Cleaning robot

Abstract

The application provides a cleaning robot, comprising a robot body and a control unit arranged in the robot body, further comprising: a fixing unit arranged at the bottom of the front end of the robot body; the fixing unit comprises a sleeve; and an ultrasonic sensor fixed in the sleeve and electrically connected with the control unit, the ultrasonic sensor is used for emitting ultrasonic waves downward and receiving echoes reflected by different ground shapes. The cleaning robot can improve the accuracy and precision of carpet recognition.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of application No. 202010124592.3, the original application date of which is February 27, 2020, and the invention creation name is: cleaning robot. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present application relates to the field of smart home, in particular, relates to a cleaning robot. BACKGROUND

[0003] In recent years, with the rapid development of computer technology and artificial intelligence science, intelligent robot technology has gradually become a hot spot in the field of modern robot research. Among them, the sweeping robot as the most practical one in intelligent robots, can automatically complete the ground cleaning work by relying on certain artificial intelligence. The development direction of the sweeping robot will be better cleaning effect, higher cleaning efficiency and larger cleaning area brought by more advanced artificial intelligence.

[0004] At present, more and more families lay carpets, because the sweeping robot has different cleaning modes on the carpet and the normal ground, so it is necessary to identify the carpet. The existing intelligent sweeping robot generally uses a single cliff perception infrared sensor to identify the carpet, but the infrared sensor is easy to be disturbed by material color or environmental light, thereby leading to low identification accuracy.

[0005] Therefore, in the long-term research and development, the inventors have carried out a lot of research on the structure of the cleaning robot, and have proposed a cleaning robot to solve one of the above technical problems. SUMMARY

[0006] The purpose of the present application is to provide a cleaning robot that can solve at least one of the above technical problems. The specific scheme is as follows:

[0007] According to the specific embodiment of the present application, the present application provides a cleaning robot, which comprises a robot main body and a control unit arranged in the robot main body, and further comprises:

[0008] a sleeve arranged at the bottom of the front end of the robot main body;

[0009] and an ultrasonic sensor electrically connected with the control unit;

[0010] The ultrasonic sensor is used to emit ultrasonic waves downward and receive echoes reflected by different ground shapes, and the sleeve is a hollow cylindrical shape, which can cause uniform diffuse reflection when the echoes are shot to the inner wall of the sleeve.

[0011] Optionally, the central axis of the hollow cylinder is perpendicular to the ground.

[0012] Optionally, the sleeve is a cylinder formed at the bottom front end of the robot body.

[0013] Optionally, the bottom edge of the sleeve is beveled.

[0014] Optionally, the sleeve is provided with a fixing part for fixing the ultrasonic sensor.

[0015] Optionally, the cleaning robot further includes a washer disposed at the contact position between the sleeve and the ultrasonic sensor.

[0016] Optionally, the cleaning robot further includes a cover plate placed on top of the ultrasonic sensor for securing the ultrasonic sensor.

[0017] Optionally, the cover plate is provided with a connection opening for electrically connecting the ultrasonic sensor and the control unit.

[0018] Optionally, the upper surface of the cover plate is provided with reinforcing ribs, which are used to support sensors in the cleaning robot other than the ultrasonic sensor.

[0019] Optionally, when the ground surface is a normal ground surface, the number of echo peaks received by the sensing unit is 6 to 10; or, when the ground surface is a carpet surface, the number of echo peaks received by the sensing unit is 1 to 2.

[0020] Optionally, the sleeve and the robot body are independent of each other.

[0021] According to a specific embodiment of the present invention, a cleaning robot is provided, comprising a robot body and a control unit disposed within the robot body. The robot body includes a chassis, the edges of which are chamfered. The cleaning robot further includes:

[0022] A sleeve, wherein the shape of the bottom edge of the sleeve facing the ground is consistent with the chamfer shape;

[0023] An ultrasonic sensor is included, which is electrically connected to the control unit. The ultrasonic sensor is used to emit ultrasonic waves to the ground and receive echoes reflected by different ground features. When the echoes are directed toward the inner wall of the sleeve, uniform diffuse reflection occurs.

[0024] Optionally, the sleeve and the robot body are independent of each other.

[0025] Optionally, the sleeve is open on both sides.

