating the connotation of the present invention, so the present invention is not limited by the specific embodiments disclosed below.

[0033] In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that the terms "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", "clockwise", "counterclockwise", "axial", "radial", "circumferential" and the like indicate orientations or positional relationships based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the referred device or element must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be understood as limiting the present invention.

[0034] In addition, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features. Therefore, the features defined as "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of the features. In the description of the present invention, the meaning of "plurality" is at least two, such as two, three, etc., unless otherwise clearly and specifically defined.

[0035] In the present invention, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installed", "connected", "connected", "fixed" and the like should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, it can be the internal connection of two elements or the interaction relationship between two elements, unless otherwise clearly defined. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0036] In the present invention, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, a first feature being "above" or "below" a second feature may mean that the first and second features are in direct contact, or the first and second features are in indirect contact through an intermediate medium. Moreover, a first feature being "above", "above" or "above" a second feature may mean that the first feature is directly above or obliquely above the second feature, or simply means that the first feature is higher in level than the second feature. A first feature being "below", "below" or "below" a second feature may mean that the first feature is directly below or obliquely below the second feature, or simply means that the first feature is lower in level than the second feature.

[0037] It should be noted that when an element is referred to as being "fixed to" or "disposed on" another element, it may be directly on the other element or there may be a central element. When an element is considered to be "connected to" another element, it may be directly connected to the other element or there may be a central element at the same time. The terms "vertical", "horizontal", "upper", "lower", "left", "right" and similar expressions used herein are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to be the only implementation method.

[0038] See also Figure 1 and Figure 2 , Figure 1 FIG. 1 shows a schematic structural diagram of a sweeping robot in an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 Shows Figure 1 For ease of description, the accompanying drawings only show structures related to the present invention.

[0039] A sweeping robot provided by an embodiment of the present invention comprises a body 10, a front camera 20 and a rear camera 30. The body 10 is used to sweep the ground while walking along a forward direction a. The front camera 20 is mounted on the body 10 and is located at the front end of the body 10 in the forward direction a, so that the front camera 20 can be used to detect the environment in front of the body 10. The rear camera 30 is mounted on the body 10 and is located at the rear end of the body 10 in the forward direction a, so that the rear camera 30 can be used to detect the environment behind the body 10.

[0040] In the above-mentioned sweeping robot, a front camera 20 and a rear camera 30 are respectively installed at the front and rear ends of the body 10 in the forward direction a. The front camera 20 is used to detect the environment in front of the body 10, and the rear camera 30 is used to detect the environment behind the body 10, which expands the detectable spatial angle (i.e., spatial range), which is beneficial for the sweeping robot to accurately obtain the actual situation on site during operation and perform corresponding response actions to avoid collisions or being trapped.

[0041] In an embodiment of the present invention, the rear camera 30 can rotate around a rotation axis relative to the body 10, so as to further increase the spatial detection angle of the rear camera 30 and expand the detection range. Preferably, the rotation axis is perpendicular to the aforementioned forward direction a. In this way, the rear camera 30 can rotate up and down in a vertical plane (that is, the rotation axis is parallel to the horizontal plane), so that lower or higher obstacles can be identified, which is beneficial for the sweeping robot to accurately obtain the actual situation on site during operation and perform appropriate response actions to avoid collisions or being trapped. Specifically, Figure 1 In the illustrated embodiment, the rotation axis is parallel to the left-right direction.

[0042] Further, the rotation angle range of the rear camera 30 around the rotation axis can be -60° to +60°. Of course, the rotation angle range of the rear camera 30 around the rotation axis can also be -45° to +45° or -30° to +30°, etc., which is not limited here.

[0043] See also Figures 3 to 6 As shown, in the embodiment of the present invention, the rear camera 30 includes a camera body 33, a mounting bracket 31 and a rotating shaft 34. The camera body 33 is mounted on the mounting bracket 31, and the rotating shaft 34 is fixedly connected to the mounting bracket 31 and rotatably connected to the fuselage 10. In this way, the rotating shaft 34 is rotated relative to the fuselage 10, thereby driving the mounting bracket 31 and the camera body 33 to rotate relative to the fuselage 10, that is, the rear camera 30 is rotated around the rotation axis. It can be understood that the axis of the rotating shaft 34 is the above-mentioned rotation axis.

[0044] Optionally, the shaft 34 and the mounting bracket 31 may be integrally formed, thereby ensuring the overall structural strength, preventing the mounting bracket 31 from causing the camera body 33 to shake during shooting, and improving the accuracy of the camera body 33 in identifying obstacles. Of course, in other embodiments, the shaft 34 and the mounting bracket 31 may also be separately formed.

