A positioning method of a mobile printing robot, a chip and a robot

Abstract

This invention discloses a positioning method, chip, and robot for a mobile printing robot, comprising: the mobile printing robot starting to work on paper, acquiring an image of the current walking surface through a camera, and then determining a first boundary of the paper based on the acquired image of the current walking surface; the mobile printing robot determining a second boundary of the paper based on the first boundary, and then determining an initial printing position based on the first and second boundaries of the paper. The mobile printing robot can independently acquire the paper boundaries for positioning, without the need for additional positioning tools, making it convenient to use and reducing the overall cost of the machine.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of intelligent robot technology, specifically to a positioning method, chip, and robot for a mobile printing robot. Background Technology

[0002] Existing printers, due to their large size and reliance on AC power, can only be fixed in offices and homes. Users cannot take them with them when working outside. Because existing printers are stationary, with paper moving within the printer body, the printer's width must be greater than the paper's width to print, contributing to their large size. For these reasons, portable, autonomous mobile printing robots have emerged. However, before starting work, these robots need to determine their own position; otherwise, they cannot print data completely on the paper. Current mobile printing robots rely on additional auxiliary tools for positioning, making them expensive. Summary of the Invention

[0003] To address the above problems, this invention provides a positioning method, a chip, and a robot for a mobile printing robot. The specific technical solution of this invention is as follows:

[0004] A positioning method for a mobile printing robot includes the following steps: the mobile printing robot starts working on paper, acquires an image of the current walking surface through a camera, and then determines a first boundary of the paper based on the acquired image of the current walking surface; the mobile printing robot determines a second boundary of the paper based on the first boundary of the paper, and then the mobile printing robot determines an initial printing position based on the first boundary and the second boundary of the paper.

[0005] Furthermore, the mobile printing robot acquires an image of the current walking surface through a camera, including the following steps: the camera is positioned on the left side of the mobile printing robot, the mobile printing robot acquires an image of the current walking surface vertically downwards through the camera, and the mobile printing robot acquires an image of the current walking surface every set time interval.

[0006] Furthermore, the mobile printing robot determines the first boundary of the paper by acquiring an image of the current travel surface, including the following steps: after acquiring an image of the current travel surface, the mobile printing robot determines whether there are edge segments in the image; if there are edge segments in the image, the mobile printing robot configures the edge segment closest to itself as the first boundary of the paper; if there are no edge segments in the image, the mobile printing robot moves upward and acquires an image of the current travel surface during the movement, and determines whether there are edge segments in the image, until the first boundary of the paper is determined.

[0007] Furthermore, the mobile printing robot determines whether there are edge segments in the image by the following steps: the mobile printing robot filters the image of the current walking surface using an edge filter to obtain the gradient and direction of the pixels at the edge of the current walking surface image; the mobile printing robot extracts pixels whose gradient and direction meet the set conditions to obtain pixel segments; the mobile printing robot filters out pixel segments with a length greater than or equal to a first set distance and configures them as edge segments.

[0008] Furthermore, the mobile printing robot filters the acquired image of the current walking surface using an edge filter to obtain the gradient and direction of the pixel points at the edges of the current walking surface image. This includes the following steps: the mobile printing robot performs planar acquisition of the current walking surface image using a horizontal Sobel convolution factor to obtain a horizontal Sobel operator Gx; the mobile printing robot performs planar acquisition of the current walking surface image using a vertical Sobel convolution factor to obtain a vertical Sobel operator Gy; the mobile printing robot obtains the sum of the squares of the horizontal Sobel operators Gx and Gy, and then takes the square root of the sum to obtain the gradient of the pixel points at the edges of the current walking surface image; the mobile printing robot performs an arctangent function operation on the quotient of the horizontal Sobel operators Gx and Gy to obtain the direction of the pixel points at the edges of the current walking surface image.

[0009] Furthermore, the mobile printing robot determines the second boundary of the paper based on the first boundary of the paper, including the following steps: the mobile printing robot moves to the left and acquires an image of the current travel surface during the movement; the mobile printing robot determines whether there is an edge segment in the image of the current travel surface that shares a common endpoint with the first boundary; if there is an edge segment in the image of the current travel surface that shares a common endpoint with the first boundary, the mobile printing robot configures that edge segment as the second boundary of the paper; if there is no edge segment in the image of the current travel surface that shares a common endpoint with the first boundary, the mobile printing robot continues to move to the left until it acquires the second boundary of the paper.

[0010] Furthermore, the mobile printing robot determines the initial printing position based on the first and second boundaries of the paper, including the following steps: the mobile printing robot determines the lengths of the first and second boundaries of the paper and compares the lengths of the first and second boundaries; if the length of the first boundary of the paper is less than the length of the second boundary, the mobile printing robot sets the first endpoint of the second boundary as the upper left corner endpoint of the paper; if the length of the first boundary of the paper is greater than the length of the second boundary, the mobile printing robot sets the second endpoint of the second boundary as the upper left corner endpoint of the paper; the mobile printing robot determines the initial printing position based on the distance between the first printed character on the printed document and the upper left corner endpoint of the printed document; wherein, the first endpoint of the second boundary is an endpoint shared by the first and second boundaries, and the second endpoint of the second boundary is an endpoint not shared by the second and first boundaries.