[0026] Optionally, the sleeve is a hollow cylinder.

[0027] According to the specific embodiments of the present application, the present application provides a cleaning robot, comprising a robot body and a control unit arranged in the robot body, the cleaning robot further comprises:

[0028] a sleeve, which is independent of the robot body;

[0029] and an ultrasonic sensor, which is electrically connected with the control unit;

[0030] The ultrasonic sensor is used to emit ultrasonic waves to the ground and receive echoes reflected by different ground forms, and when the echoes are shot to the inner wall of the sleeve, uniform diffuse reflection can occur, and the echo waveform of the non-carpet surface and the echo waveform of the carpet surface are more deviated due to the arrangement of the sleeve, thereby improving the accuracy and precision of carpet identification.

[0031] Compared with the prior art, the above scheme of the present application realizes multiple echoes of the normal surface by arranging the downward-emitting ultrasonic sensor at the lower front side of the cleaning robot, and fixing the ultrasonic sensor in a sleeve, so that the ultrasonic echo waveform of the normal surface and the ultrasonic echo waveform of the carpet surface are more deviated, and thus the accuracy and precision of the cleaning robot in identifying the carpet can be improved. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0032] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated into and form part of the specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with the present application and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the application. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present application, and other drawings can be obtained from these drawings without creative labor for those skilled in the art. In the drawings:

[0033] Figure 1A Fig. 1 shows a top view of a cleaning robot according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0034] Figure 1B Fig. 2 shows a bottom view of a cleaning robot according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0035] Figure 2 Fig. 3 shows a perspective view of the bottom of the cleaning robot according to Figure 1A and 1B Fig. 4 shows a perspective view of the bottom of the cleaning robot according to

[0036] Figure 3 Fig. 5 shows a perspective view of the ultrasonic sensor assembled to the fixing unit according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0037] Figure 4AFig. 2 shows the echo waveform diagram of the normal ground received by the ultrasonic sensor with sleeve and the ultrasonic sensor without sleeve according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0038] Figure 4B Fig. 3 shows the echo waveform diagram of the carpet surface received by the ultrasonic sensor with sleeve and the ultrasonic sensor without sleeve according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0039] Figure 5 Fig. 4 shows the perspective view of the sleeve and the washer assembled in the fixing unit according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0040] Figure 6 Fig. 5 shows the perspective view of the cover fixing the ultrasonic sensor according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0041] Figure 7 Fig. 6 shows the flow chart of a method for identifying the carpet of a cleaning robot according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0042] Figure 8 Fig. 7 shows the flow chart of a method for adjusting the standard echo waveform by intelligent learning according to the actual cleaning situation of the cleaning robot on the designated normal ground according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0043] Figure 9 Fig. 8 shows the flow chart of a method for obtaining the standard echo signal of the normal ground according to the echo data of the normal ground and the echo data of the carpet surface according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0044] In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present application clearer, the following will further describe the present application with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present application, but not all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present application, all the other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative work fall into the scope of protection of the present application.

[0045] The terms used in the embodiments of the present application are only for the purpose of describing the specific embodiments, and are not intended to limit the present application. The singular forms "a", "an" and "the" used in the embodiments of the present application and the appended claims are also intended to include the plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. "Plural" generally includes at least two.

[0046] It should be understood that the term "and / or" as used herein merely describes associated objects, and can exist in three forms: A and / or B, A or B, and A and B. In addition, the character " / " as used herein generally represents an "or" relationship between the front and rear associated objects.

[0047] It should be understood that, although the terms first, second, third, etc. can be used herein to describe various …, these … should not be limited to these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one … from another. For example, a first … could also be termed a second …, and, similarly, a second … could also be termed a first …, without departing from the scope of embodiments of the present application.

[0048] Depending on context, the word "if" as used herein can be interpreted as meaning "when" or "while" or "in response to determining" or "in response to detecting." Similarly, the phrase "if it is determined" or "if [a stated condition or event] is detected" can be interpreted as meaning "upon determining" or "in response to determining" or "upon detecting [the stated condition or event]" or "in response to detecting [the stated condition or event]."

[0049] It should also be noted that the terms "comprising", "comprises", "including", "includes" or any other variation thereof are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, product or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but can include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, product or apparatus. An element proceeded by "comprises a" does not, without more constraints, exclude the existence of additional identical elements in the process, product or apparatus that comprises the element.