[0045] See also Figure 7 and Figure 8 As shown, in the embodiment, the body 10 has a lug 1113, and the lug 1113 is provided with a first slot 1114, and the rotating shaft 34 can be inserted into the first slot 1114 and can rotate relative to the lug 1113. In this way, the rotating shaft 34 can be directly pressed into the first slot 1114 during assembly, so that the rotating shaft 34 can rotate in the first slot 1114. More specifically, the opening width of the first slot 1114 is slightly smaller than the diameter of the rotating shaft 34, which ensures that the rotating shaft 34 can be pressed into the first slot 1114 through the opening of the first slot 1114, and prevents the rotating shaft 34 from escaping from the opening of the first slot 1114. The inner wall of the first slot 1114 matches the circumferential side wall of the rotating shaft 34, so that the rotating shaft 34 can rotate in the first slot 1114.

[0046] Furthermore, the ear 1113 may include two or more ears 1113, which are arranged at intervals along the axis of the shaft 34, so that the shaft 34 can be pressed into the first slot 1114 of each ear 1113 at the same time, making the connection of the shaft 34 more stable and reliable, which is beneficial to preventing the shaft 34 from driving the mounting bracket 31 and the camera body 33 to shake, and is beneficial to improving the accuracy of the camera body 33 in identifying obstacles.

[0047] Please continue to see Figures 3 to 6As shown, specifically in the embodiment, the rear camera 30 also includes a camera cover 32, and the mounting bracket 31 has a recess 313 for accommodating the camera body 33. The camera cover 32 is covered in the recess 313, and the camera body 33 is limited in the recess 313. The camera cover 32 is provided with a through hole 321 corresponding to the camera body 33, so that the camera body 33 can shoot through the through hole 321 on the camera cover 32. In this way, the camera body 33 is limited in the recess 313 by using the camera cover 32, so that the camera body 33 and the mounting bracket 31 are assembled, the assembly is convenient and fast, the connection is stable and reliable, the camera body 33 is prevented from shaking, and it is conducive to improving the accuracy of the camera body 33 in identifying obstacles. Optionally, the recess 313 can be a groove. The shape of the groove matches the shape of the camera body 33, so that the camera body 33 can be installed in the groove.

[0048] Specifically in the embodiment, the mounting bracket 31 further has a first snap-fitting portion 311, and the camera cover 32 has a first snap-fitting portion 322 that can be snap-fitted with the first snap-fitting portion 311. In this way, the first snap-fitting portion 322 is snap-fitted with the first snap-fitting portion 311 of the mounting bracket 31 to achieve connection, thereby pressing the camera body 33 into the recess 313.

[0049] Furthermore, the first snap-fitting portion 311 includes a snap-fitting hole, and the first snap-fitting portion 322 includes an undercut that can snap-fit ​​into the snap-fitting hole. Thus, during assembly, the undercut is inserted into the snap-fitting hole and snap-fitted into the snap-fitting hole, thereby achieving connection between the camera cover 32 and the mounting bracket 31.

[0050] Specifically in the embodiment, the mounting bracket 31 further has a second snap-fitting portion 312, and the camera cover 32 further has a second snap-fitting portion 323 that can be snap-fitted with the second snap-fitting portion 312. The first snap-fitting portion 311 and the second snap-fitting portion 312 are respectively located on opposite sides of the recess 313. In this way, the first snap-fitting portion 322 and the second snap-fitting portion 323 are snap-fitted with the first snap-fitting portion 311 and the second snap-fitting portion 312 on opposite sides of the recess 313, respectively, so that the connection between the camera cover 32 and the mounting bracket 31 is stable and reliable, preventing the camera body 33 from shaking, which is conducive to improving the accuracy of the camera body 33 in identifying obstacles.

[0051] Furthermore, the second snap-fitting portion 312 has two clamping blocks 3121 arranged opposite to each other, and a clamping position 3123 is formed between the two clamping blocks 3121. At least part of the second snap-fitting portion 323 can be inserted into the clamping position 3123 and be clamped with the two clamping blocks 3121, thereby achieving the clamping fit between the second snap-fitting portion 323 and the second snap-fitting portion 312.

[0052] Furthermore, the two clamping blocks 3121 are provided with a protrusion 3124 on one side facing each other, and the second clamping portion 323 has a second clamping groove 3231 on the opposite sides, and each second clamping groove 3231 is used for the corresponding protrusion 3124 to be clamped in. In this way, during assembly, the camera body 33 is first placed in the recess 313, and then the camera cover 32 is placed on the camera body 33, so that the undercut is aligned with the clamping hole, and the second clamping portion 323 is aligned with the clamping position 3123 between the two clamping blocks 3121. Then, the camera cover 32 is pressed, so that the undercut is inserted into the clamping hole and the undercut is clamped in the clamping hole, and at the same time, the second clamping portion 323 enters the clamping position 3123 between the two clamping blocks 3121, until the protrusions 3124 on the two clamping blocks 3121 are clamped in the corresponding second clamping grooves 3231.

