LiDAR and sweeping robot

Abstract

The present invention relates to the field of household electrical appliances, and in particular to a laser radar and a sweeping robot. The laser radar comprises a housing, a reflector, and a radar device capable of emitting and receiving laser light; the housing is provided with an inner cavity and an opening connected to the inner cavity, the radar device and the reflector are both provided in the inner cavity, the radar device is fixed to the housing, the reflector is pivotally connected to the housing and can rotate relative to the housing; the laser light emitted by the radar device can be reflected by the reflector and then emitted through the opening, and the laser light emitted through the opening can be reflected by the reflector and then received by the radar device. The sweeping robot comprises the above-mentioned laser radar. The present invention is to provide a laser radar and a sweeping robot to alleviate the technical problem of the sweeping robot having high energy consumption and short battery life existing in the prior art.

Description

Technical Field

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

[0002] LiDAR is an active sensor and the core configuration of the intelligent sweeping robot. It mainly includes a transmitting module and a receiving module. The working principle is that the transmitting module emits laser to the target in the room, and then measures the time, signal strength, frequency change and other parameters of the reflected or scattered signal to reach the receiving module, so as to determine the distance and direction of the target, so as to realize room map construction, navigation positioning and path planning, which can avoid collision with obstacles and improve cleaning efficiency.

[0003] In the prior art, the laser radar is often installed on the top of the sweeping robot host and is driven by a motor to rotate to obtain a larger scanning range. However, the laser radar has a large mass, so the energy required by the motor to drive the laser radar to rotate is large, which reduces the battery life of the sweeping robot.

[0004] Therefore, the present application provides a new laser radar and sweeping robot to address the above-mentioned problems. Summary of the invention

[0005] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a laser radar to alleviate the technical problems of high energy consumption and short battery life of sweeping robots in the prior art.

[0006] Another object of the present invention is to provide a sweeping robot to further alleviate the technical problem of high energy consumption and short battery life of the sweeping robot in the prior art.

[0007] Based on the above first purpose, the present invention provides a laser radar, comprising a housing, a reflector and a radar device capable of emitting and receiving laser light;

[0008] The housing is provided with an inner cavity and an opening communicating with the inner cavity, the radar device and the reflector are both provided in the inner cavity, the radar device is fixedly connected to the housing, and the reflector is pivotally connected to the housing and can rotate relative to the housing;

[0009] The laser light emitted by the radar device can be reflected by the reflector and then emitted through the opening, and the laser light emitted through the opening can be reflected by the reflector and then received by the radar device.

[0010] Furthermore, a hollow hole is provided through the reflector.

[0011] Furthermore, the laser radar also includes a driving device;

[0012] The reflector is pivotally connected to the housing through a shaft bushing, and the driving device is connected to the reflector and can drive the reflector to rotate relative to the housing.

[0013] Furthermore, the radar device includes a transmitting module capable of transmitting laser light and a receiving module capable of receiving laser light, wherein the transmitting module and the receiving module are both disposed in the inner cavity and fixedly connected to the outer shell;

[0014] The laser emitted by the transmitting module can be reflected by the reflector and then emitted through the opening, and the laser emitted through the opening can be reflected by the reflector and then received by the receiving module.

[0015] Furthermore, the two oppositely disposed surfaces of the reflector are both reflective surfaces;

[0016] The radar device is provided in two groups, and the two groups of radar devices are respectively arranged opposite to the two reflecting surfaces of the reflector.

[0017] Furthermore, the reflector is arranged at the middle position of the inner cavity along the length direction, and the two groups of radar devices are arranged at both sides of the inner cavity along the length direction respectively;

[0018] The inner cavity is provided with a light-shielding plate, and the light-shielding plate is arranged on a side of the reflector away from the opening.

[0019] Furthermore, the reflector is formed by injection molding of engineering resin, and a reflective film is plated on the surface of the reflector to form the reflective surface;

[0020] Alternatively, the reflector is a metal part, and the surface of the metal part is polished to form the reflective surface;

[0021] Alternatively, the reflector is a glass lens, and a reflective film is plated on the surface of the glass lens to form the reflective surface.

[0022] Furthermore, the housing comprises a lower housing and an upper housing disposed on the lower housing, and the upper housing is detachably connected to the lower housing;

[0023] The upper shell is provided with a first port, and the lower shell is provided with a second port. When the upper shell is connected to the lower shell, the upper shell and the lower shell together form the inner cavity, and the first port is connected to the second port to form the opening.