[0050] Optional embodiments of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the attached drawings.

[0051] Embodiment 1

[0052] Figure 1A And 1B is a structural schematic diagram of a cleaning robot 10 according to an exemplary embodiment, Figure 1A exemplarily shows a top view schematic diagram of the cleaning robot 10, Figure 1B exemplarily shows a bottom view schematic diagram of the cleaning robot 10. As Figure 1A And Figure 1B shown, the cleaning robot 10 comprises a robot body 1, a control unit (not shown in the figure), a fixing unit 2 and an ultrasonic sensor 3.

[0053] The robot body 1 forms a shell of the cleaning robot 10 and contains other components such as other sensing units, driving units, cleaning units, energy units, and human-computer interaction units, etc. which are not shown in the drawings. Any unit components included in existing cleaning robots can be integrated on the robot body of the present application to complete the overall operation function of the cleaning robot 10 according to the embodiments of the present application. The integration or positional relationship of the above-mentioned units can be obtained by referring to the prior art, and will not be described here. Optionally, the robot body is in the shape of a flat cylinder, and further, the bottom edge of the cylinder is provided with a chamfer for realizing the obstacle crossing function.

[0054] The control unit is arranged in the robot body 1, and specifically arranged on a circuit board in the robot body 1. The control unit includes a processor which can comprehensively judge the current ground form according to the echo signal fed back by the ultrasonic sensor. Optionally, the processor is an MCU (Microcontroller Unit) or an AP (electronic arithmetic processor).

[0055] The above-mentioned ground form includes a normal ground and a carpet surface. The normal ground includes a smooth ground such as a wooden floor, a ceramic tile, and a ceramic brick. The carpet surface refers to a ground surface on which a carpet is laid. Here, the carpet can be understood in a broad sense and includes clothes and other articles containing wool.

[0056] The fixing unit 2 is arranged in front of the chassis of the robot body 1 and is used for fixing the ultrasonic sensor 3 to facilitate the first-time judgment of the ground form. Specifically, the fixing unit 2 includes a sleeve 21 which is a hollow cylinder with both sides being transparent. The central axis of the hollow cylinder is perpendicular to the ground. This structure makes the echo signal of the ultrasonic sensor 3 be uniformly diffused reflected in the hollow cylinder, and further makes the returning time of the echo signal fixed. Optionally, as shown in Figure 2 If the bottom of the ultrasonic sensor 3 is exposed through the cylinder, a hollow cylinder with the same size can be additionally arranged at the bottom of the cylinder. This sleeve structure can save the manufacturing cost and installation time. In other embodiments, the sleeve 21 and the robot body 1 can be two independent structures which are assembled together.

[0057] Preferably, the side surface of the sleeve 21 facing the ground is flat, i.e. parallel to the ground, so that more effective echoes can be received during the cleaning process. However, in some embodiments, the chassis of the cleaning robot 10 is provided with a chamfer, and in order to match the overall shape of the cleaning robot 10, the flat surface of the sleeve 21 facing the ground needs to be provided with a shape consistent with the chamfer, otherwise the flat sleeve 21 can be easily damaged during the movement of the cleaning robot 10. Alternatively, the bottom edge of the sleeve 21 can be provided with a slope.

[0058] As shown in Figure 3 , the ultrasonic sensor 3 is fixed in the sleeve 21 and electrically connected to the control unit. The ultrasonic sensor 3 is used to emit ultrasonic signals to the ground and receive echoes reflected by the ground. The ultrasonic sensor 3 is also used to send the received echo signals to the control unit. The type of ultrasonic sensor can be selected according to actual needs, which is not limited here.

[0059] Alternatively, the top of the ultrasonic sensor 3 is provided with two metal plugs 31 for electrical connection with the control unit for signal transmission, which can be electrically connected to the control unit by wiring. In other embodiments, the top of the ultrasonic sensor 3 can be provided with a gold finger (not shown in the figure), which is composed of multiple golden conductive pads. The signals of the ultrasonic sensor 3 can be transmitted to the control unit through the gold finger.

