Robot automatic charging method, system, robot and storage medium

Abstract

The present invention provides a robot automatic charging method, system, robot and storage medium, the method comprising: controlling the robot to start working in a working area; when the robot needs to be charged, controlling the robot to move toward a charging station, and detecting the intensity of a target signal in the working area during the movement; controlling the robot to adjust its moving direction according to the intensity change of the detected target signal to control the robot to move to a guide device near the charging station; controlling the robot to move to the charging station according to the guide device. The robot automatic charging method, system, robot and storage medium of the present invention can plan the charging path in real time according to the position of the charging station and the robot and the signal intensity change, saving charging time and improving the robot's performance.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of intelligent control, and in particular to a robot automatic charging method and system, a robot and a storage medium. Background Art

[0002] Low repetition rate and high coverage rate are the goals pursued by traversal robots such as vacuuming, mowing and pool cleaning. Taking the mobile robot as an intelligent mowing robot as an example, the mowing robot uses the lawn surrounded by the boundary as the working area for mowing operations, and the area outside the lawn is defined as the non-working area.

[0003] In the prior art, the robot's charging system is mainly composed of a charging station and a boundary line connecting the charging station. When the robot needs to be charged, it needs to move along the boundary line to find a charging station to dock and charge. In this charging method, the robot searches for the boundary without the principle of proximity. When there are obstacles near the boundary line, the robot needs to randomly search for the boundary line again, which wastes time and increases the robot's power consumption. Summary of the invention

[0004] In order to solve the above technical problems, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a robot automatic charging method and system, a robot and a storage medium.

[0005] In order to achieve one of the above-mentioned purposes of the invention, an embodiment of the present invention provides a robot automatic charging method, the method comprising:

[0006] Control the robot to start working in the working area;

[0007] When the robot needs to be charged, the robot is controlled to move toward the charging station and detects the strength of the target signal in the working area during the movement;

[0008] A guiding device for controlling the robot to adjust its moving direction according to the detected intensity change of the target signal to control the robot to move to the vicinity of the charging station;

[0009] The robot is controlled to move to the charging station according to the guiding device.

[0010] Through the above method, the optimal charging path can be planned in real time based on the position and signal strength changes of the charging station and the robot, saving charging time and improving the performance of the robot.

[0011] As a further improvement of an embodiment of the present invention, the strength of the target signal is the signal strength of the charging station or the signal strength of the electronic boundary line.

[0012] Due to the diversity of charging methods, which can be wireless or wired, the ways of sending signals are also diverse.

[0013] As a further improvement of an embodiment of the present invention, when the robot needs to be charged, the robot is controlled to move toward the charging station, and the intensity of the target signal in the working area is detected during the movement, including:

[0014] The robot is controlled to move toward the charging station by wireless positioning until it is within the coverage of the target signal.

[0015] Since the signal cannot be detected in areas far away from the charging station, wireless positioning is used to plan the charging path to improve the performance of the robot.

[0016] As a further improvement of an embodiment of the present invention, a guiding device for controlling the robot to adjust its moving direction according to the intensity change of the detected target signal to control the robot to move to the vicinity of the charging station includes:

[0017] Determine whether the detected target signal strength continues to increase,

[0018] If so, control the robot to keep moving in the current direction;

[0019] If not, the robot is controlled to move in the direction where the intensity of the target signal is the strongest.

[0020] Determine whether the detected signal strength continues to increase,

[0021] If so, control the robot to keep moving in the current direction;

[0022] If not, control the robot to move in the direction with the strongest signal.

[0023] Through the above preferred implementation, the robot returns to the charging station in the direction of the strongest signal, saving power and improving efficiency.

[0024] As a further improvement of an embodiment of the present invention, the method for controlling the robot to move in the direction where the intensity of the target signal is the strongest includes:

[0025] First, control the robot to stop moving;

[0026] Secondly, control the robot to rotate in place for one circle and obtain the strongest signal value within one circle;

[0027] Finally, the robot is controlled to rotate in place again until the detected signal value is substantially the same as the strongest signal value, the robot stops rotating, and moves in the current direction.