[0024] By adopting the above technical solution, the laser radar of the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0025] It should be noted that the laser radar can be installed on the host of the sweeping robot to assist the sweeping robot in achieving intelligent cleaning.

[0026] When the laser radar is in operation, the laser emitted by the radar device is reflected by the reflector and then emitted through the opening to the target in the room. The signal reflected or scattered by the target is emitted through the opening, reflected by the reflector, and then received by the radar device, thereby determining the distance and direction of the target. The reflector rotates relative to the housing to obtain lasers emitted from the opening at multiple angles, thereby increasing the scanning range of the laser radar.

[0027] To sum up, the laser radar only needs to drive the reflector to rotate to obtain a larger scanning range, without the need for the entire laser radar to rotate, thus reducing the energy consumption of the sweeping robot and extending the battery life of the sweeping robot.

[0028] Based on the above second purpose, the present invention provides a sweeping robot, including a host provided with a scanning port and the laser radar, the laser radar is arranged in the host, and the scanning port corresponds to the opening.

[0029] Furthermore, the radial line of the sweeping robot along the moving direction is a first line, the center line of the opening of the laser radar is a second line, and along the axis direction of the sweeping robot, the second line is projected onto the first line.

[0030] By adopting the above technical solution, the sweeping robot of the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0031] By setting the above-mentioned laser radar in the sweeping robot, the sweeping robot accordingly has all the advantages of the above-mentioned laser radar, which will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0032] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings required for use in the embodiments are briefly introduced below. It should be understood that the following drawings only show certain embodiments of the present invention and therefore should not be regarded as limiting the scope. For ordinary technicians in this field, other related drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative work.

[0033] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of a laser radar provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0034] Figure 2 for Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of a partial cross-section of the laser radar shown;

[0035] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the structure of a laser radar provided in an embodiment of the present invention (the upper shell is not shown);

[0036] Figure 4 One of the cross-sectional views of the laser radar provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0037] Figure 5 A second cross-sectional view of the laser radar provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0038] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of the laser path of a laser radar provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0039] Figure 7 One of the two radar device and reflector structures of the laser radar provided in the embodiment of the present invention;

[0040] Figure 8 The second structural form of two sets of radar devices and reflectors of the laser radar provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0041] Fig. 9 The third structural form of two sets of radar devices and reflectors of the laser radar provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0042] Fig.10 The fourth structural form of two sets of radar devices and reflectors of the laser radar provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0043] Fig.11 The fifth structural form of two sets of radar devices and reflectors of the laser radar provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0044] Fig.12 The sixth structural form of two sets of radar devices and reflectors of the laser radar provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0045] Fig.13 A schematic diagram of a first structure of a driving device and a reflector of a laser radar provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0046] Fig.14 One of the second structural schematic diagrams of the driving device and the reflector of the laser radar provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0047] Fig.15 A second schematic diagram of the second structure of the driving device and the reflector of the laser radar provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0048] Fig.16 One of the third structural schematic diagrams of the driving device and the reflector of the laser radar provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0049] Fig.17 A second schematic diagram of the third structure of the driving device and the reflector of the laser radar provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0050] Fig.18 A schematic diagram of the structure of a sweeping robot provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0051] Fig.19 for Fig.18 A side view of the sweeping robot is shown.

[0052] Reference numerals:

[0053] 1-LiDAR;

[0054] 2-housing; 21-lower housing; 22-upper housing; 23-opening;

[0055] 3-reflector; 31-hollow hole;

[0056] 4- radar device; 41- transmitting module; 42- receiving module;

[0057] 51-first motor; 52-second motor; 53-transmission mechanism; 54-shaft bushing;

[0058] 61-first laser; 62-second laser;

[0059] 7-light shielding plate; 8-host; 81-scanning port;

[0060] 91-first line; 92-second line. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0061] The technical solution of the present invention will be described clearly and completely below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0062] In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that the terms "center", "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "inner", "outer", etc., indicating the orientation or positional relationship, are based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as limiting the present invention. In addition, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0063] In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the term "connection" 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 direct connection, or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, or it can be the internal communication of two elements. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0064] Embodiment 1