[0060] In the exemplary embodiments of the present application, by fixing the ultrasonic sensor 3 in the sleeve 21, the accuracy of the cleaning robot in identifying the carpet can be improved. Below, the specific principle of improving the carpet identification accuracy is explained by Figure 4A and Figure 4B . Figure 4A Exemplary waveforms of echoes received by the ultrasonic sensor with and without the sleeve are shown; Figure 4B Exemplary waveforms of echoes received by the ultrasonic sensor with and without the sleeve are shown. As shown in Figure 4A , no sleeve 21 is added to the periphery of the ultrasonic sensor 3, i.e. the ultrasonic sensor 3 is exposed, and the control unit controls the ultrasonic sensor 3 to emit ultrasonic signals to the normal ground and receive echoes. Similarly, after the sleeve 21 is added to the periphery of the ultrasonic sensor 3, the control unit controls the ultrasonic sensor 3 to emit ultrasonic signals to the normal ground and receive echoes, and the number of received echo peaks is 6-10. Compared with the ultrasonic sensor 3 without the added sleeve 21, the ultrasonic sensor 3 with the added sleeve 21 realizes multiple echoes on the normal surface. As shown in Figure 4BAs shown, the setting sleeve and the ultrasonic sensor 3 without setting sleeve reflect the carpet surface, and due to the fact that ultrasonic waves are almost completely absorbed by the carpet, the reflection of the two echoes is short and only 1-2 wave peaks.

[0061] Therefore, from the comparison of the above Figure 4A and 4B , it can be seen that in the case of setting the sleeve, the ultrasonic echo waveform of the normal surface deviates more from the ultrasonic echo waveform of the carpet surface, which greatly improves the accuracy and accuracy of carpet recognition.

[0062] Further, the fixing unit 2 comprises a fixing part 22 for fixing the ultrasonic sensor 3 in the sleeve 21. Optionally, the fixing part 22 is a step located in the inner wall of the sleeve 21, which is an integral structure with the sleeve 21 by injection molding, and the step can support the ultrasonic sensor 3 to achieve fixation. The shape of the step matches the shape of the ultrasonic sensor 3, which is not limited in detail. Of course, the fixing part 22 is not limited to being inside the sleeve 21, but can also be outside the sleeve 21, as long as it can achieve the function of not falling off the ultrasonic sensor 3.

[0063] Optionally, the fixing unit 2 further comprises a fixed anchor point 23 and a movable anchor point 24, which are arranged at the top of the sleeve 21 and are used for fixing the ultrasonic sensor 3.

[0064] Optionally, as shown in Figure 5 , the fixing unit 2 further comprises a gasket 25 arranged at the contact position between the fixing part 22 and the ultrasonic sensor 3. Specifically, when installing the ultrasonic sensor 3, the gasket 25 is placed on the step first, and then the ultrasonic sensor 3 is placed. In this way, the gasket 25 can play a shock-absorbing role when the cleaning robot 10 performs cleaning tasks, thereby prolonging the service life of the ultrasonic sensor 3.

[0065] Optionally, as shown in Figure 6As shown, the fixing unit 2 comprises a cover plate 26 placed on top of the ultrasonic sensor 3 for fixing the ultrasonic sensor 3 from above. Specifically, screw holes 260 are provided on the cover plate 26 for fixing the ultrasonic sensor 3 by screws. Optionally, the cover plate 26 is further provided with a first slot / hole 261 corresponding to the fixed anchor point 23, and a second slot / hole 262 corresponding to the movable anchor point 24. The first slot / hole 261 matches the fixed anchor point 23 and is fixed after installation. The second slot / hole 262 is used to accommodate the movable anchor point 24 and allows the movable anchor point 24 to be finely adjusted in the second slot / hole 262 to facilitate the screw installation. After installation, the cover plate 26 is fixedly connected to the robot body 1. The shape of the cover plate 26 is not limited and can be selected according to the internal structure of the ultrasonic sensor or the robot body.

[0066] Optionally, the cover plate 26 is further provided with a connection opening 263 for electrically connecting the ultrasonic sensor 3 and the control unit. When the cover plate 26 is fixed on top of the ultrasonic sensor 3, the metal plug or gold finger on top of the ultrasonic sensor 3 can be electrically connected to the control unit through the connection opening 263.