[0028] Through the above-mentioned preferred implementation mode, the robot can easily and quickly find the direction with the strongest signal, save the time of returning to charge, and improve the performance of the robot.

[0029] As a further improvement of an embodiment of the present invention, the guiding device is configured as an electronic boundary line, and controlling the robot to move to the charging station according to the guiding device includes:

[0030] The robot is controlled to move to the electronic boundary line and then moves along the electronic boundary line to the charging station.

[0031] Through the above preferred implementation manner, a method for the robot to find a charging station through an electronic boundary line is described, thereby improving the performance of the robot.

[0032] In order to achieve another purpose of the above invention, one embodiment of the present invention provides a robot automatic charging system, the system comprising: a charging station and a robot, after the robot moves to the range covered by the charging station signal through wireless positioning, the robot moves to the charging station along the direction where the charging station signal becomes stronger.

[0033] Through the above system, the optimal charging path can be planned in real time based on the location of the charging station and the robot and the changes in signal strength, thus saving charging time and improving the robot's performance.

[0034] As a further improvement of one embodiment of the present invention, the charging station is arranged on the electronic boundary line. After the robot moves to the range covered by the electronic boundary line signal through wireless positioning, the robot moves to the electronic boundary line along the direction where the electronic boundary line signal becomes stronger, and then moves to the charging station along the electronic boundary line.

[0035] In order to achieve one of the above-mentioned purposes of the invention, one embodiment of the present invention provides a robot, including a memory and a processor, wherein the memory stores a computer program, and when the processor executes the computer program, the steps of the robot automatic charging method as described above are implemented.

[0036] In order to achieve one of the above-mentioned objects of the invention, an embodiment of the present invention provides a readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of the above-mentioned robot automatic charging method are implemented.

[0037] Compared with the prior art, the robot automatic charging method, system, robot and storage medium of the present invention can plan the optimal charging path in real time through the positions of the charging station and the robot and the changes in the signal strength of the charging station or the electronic boundary line, so that the robot can accurately and quickly find the charging station for docking and charging, saving the robot's time in searching for the charging station, thereby increasing the robot's working time and improving the robot's performance. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0038] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the working of an embodiment of the present invention

[0039] Figure 2 is a schematic flow chart of a robot automatic charging method provided by one embodiment of the present invention;

[0040] Figure 3 It is a flow chart of a robot automatic charging method provided by a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

[0041] Figure 4 It is a flowchart of a robot automatic charging method provided by a specific embodiment of a preferred embodiment of the present invention; DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0042] The present invention will be described in detail below in conjunction with the various embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings. However, these embodiments do not limit the present invention, and any structural, methodological, or functional changes made by a person skilled in the art based on these embodiments are all within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0043] The robot system of the present invention can be a lawn mowing robot system, a sweeping robot system, a snow sweeper system, a leaf vacuum system, a golf course ball picker system, etc. Each system can automatically move to a working area and perform corresponding work. In a specific example of the present invention, the robot system is a lawn mowing robot system as an example for specific description. Accordingly, the working area can be a lawn.

[0044] The lawn mowing robot system usually includes: a lawn mowing robot (RM) and a charging station. The lawn mowing robot includes: a main body, a mobile unit arranged on the main body, and a control unit. The mobile unit is used to control the movement and steering of the robot; the control unit is used to plan the movement direction and movement route of the robot, store the external parameters obtained by the robot, and process and analyze the obtained parameters, and specifically control the robot according to the processing and analysis results; the control unit is, for example, an MCU or a DSP. The robot and the charging station can be charged by plug-in connection or by wireless charging, which will not be described in detail here. It should be noted that the lawn mowing robot of the present invention also includes: a wireless positioning device. There are many wireless positioning methods, such as: GPS positioning or UWB positioning or Zigbee positioning, etc. The present invention can record the position of the charging station and the position of the robot through the GPS positioning device, and there are many ways to record the coordinates, for example: recording in the coordinate method of an electronic map.