[0065] See also Figure 1 and Figure 2 The present embodiment provides a laser radar 1, which includes a housing 2, a reflector 3 and a radar device 4 capable of emitting and receiving laser light; the housing 2 is provided with an inner cavity and an opening 23 communicating with the inner cavity, the radar device 4 and the reflector 3 are both provided in the inner cavity, the radar device 4 is fixedly connected to the housing 2, and the reflector 3 is pivotally connected to the housing 2 and can rotate relative to the housing 2; please continue to refer to Figure 6 The laser light emitted by the radar device 4 can be reflected by the reflector 3 and then emitted through the opening 23 , and the laser light emitted through the opening 23 can be reflected by the reflector 3 and then received by the radar device 4 .

[0066] It should be noted that the laser radar 1 can be installed on the host 8 of the sweeping robot to assist the sweeping robot in achieving intelligent cleaning.

[0067] When the laser radar 1 is in operation, the laser emitted by the radar device 4 is reflected by the reflector 3 and then emitted through the opening 23 to the target to be measured in the room. The signal reflected or scattered by the target to be measured is emitted through the opening 23, reflected by the reflector 3, and then received by the radar device 4, thereby determining the distance and direction of the target to be measured. Among them, the reflector 3 rotates relative to the housing 2 to obtain lasers emitted from the opening 23 at multiple angles, thereby increasing the scanning range of the laser radar 1.

[0068] In summary, the laser radar 1 only needs to drive the reflector 3 to rotate to obtain a larger scanning range, and the laser radar 1 does not need to rotate as a whole, thereby reducing the energy consumption of the sweeping robot and extending the battery life of the sweeping robot.

[0069] Preferably, see Figure 2 and Figure 5 In this embodiment, a hollow hole 31 is provided through the reflector 3 .

[0070] Optionally, one or more hollow holes 31 are provided, for example, one, two, three, four or five hollow holes 31 are provided.

[0071] The provision of the hollow hole 31 reduces the wind resistance during the rotation of the reflector 3 and further reduces the energy consumption of the laser radar 1 .

[0072] Preferably, see Figure 2 and Figure 4 In this embodiment, the laser radar 1 also includes a driving device; the reflector 3 is pivotally connected to the housing 2 through a shaft bushing 54, and the driving device drives the reflector 3 and can drive the reflector 3 to rotate relative to the housing 2.

[0073] Optionally, see Fig.13The driving device is a first motor 51. Alternatively, the driving device includes a second motor 52 and a transmission mechanism 53, and the second motor 52 is driven to connect to the reflector 3 through the transmission mechanism 53.

[0074] Preferably, the first motor 51 is mounted on the housing 2, and the second motor 52 is mounted on the housing 2. Fig.16 and Fig.17 , the transmission mechanism 53 is a gear transmission mechanism 53, or, see Fig.14 and Fig.15 The transmission mechanism 53 is a belt transmission mechanism 53.

[0075] Preferably, see Figure 2 and Figure 3 In this embodiment, the radar device 4 includes a transmitting module 41 capable of transmitting laser light and a receiving module 42 capable of receiving laser light. The transmitting module 41 and the receiving module 42 are both disposed in the inner cavity and fixedly connected to the housing 2; see Figure 6 The laser emitted by the transmitting module 41 can be reflected by the reflector 3 and then emitted through the opening 23 , and the laser emitted through the opening 23 can be reflected by the reflector 3 and then received by the receiving module 42 .

[0076] Please continue to see Figure 6 When the laser radar 1 is in operation, the laser emitted by the transmitting module 41 is the first laser 61. The first laser 61 is reflected by the reflector 3 and then emitted through the opening 23 to the target to be measured in the room. The signal reflected or scattered by the target to be measured is the second laser 62. The second laser 62 is emitted through the opening 23, reflected by the reflector 3, and then received by the receiving module 42, thereby determining the distance and direction of the target to be measured.

[0077] Preferably, see Figure 6 In this embodiment, the two oppositely disposed surfaces of the reflector 3 are both reflective surfaces; two groups of radar devices 4 are provided, and the two groups of radar devices 4 are respectively disposed opposite to the two reflective surfaces of the reflector 3 .