[0067] Optionally, the upper surface of the cover plate 26 is provided with reinforcing ribs 264 which can strengthen the structure of the cover plate 26 and support other sensors of the cleaning robot 10. For example, part of the reinforcing ribs 264 are provided in a side curved surface structure to facilitate the fixing of an obstacle sensor (not shown) arranged in front of the robot body 1. Of course, the specific structure of the reinforcing ribs can be processed according to the shape of other sensors, which is not limited here.

[0068] It should be noted that the cleaning robot 10 can be a sweeping robot, a mopping robot, or other intelligent robots with autonomous walking mechanism and the need to identify the ground shape.

[0069] Finally, the cleaning robot 10 provided by the embodiment of the present application achieves multiple echoes of normal surfaces by arranging a downward emitting ultrasonic sensor on the lower front side and fixing the ultrasonic sensor in a sleeve, so that the ultrasonic echo waveform of the normal surface and the ultrasonic echo waveform of the carpet surface are more different, thereby improving the accuracy and precision of the cleaning robot in identifying carpets.

[0070] Embodiment 2

[0071] Please refer to Figure 7Fig. 1 shows a cleaning robot according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application. Fig. 2 shows a cleaning robot carpet identification method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application. Fig. 3 shows a cleaning robot carpet identification method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application. Figure 1A and 1B Fig. 1 shows a cleaning robot according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application. Fig. 2 shows a cleaning robot carpet identification method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application. Fig. 3 shows a cleaning robot carpet identification method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application. Figure 7 The cleaning robot carpet identification method according to the present embodiment comprises the following steps:

[0072] S71, setting a standard echo signal of a normal ground; wherein the standard echo signal comprises a standard echo waveform, a standard echo peak number and other signals capable of representing an echo.

[0073] Optionally, before the cleaning robot performs a cleaning task, the standard echo waveform of the normal ground is obtained according to the factory standard setting of the cleaning robot. The factory standard comprises the echo characteristics of the normal ground based on user big data, and can also comprise the echo characteristics of a carpet ground, such as the echo peak number, so as to more accurately set the standard echo signal of the normal ground.

[0074] Optionally, based on the standard echo waveform of the normal ground obtained according to the factory standard, the setting of the standard echo signal of the normal ground further comprises adjusting the standard echo waveform through intelligent learning according to the actual cleaning situation of the cleaning robot on the designated normal ground. Specifically, as shown in Figure 8 the adjusting of the standard echo waveform through intelligent learning according to the actual cleaning situation of the cleaning robot on the designated normal ground comprises:

[0075] S711, a room map is established in advance, which comprises at least one area. If multiple areas are included, the echo waveform corresponding to each area is the standard echo waveform. Of course, the room map can not be established, and the entire room can be regarded as an area.

[0076] S712, the ultrasonic sensor is controlled to emit an ultrasonic signal to the designated normal ground and receive a reflected designated echo. Specifically, the user places the cleaning robot on the normal ground in the room, and actually performs one or more cleaning processes, and then receives one or more designated echoes. The designated normal ground is a normal ground selected by the user to be cleaned, and the designated echo is the echo corresponding to the designated normal ground.

[0077] S713, the designated echo is learned through intelligent learning, the standard echo waveform of each area is generated, and the standard echo waveform is automatically saved in the corresponding position of the room map. It can be understood that the standard echo waveform of the normal ground set can be adjusted according to the actual situation of the ground used by the user. With the increase of the cleaning times of the user, the standard waveform will be automatically learned and saved on the corresponding room map.

[0078] Optionally, the setting of the standard echo signal of the normal ground is a user-defined signal. Specifically, the setting of the standard echo signal of the normal ground comprises: providing a learning mode to the user and guiding the user to collect echo data of the normal ground and echo data of the carpet surface; and obtaining the standard echo signal of the normal ground according to the echo data of the normal ground and the echo data of the carpet surface. Wherein, guiding the user to collect the echo data of the carpet surface is to further more accurately determine the threshold value of the standard echo signal of the normal ground, such as the minimum wave peak number and the roughness of the standard echo waveform.