[0045] The lawn mowing robot of the present invention may also selectively include: a camera device and an electronic boundary line recognition device are arranged in cooperation with the control unit, the camera device is used to obtain the scene within its viewing angle within a certain range, and the camera device of the present invention is mainly used to identify the charging station; for example: the camera device uses image analysis to identify the location of the charging station; the electronic boundary line recognition device is mainly used to identify the electronic boundary line; for example: the electronic boundary line connected to the charging station is identified by electromagnetic induction; further, the control unit is combined with the GPS positioning device, the camera device, and the electronic boundary line recognition device to control the robot to find the charging station, and plan the optimal path from the current position to the charging station position; the following content will be described in detail.

[0046] In addition, the robot also includes: various sensors, storage modules, such as: EPROM, Flash or SD card, etc., as well as a working mechanism for work, and a power supply; in this embodiment, the working mechanism is a mowing blade, and various sensors for sensing the moving state of the mobile robot, such as: tipping, lifting off the ground, collision sensors, geomagnetism, gyroscopes, etc., are not described in detail here.

[0047] like Figure 1 As shown, a GPS signal antenna 5 is provided on the lawn mower robot 4. The lawn mower robot 4 is powered by a battery to operate in the working area 3. When the battery power is low, the lawn mower robot 4 looks for a charging station 1 for docking and charging. After the battery is fully charged, it returns to the working area 3 to continue operating. The charging docking method can be a plug-in or a plug-in docking method, etc. The charging method can be a wireless charging method or a wired charging method. The wired charging method is used in the embodiment of the present invention. The charging station 1 is set on the electronic boundary line 2. After the mobile robot 4 reaches the electronic boundary line 2, it moves along the electronic boundary line to the charging station to dock and charge with the charging station.

[0048] like Figure 2 As shown, an embodiment of the present invention provides a robot automatic charging method, the method comprising the following steps:

[0049] S1. Control the robot to start working in the working area;

[0050] S2. When the robot needs to be charged, the robot is controlled to move toward the charging station and detects the strength of the target signal in the working area during the movement;

[0051] S3, controlling the robot to adjust its moving direction according to the intensity change of the detected target signal to control the robot to move to the guiding device near the charging station;

[0052] S4. Control the robot to move to the charging station according to the guidance device.

[0053] For step S2, during the working process, the robot will issue charging instructions to the robot through various rules, such as: the battery available time is less than a certain value, the battery power is less than a certain value, the robot working time reaches a certain value, etc.; when the robot receives the charging instruction, it will calculate the location coordinates of the charging station and the current location coordinates of the robot through the wireless positioning system, and then control the robot to move toward the location of the charging station. However, it is difficult for the wireless positioning system to achieve very precise positioning, resulting in the robot being unable to accurately find the charging station. Therefore, while the robot moves toward the charging station, it simultaneously detects the signal in the working area. When the robot moves into the range covered by the charging station or the electronic boundary line signal, it can detect the signal, and assist the robot in accurately finding the charging station based on the detected signal strength change.

[0054] For step S2, there are many ways to control the robot to move toward the charging station, such as: positioning in an electronic map, GPS, UWB or Zigbee positioning, etc.; in a specific example of the present invention, the robot completes initialization at the charging station, and records the current latitude and longitude coordinates of the charging station through GPS for subsequent calculation and call; in other embodiments of the present invention, a position with a fixed distance from the charging station can also be positioned, and the position coordinates of the charging station can be obtained by calculation.