[0078] For example, see Figure 7 , the two radar devices 4 and the reflector 3 are in a staggered symmetrical structure; or, see Figure 8 The two radar devices 4 and the reflector 3 are coaxially symmetrical; see Fig. 9 The two radar devices 4 and the reflector 3 are symmetrical in structure; see Fig.10 The two radar devices 4 and the reflector 3 are coaxial and asymmetrical in structure; see Fig.11 The two radar devices 4 and the reflector 3 have an asymmetric angle. Fig.12 The two radar devices 4 and the reflector 3 are in an asymmetric staggered structure.

[0079] With this arrangement, two transmitting modules 41 simultaneously transmit lasers at different positions. The transmitted light and the returned reflected light are reflected on the rotating reflective lens, and the two receiving modules 42 synchronously receive the returned reflected light. Therefore, the two groups of radar devices 4 increase the data acquisition rate, improve the map accuracy and positioning accuracy, and further expand the scanning detection range of the laser radar 1.

[0080] It should be noted that the two receiving modules 42 synchronously receive the returned reflected light, convert it into cloud points through processing, and establish a cloud map after software processing, thereby realizing map establishment and path planning. The above are all existing technologies and will not be repeated here.

[0081] Preferably, see Figure 2 and Figure 3 In this embodiment, the reflector 3 is arranged at the middle position of the inner cavity along the length direction, and the two groups of radar devices 4 are respectively arranged on both sides of the inner cavity along the length direction; the inner cavity is provided with a light shielding plate 7, and the light shielding plate 7 is arranged on the side of the reflector 3 away from the opening 23.

[0082] It should be noted that the light shielding plate 7 cannot reflect laser light, for example, the light shielding plate 7 is a light absorbing material plate or engineering resin, etc. With such a configuration, when the laser of the transmitting module 41 is emitted to the light shielding plate 7, it will not pass through the light shielding plate 7 and pollute the environment.

[0083] Optionally, the reflector 3 is formed by injection molding of engineering resin, and the surface of the reflector 3 is coated with a reflective film to form a reflective surface; or, the reflector 3 is a metal part, and the surface of the metal part is polished to form a reflective surface; or, the reflector 3 is a glass lens, and the surface of the glass lens is coated with a reflective film to form a reflective surface.

[0084] Preferably, see Figure 1 and Figure 2 In this embodiment, the outer shell 2 includes a lower shell 21 and an upper shell 22 arranged on the lower shell 21, and the upper shell 22 and the lower shell 21 are detachably connected; the upper shell 22 is provided with a first opening, and the lower shell 21 is provided with a second opening. When the upper shell 22 and the lower shell 21 are connected, the upper shell 22 and the lower shell 21 jointly form an inner cavity, and the first opening and the second opening are connected to form an opening 23.

[0085] Preferably, the upper shell 22 and the lower shell 21 are detachably connected by means of a snap connection, a buckle connection or a threaded connection.

[0086] Embodiment 2

[0087] Embodiment 2 provides a sweeping robot, which includes the laser radar 1 of embodiment 1. The technical features of the laser radar 1 disclosed in embodiment 1 are also applicable to this embodiment, and the technical features of the laser radar 1 disclosed in embodiment 1 are not described again. The following is a further detailed description of the implementation of the sweeping robot in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0088] See also Fig.18 and Fig.19 The sweeping robot provided in this embodiment includes a host 8 provided with a scanning port 81 and the above-mentioned laser radar 1. The laser radar 1 is arranged in the host 8, and the scanning port 81 corresponds to the opening 23.

[0089] See also Fig.18 , Fig.18 Five optional installation positions of the laser radar 1 are marked, but it should be noted that the installation position of the laser radar 1 in the host 8 is not limited to the above positions, as long as the laser radar 1 is located in the host 8 and the scanning port 81 corresponds to the opening 23.

[0090] With such an arrangement, the laser radar 1 will not protrude from the host 8, which not only reduces the height of the sweeping robot, but also improves its ability to escape from low spaces.

[0091] Among them, the laser emitted by the radar device 4 is reflected by the reflector 3 and then emitted through the opening 23 and the scanning port 81 to the target to be measured in the room. The signal reflected or scattered by the target to be measured is emitted through the scanning port 81 and the opening 23, and then reflected by the reflector 3 and then received by the radar device 4, thereby determining the distance and direction of the target to be measured.