[0079] In order to avoid large errors in the learning process of the user, resulting in the carpet mode of the cleaning robot being unable to be started, the standard echo signal of the normal ground can be further obtained by combining the factory standard data, so that more accurate carpet recognition can be achieved. Please refer to Figure 9 , the obtaining of the standard echo signal of the normal ground according to the echo data of the normal ground and the echo data of the carpet surface comprises:

[0080] S714, comparing the echo data of the normal ground and the echo data of the carpet surface with the factory standard data of the cleaning robot to determine whether the echo data of the normal ground and the echo data of the carpet surface are beyond a preset error range. Wherein, the preset error range is set according to the actual situation, which is not limited here.

[0081] S715, if the echo data of the normal ground and the echo data of the carpet surface are beyond the preset error range, adjusting the echo data of the normal ground and the echo data of the carpet surface according to the factory standard data. For example, if the preset error range is set to 1-2, the user collects the echo wave peak number of the normal ground as 11, and the echo wave peak number of the normal ground in the factory standard data is 5-9, then it is determined that the normal ground echo data collected by the user is incorrect.

[0082] S716, obtaining the standard echo signal of the normal ground according to the adjusted echo data of the normal ground and the echo data of the carpet surface.

[0083] S72, controlling the ultrasonic sensor to vertically emit an ultrasonic signal to the current ground, and receiving an actual echo signal reflected by the current ground;

[0084] Specifically, after the setting of the standard echo signal of the normal ground is completed, the control unit controls the transmission of an electrical signal to the ultrasonic sensor, the ultrasonic sensor converts the electrical signal into an ultrasonic signal and emits it downward to the ground, and the ultrasonic signal reflected by the ground is received by the ultrasonic sensor and converted into an electrical signal and transmitted to the control unit.

[0085] S73, determining whether the actual echo signal is different from the standard echo signal, and if different, identifying the current ground surface as a carpet surface.

[0086] In this step, the determination of whether the actual echo waveform is different from the standard echo signal to identify whether the current ground surface is a carpet surface includes:

[0087] Determining whether the number of peaks in the actual echo signal is less than the number of peaks in the standard echo signal, and if the number of peaks in the actual echo signal is less than the number of peaks in the standard echo signal, identifying the current ground surface as a carpet surface. Specifically, for different regions, the actual echo signal can be compared with the standard echo signal corresponding to the current region to improve the accuracy of carpet identification.

[0088] Optionally, before the judgment and identification process, the actual echo signal can be adjusted. Specifically, according to the received multiple actual echo signals of the current ground surface, the currently received actual echo signal is adjusted through intelligent learning. It can be understood that the cleaning robot identifies the user ground surface multiple times and automatically learns the actual echo signal received each time to improve the accuracy of carpet identification.

[0089] Optionally, if the ultrasonic signal reflected by the current ground surface is scattered at the bottom edge of the sleeve, the received actual echo signal is subjected to waveform compensation processing. It can be understood that when the bottom lower edge of the sleeve is a slope, the echo reflected by the ground surface will be scattered to a certain extent at the slope. Therefore, before the identification and judgment, the received actual echo signal can be subjected to waveform compensation processing. The specific waveform compensation processing method includes: setting a wave amplitude threshold; and performing weighted compensation on the peaks less than the wave amplitude threshold, so that the actual echo signal is consistent with the actual echo signal received when the bottom lower edge is a flat surface. Of course, it is not limited to this method, as long as the actual echo signal is consistent with the actual echo signal received when the bottom lower edge is a flat surface.

[0090] Optionally, the cleaning robot will emit working noise during operation, such as a fan, main brush rotation, side brush rotation, wheel advancement, etc. These working noises will affect the judgment of the actual echo signal, so the actual echo signal needs to be subjected to denoising processing. Optionally, the control unit can perform median filtering processing on the received actual echo signal. In other embodiments, the ultrasonic signal emitted by the ultrasonic sensor can be encoded, and the working noise in the actual echo signal can be removed according to the encoding. Here, the denoising process can refer to the existing technology for removing noise, which will not be described here.

[0091] Further, when the current ground is identified as a carpet surface, the control unit can control the cleaning robot to perform a carpet mode, for example, to increase the fan suction force so as to better clean the carpet; or, if the cleaning robot has a mopping function, to control the cleaning robot to raise the mopping tool or stop the mopping tool from working, to prevent the carpet from being soaked.