[0055] For step S3, the signal strength of the charging station or the electronic boundary line detected by the robot at a position far away from the charging station is relatively weak, and the farther away, the weaker it is, and the signal may not be detected beyond a certain distance. When the robot moves toward the charging station, the strength of the detected signal will gradually increase, and the closer to the charging station or the electronic boundary line, the stronger the detected signal strength. In one embodiment of the present invention, due to the different layout shapes of the electronic boundary line, the movement path of the robot is not fixed, and the strength of the electronic boundary line signal detected during the movement will change. In order to enable the robot to move quickly and efficiently to the charging electronic boundary line when returning to the charging station, the method adopted by the present invention is to control the robot to adjust its movement direction according to the change in the strength of the detected signal, that is, to make the robot move in the direction where the signal becomes stronger, which can shorten the time for the robot to reach the charging station and save electricity.

[0056] Specific, combined Figure 3As shown, step S3 further includes: determining whether the strength of the detected signal continues to increase; if so, controlling the robot to keep moving in the current direction; if not, controlling the robot to adjust to move in the direction with the strongest signal. When the robot moves toward the charging station, the closer to the electronic boundary line of the charging station, the stronger the detected electronic boundary line signal. Therefore, when the electronic boundary line signal strength is detected to be the strongest, it means that the robot is moving in the direction of the electronic boundary line closest to the robot. This is the best moving direction, so keeping the robot moving in the current direction can move it to the electronic boundary line more efficiently and accurately. When the electronic boundary line signal is detected to start to weaken, it means that the robot is not in the best moving direction at this time, so it is necessary to adjust the robot to the best direction to continue moving, that is, to adjust it to the direction with the strongest detected signal strength to continue moving. There are many ways to adjust here. Steps S2 to S3 are executed in a loop until the robot moves to a guiding device near the charging station. In the embodiment of the present invention, the guiding device is a charging electronic boundary line, but it may be other guiding devices. Finally, step S4 is executed to control the robot to move along the electronic boundary line and reach the charging station to dock with the charging station for charging.

[0057] More specifically, combined Figure 4 As shown, in one preferred embodiment, step S3 includes: judging whether the detected signal strength continues to increase; if yes, controlling the robot to keep moving in the current direction; if not, controlling the robot to stop moving, then controlling the robot to rotate in place for one week, and obtaining the strongest signal value within one week, and then controlling the robot to rotate in place again until the detected signal value is roughly the same as the strongest signal value, and then stopping the rotation, and making the robot move in the current direction. When it is detected that the electronic boundary signal is no longer continuously increasing but begins to weaken, first control the robot to stop moving; secondly control the robot to rotate in place clockwise or counterclockwise for one week, synchronously detect and record the signal size value during the rotation process, and obtain the strongest signal value maxSignal; then make the robot rotate in place again clockwise or counterclockwise and detect the signal size value at the same time, and stop rotating when the detected signal size value is equal to or closest to the value maxSignal, which means that it has rotated to the direction with the strongest signal, and the robot is controlled to continue moving in this direction. Since there may be some precision or calculation errors in practice, it is difficult to always keep the detected signal value exactly the same, so the value can be roughly close. Steps S2 to S3 are executed in a loop until the robot moves to the electronic boundary line, and then step S4 is executed to control the robot to move along the electronic boundary line and reach the charging station and dock with the charging station to realize charging.

[0058] In one embodiment of the present invention, there is also provided a robot automatic charging system, including a charging station and a robot, wherein after the robot moves to the range covered by the charging station signal by wireless positioning, the robot moves to the charging station along the direction where the charging station signal becomes stronger. If the charging station is set on an electronic boundary line, after the robot moves to the range covered by the electronic boundary line signal by wireless positioning, the robot moves to the electronic boundary line along the direction where the electronic boundary line signal becomes stronger, and then moves to the charging station along the electronic boundary line. Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that for the convenience and simplicity of description, the specific working process of the system described above can refer to the corresponding process in the aforementioned method implementation, and will not be repeated here.