[0092] Preferably, see Fig.18 In this embodiment, the radial line of the sweeping robot along the moving direction is the first line 91 , the center line of the opening 23 of the laser radar 1 is the second line 92 , and along the axis direction of the sweeping robot, the second line 92 is projected onto the first line 91 .

[0093] With such a setting, the distance and orientation of the target measured by the laser radar 1 are the distance and orientation of the target relative to the sweeping robot, which improves the efficiency of navigation, positioning and path planning of the sweeping robot.

[0094] The sweeping robot of this embodiment has the advantages of the laser radar 1 of the embodiment 1, which have been described in detail in the embodiment 1 and will not be repeated here.

[0095] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, rather than to limit it. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the aforementioned embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions described in the aforementioned embodiments, or replace some or all of the technical features therein with equivalents. However, these modifications or replacements do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

[0096] Furthermore, those skilled in the art will appreciate that although some embodiments described herein include certain features included in other embodiments but not other features, the combination of features from different embodiments is meant to be within the scope of the present invention and to form different embodiments.

Claims

1. A laser radar, characterized in that: It comprises a housing (2), a reflector (3) and a radar device (4) capable of emitting and receiving laser light; The housing (2) is provided with an inner cavity and an opening (23) communicating with the inner cavity, the radar device (4) and the reflector (3) are both arranged in the inner cavity, the radar device (4) is fixedly connected to the housing (2), and the reflector (3) is pivotally connected to the housing (2) and can rotate relative to the housing (2); The laser light emitted by the radar device (4) can be reflected by the reflector (3) and then emitted through the opening (23); the laser light emitted through the opening (23) can be reflected by the reflector (3) and then received by the radar device (4); The reflector (3) is provided with a hollow hole (31) extending through it; The radar device (4) comprises a transmitting module (41) capable of transmitting laser light and a receiving module (42) capable of receiving laser light, wherein the transmitting module (41) and the receiving module (42) are both arranged in the inner cavity and are fixedly connected to the outer shell (2); The laser emitted by the transmitting module (41) can be reflected by the reflector (3) and then emitted through the opening (23), and the laser emitted through the opening (23) can be reflected by the reflector (3) and then received by the receiving module (42); The two oppositely disposed surfaces of the reflector (3) are both reflective surfaces; The radar device (4) is provided in two groups, and the two groups of the radar device (4) are respectively arranged opposite to the two reflecting surfaces of the reflector (3).

2. The laser radar according to claim 1, characterized in that: The laser radar also includes a driving device; The reflector (3) is pivotally connected to the housing (2) via a shaft bushing (54); the driving device drives the reflector (3) and is capable of driving the reflector (3) to rotate relative to the housing (2).

3. The laser radar according to claim 2, characterized in that: The reflector (3) is arranged at the middle position of the inner cavity along the length direction, and the two groups of radar devices (4) are respectively arranged on both sides of the inner cavity along the length direction; The inner cavity is provided with a light shielding plate (7), and the light shielding plate (7) is arranged on a side of the reflector (3) away from the opening (23).

4. The laser radar according to claim 3, characterized in that: The reflector (3) is formed by injection molding of engineering resin, and a reflective film is plated on the surface of the reflector (3) to form the reflective surface; Alternatively, the reflector (3) is a metal part, and the surface of the metal part is polished to form the reflective surface; Alternatively, the reflector (3) is a glass lens, and a reflective film is plated on the surface of the glass lens to form the reflective surface.

5. The laser radar according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The housing (2) comprises a lower housing (21) and an upper housing (22) arranged on the lower housing (21), and the upper housing (22) is detachably connected to the lower housing (21); The upper shell (22) is provided with a first opening, and the lower shell (21) is provided with a second opening. When the upper shell (22) is connected to the lower shell (21), the upper shell (22) and the lower shell (21) together form the inner cavity, and the first opening is connected to the second opening to form the opening (23).

6. A sweeping robot, characterized in that: It comprises a host (8) provided with a scanning port (81) and a laser radar (1) as described in any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the laser radar (1) is arranged in the host (8), and the scanning port (81) corresponds to the opening (23).

7. The sweeping robot according to claim 6, characterized in that: The radial line of the sweeping robot along the moving direction is a first line (91), the center line of the opening (23) of the laser radar (1) is a second line (92), and along the axis direction of the sweeping robot, the second line (92) is projected onto the first line (91).

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