[0053] In the embodiment of the present invention, the sweeping robot further includes a rotation drive assembly (not shown), which is mounted on the body 10 and is transmission-connected to the rear camera 30 to drive the rear camera 30 to rotate around the above-mentioned rotation axis. It should be noted that the rotation drive assembly can adopt a motor drive structure, and of course, other drive structures in the prior art can also be adopted, as long as it can drive the rear camera 30 to rotate around the rotation axis, and is not limited here.

[0054] See also Figure 2 As shown, in the embodiment of the present invention, the body 10 includes a housing 11 and a bumper plate 12 installed at the front end of the housing 11 in the above-mentioned forward direction a, and the front camera 20 is installed between the bumper plate 12 and the housing 11, so that the bumper plate 12 is used to protect the front camera 20. The rear camera 30 is installed at the rear end of the housing 11 in the above-mentioned forward direction a.

[0055] Specifically in the embodiment, the housing 11 includes an upper cover 111 and a lower cover 112, and the upper cover 111 is matched with the lower cover 112. The rear camera 30 is installed inside the upper cover 111, and the upper cover 111 is provided with a shooting window 1112 corresponding to the rear camera 30, so that the rear camera 30 can shoot through the shooting window 1112, and the upper cover 111 is used to protect the rear camera 30. That is, the ear 1113 (see FIG. 111 ) for installing the rotating shaft 34 Figure 8 ) is arranged on the inner side of the upper cover 111.

[0056] Furthermore, the rotation driving assembly can be accommodated in the space between the upper cover 111 and the lower cover 112 , and the upper cover 111 and the lower cover 112 are used to protect the rotation driving assembly.

[0057] The technical features of the above-described embodiments may be arbitrarily combined. To make the description concise, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above-described embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, they should be considered to be within the scope of this specification.

[0058] The above-mentioned embodiments only express several implementation methods of the present invention, and the descriptions thereof are relatively specific and detailed, but they cannot be understood as limiting the scope of the invention patent. It should be pointed out that, for ordinary technicians in this field, several variations and improvements can be made without departing from the concept of the present invention, and these all belong to the protection scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the patent of the present invention shall be subject to the attached claims.

Claims

1. A sweeping robot, characterized in that: include: The body (10) is used for cleaning while moving along the forward direction (a); A front camera (20) mounted on the body (10) and located at the front end of the body (10) in the forward direction (a); and a rear camera (30) mounted on the fuselage (10) and located at the rear end of the fuselage (10) in the forward direction (a); the rear camera (30) can rotate up and down in a vertical plane so as to be able to identify lower or higher obstacles; The rear camera (30) comprises a camera body (33), a mounting bracket (31) and a rotating shaft (34); the camera body (33) is mounted on the mounting bracket (31); the rotating shaft (34) is fixedly connected to the mounting bracket (31) and is rotatably connected to the body (10); The rear camera (30) further comprises a camera cover (32); the mounting bracket (31) has a recess (313) for accommodating the camera body (33); the camera cover (32) is disposed on the recess (313) and limits the camera body (33) to be located within the recess (313); The camera cover (32) is provided with a through hole (321) corresponding to the camera body (33); The mounting bracket (31) further comprises a first snap-fitting portion (311), and the camera cover (32) comprises a first snap-fitting portion (322) capable of snap-fitting with the first snap-fitting portion (311); The first snap-fitting portion (311) comprises a snap-fitting hole, and the first snap-fitting portion (322) comprises an undercut capable of snap-fitting into the snap-fitting hole; The mounting bracket (31) further comprises a second snap-fitting portion (312), and the camera cover (32) further comprises a second snap-fitting portion (323) capable of snap-fitting with the second snap-fitting portion (312); The first snap-fitting portion (311) and the second snap-fitting portion (312) are respectively located on two opposite sides of the recess (313); The second clamping matching portion (312) has two clamping blocks (3121) arranged opposite to each other, a clamping position (3123) is formed between the two clamping blocks (3121), and at least a portion of the second clamping portion (323) can be inserted into the clamping position (3123) and clamped with the two clamping blocks (3121); A protrusion (3124) is provided on one side of the two clamping blocks (3121) facing each other, and two opposite sides of the second clamping portion (323) are provided with a second clamping groove (3231), and each second clamping groove (3231) is used for receiving a corresponding protrusion (3124).

2. The sweeping robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The rear camera (30) is capable of rotating relative to the body (10) around a rotation axis.

3. The sweeping robot according to claim 2, characterized in that: The rotation axis is perpendicular to the advancing direction (a).

4. The sweeping robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The body (10) has a support ear (1113), the support ear (1113) is provided with a first slot (1114), and the rotating shaft (34) can be inserted into the first slot (1114) and can rotate relative to the support ear (1113).

5. The sweeping robot according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that: The sweeping robot further comprises a rotation drive assembly, which is mounted on the body (10) and is transmission-connected to the rear camera (30).

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