[0059] In one embodiment of the present invention, there is further provided a robot, comprising a memory and a processor, wherein the memory stores a computer program, and the processor implements the steps of the robot automatic charging method described in any of the above embodiments when executing the computer program.

[0060] In one embodiment of the present invention, a readable storage medium is further provided, on which a computer program is stored. When the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of the robot automatic charging method described in any of the above embodiments are implemented.

[0061] In summary, the robot automatic charging method, system, robot and storage medium of the present invention can plan the charging path in real time through the positions of the charging station and the robot, save charging time and improve the performance of the robot.

[0062] In the embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed modules, systems and methods can be implemented in other ways. The system implementation described above is only illustrative, and the division of the modules is only a logical function division. There may be other division methods in actual implementation, such as multiple modules or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed.

[0063] The modules described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components displayed as modules may or may not be physical modules, that is, they may be located in one place, or may be distributed on multiple network modules, and some or all of the modules may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of this implementation scheme.

[0064] In addition, each functional module in each embodiment of the present application can be integrated into one processing module, or each module can exist physically separately, or two or more modules can be integrated into one module. The above integrated modules can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of hardware plus software functional modules.

[0065] Finally, it should be noted that the above implementation modes are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present application, rather than to limit them. Although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the aforementioned implementation modes, those skilled in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions described in the aforementioned implementation modes, or make equivalent replacements for some of the technical features therein. However, these modifications or replacements do not deviate the essence of the corresponding technical solutions from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the various implementation modes of the present application.

Claims

1. A robot automatic charging method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Control the robot to start working in the working area; When the robot needs to be charged, the robot is controlled to move toward the charging station by wireless positioning until it is within the coverage of the target signal, and the strength of the target signal is detected during the movement; the strength of the target signal is the strength of the electronic boundary line signal, the electronic boundary line is connected to the charging station, and is arranged in a local area near the charging station, and the local area does not cover the working area; Control the robot to adjust its moving direction according to the intensity change of the detected target signal to control the robot to move to a guiding device near the charging station; the guiding device is an electronic boundary line of the charging station; Controlling the robot to move to the charging station according to the guiding device; The guiding device for controlling the robot to adjust its moving direction according to the intensity change of the detected target signal to control the robot to move to the vicinity of the charging station includes: Determine whether the detected target signal strength continues to increase, If so, control the robot to keep moving in the current direction; If not, controlling the robot to move in the direction where the intensity of the target signal is the strongest, so that the robot moves to the electronic boundary line; The method of controlling the robot to move in the direction where the intensity of the target signal is the strongest includes: First, control the robot to stop moving; Secondly, control the robot to rotate in place for one circle and obtain the strongest signal value within one circle; Finally, the robot is controlled to rotate in place again until the detected signal value is substantially the same as the strongest signal value, the robot stops rotating, and moves in the current direction.

2. The robot automatic charging method according to claim 1, characterized in that: Controlling the robot to move to the charging station according to the guiding device comprises: The robot is controlled to move to the electronic boundary line and then moves along the electronic boundary line to the charging station.

3. A robot automatic charging system, comprising a charging station and a robot, characterized in that: After the robot moves to the range covered by the charging station signal by wireless positioning, the robot moves to the charging station along the direction where the charging station signal becomes stronger; Wherein, the robot is controlled by the robot automatic charging method described in any one of claims 1-2.

4. The robot automatic charging system according to claim 3, characterized in that: The charging station is set on the electronic boundary line. After the robot moves to the range covered by the electronic boundary line signal through wireless positioning, the robot moves to the electronic boundary line along the direction where the electronic boundary line signal becomes stronger, and then moves to the charging station along the electronic boundary line.

5. A robot comprising a memory and a processor, wherein the memory stores a computer program, wherein: When the processor executes the computer program, the steps of the robot automatic charging method according to any one of claims 1 to 2 are implemented.

6. A readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, characterized in that: When the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of the robot automatic charging method according to any one of claims 1 to 2 are implemented.

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