[0092] Finally, the carpet identification method of the cleaning robot provided by the embodiment of the present application solves the problems of low accuracy and poor effect of carpet identification by infrared sensors by setting a downward ultrasonic sensor below the front end of the robot, detecting the ground condition by ultrasonic waves, and adjusting the movement mode of the cleaning robot if the detection result is a carpet, so as to improve the accuracy and precision of carpet identification of the cleaning robot.

[0093] Finally, it should be noted that: the above examples are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present disclosure, but not to limit them; although the present disclosure has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing examples, those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that: it can still modify the technical solutions recorded in the foregoing examples, or make equivalent replacement for part of the technical features; and these modifications or replacements do not make the essence of the corresponding technical solutions deviate from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A cleaning robot, comprising a robot body and a control unit disposed within the robot body, characterized in that, The cleaning robot further includes: A sleeve, wherein the sleeve is disposed at the bottom front end of the robot body; and an ultrasonic sensor, wherein the ultrasonic sensor is electrically connected to the control unit; The ultrasonic sensor is used to emit ultrasonic waves downwards and receive echoes reflected from different ground shapes. The sleeve is a hollow cylinder, and when the echo is directed toward the inner wall of the sleeve, it can undergo uniform diffuse reflection.

2. The cleaning robot according to claim 1, characterized in that, The central axis of the hollow cylinder is perpendicular to the ground.

3. The cleaning robot according to claim 1, characterized in that, The sleeve is a cylinder opened at the bottom front end of the robot body.

4. The cleaning robot according to claim 1, characterized in that, The bottom edge of the sleeve is beveled.

5. The cleaning robot according to claim 1, characterized in that, The sleeve is provided with a fixing part, which is used to fix the ultrasonic sensor.

6. The cleaning robot according to claim 5, characterized in that, The cleaning robot further includes a washer disposed at the contact position between the sleeve and the ultrasonic sensor.

7. The cleaning robot according to claim 1, characterized in that, The cleaning robot further includes a cover plate placed on top of the ultrasonic sensor for securing the ultrasonic sensor.

8. The cleaning robot according to claim 7, characterized in that, The cover plate is provided with a connection opening, which is used for the ultrasonic sensor to be electrically connected to the control unit.

9. The cleaning robot according to claim 7, characterized in that, The upper surface of the cover plate is provided with reinforcing ribs, which are used to support the sensors in the cleaning robot other than the ultrasonic sensor.

10. The cleaning robot according to claim 1, characterized in that, When the ground surface is a normal surface, the ultrasonic sensor receives 6 to 10 echo peaks; or, when the ground surface is a carpet surface, the ultrasonic sensor receives 1 to 2 echo peaks.

11. The cleaning robot according to claim 1, characterized in that, The sleeve is independent of the robot body.

12. A cleaning robot, comprising a robot body and a control unit disposed within the robot body, the robot body including a chassis, the chassis having chamfered edges, characterized in that, The cleaning robot further includes: A sleeve, wherein the shape of the bottom edge of the sleeve facing the ground is consistent with the chamfer shape; The system includes an ultrasonic sensor electrically connected to the control unit; wherein the ultrasonic sensor is used to emit ultrasonic waves to the ground and receive echoes reflected by different ground features, and when the echoes are directed toward the inner wall of the sleeve, uniform diffuse reflection occurs.

13. The cleaning robot according to claim 12, characterized in that, The sleeve is independent of the robot body.

14. The cleaning robot according to claim 12, characterized in that, The sleeve is open on both sides.

15. The cleaning robot according to claim 12, characterized in that, The sleeve is a hollow cylinder.

16. A cleaning robot, comprising a robot body and a control unit disposed within the robot body, characterized in that, The cleaning robot further includes: A sleeve, which is independent of the robot body; and an ultrasonic sensor, wherein the ultrasonic sensor is electrically connected to the control unit; The ultrasonic sensor is used to emit ultrasonic waves to the ground and receive echoes reflected from different ground shapes. When the echoes hit the inner wall of the sleeve, uniform diffuse reflection occurs, and the deviation between the echo waveform of the non-carpet surface and the echo waveform of the carpet surface is greater due to the sleeve setting, thereby improving the accuracy and precision of carpet identification.

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