[0011] Further, the mobile printing robot determines the length of the first and second boundaries of the paper by the following steps: The mobile printing robot sets the common endpoint of the first and second boundaries as the first endpoint of the first boundary, and then constructs a coordinate system using the first endpoint of the first boundary as the origin; The mobile printing robot determines its current coordinates in the coordinate system, and then moves horizontally to the right according to the direction of the first boundary until the other endpoint of the first boundary is captured by the camera, and sets that endpoint as the second endpoint of the first boundary; The mobile printing robot determines its current coordinates in the coordinate system based on the moving distance and determines the coordinates of the second endpoint of the first boundary based on the distance between the second endpoint of the first boundary in the image and the mobile printing robot, and determines the length of the first boundary using the distance formula between the two points; The mobile printing robot moves vertically downward according to the direction of the second boundary until the second endpoint of the second boundary is captured by the camera; The mobile printing robot determines its current coordinates in the coordinate system based on the moving distance and determines the coordinates of the second endpoint of the second boundary based on the distance between the second endpoint of the second boundary in the image and the mobile printing robot, and determines the length of the second boundary using the distance formula between the two points.

[0012] A chip for storing a program configured to execute the aforementioned positioning method for a mobile printing robot.

[0013] A mobile printing robot includes a main control chip, a drive module, and a printing module. The main control chip is the aforementioned chip. The drive module is used to enable the mobile printing robot to move on paper. The printing module is used to print documents onto paper while the mobile printing robot is moving on the paper.

[0014] Compared with existing technologies, the advantages of this invention are as follows: The mobile printing robot described in this application acquires an image of the current walking surface through a camera, then identifies the first and second boundaries of the paper from the image, and then determines the starting position point based on the first and second boundaries. The mobile printing robot can independently acquire the paper boundaries for positioning without the need for additional positioning tools, making it convenient to use and reducing the overall cost. The mobile robot can perform positioning by acquiring images, with a fast positioning speed and high accuracy. Attached Figure Description

[0015] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a positioning method for a mobile printing robot in one embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0016] The embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below. Examples of the embodiments are shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions throughout.

[0017] In the description of this invention, it should be noted that the directional terms such as "center", "lateral", "longitudinal", "length", "width", "thickness", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", "clockwise", and "counterclockwise" indicate the orientation and positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are only for the convenience of describing this invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. They should not be construed as limiting the specific protection scope of this invention.

[0018] Furthermore, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of technical features. Thus, the use of "first" and "second" to define a feature may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature, and in the description of this invention, "at least" means one or more, unless otherwise explicitly specified.

[0019] In this invention, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "assembly," "connection," and "joining" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; they can also refer to a mechanical connection; they can refer to a direct connection or a connection through an intermediate medium; or they can refer to the internal connection of two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this invention according to the specific circumstances.

[0020] In this invention, unless otherwise specified and limited, "above" or "below" the second feature can include direct contact between the first and second features, or contact between the first and second features through another feature between them. Furthermore, "above," "below," and "over" the second feature includes the first feature being directly above or diagonally above the second feature, or simply indicates that the first feature is at a higher horizontal level than the second feature. "Above," "below," and "below" the second feature includes the first feature being directly below or diagonally below the second feature, or simply indicates that the first feature is at a lower horizontal level than the second feature.

[0021] The following description, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, further illustrates specific embodiments of the present invention, making the technical solution and its beneficial effects clearer and more explicit. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and intended to explain the present invention, but should not be construed as limiting the invention.

[0022] like Figure 1 As shown, a positioning method for a mobile printing robot includes the following steps:

[0023] The mobile printing robot begins its work on the paper by first initializing the camera to improve its detection accuracy. Then, the robot uses the camera to acquire an image of the current travel surface and identifies line segments of that surface using a boundary recognition method. Based on these identified line segments, it determines the first boundary of the paper.

[0024] As one embodiment, the mobile printing robot acquires an image of the current walking surface through a camera, including the following steps: the camera is set on the left side of the mobile printing robot, the mobile printing robot acquires an image of the current walking surface vertically downward through the camera, and the mobile printing robot acquires an image of the current walking surface once every set time interval.

[0025] In one embodiment, the mobile printing robot determines the first boundary of the paper by acquiring an image of the current walking surface, including the following steps: after acquiring an image of the current walking surface, the mobile printing robot determines whether there are edge segments in the image; if there are edge segments in the image, the mobile printing robot configures the edge segment closest to itself as the first boundary of the paper; if there are no edge segments in the image, the mobile printing robot moves upward and acquires an image of the current walking surface during the movement, and determines whether there are edge segments in the image, until the first boundary of the paper is determined.

[0026] As one embodiment, the mobile printing robot determines whether there are edge segments in an image by the following steps: the mobile printing robot filters the image of the current walking surface using an edge filter to obtain the gradient and direction of the pixel points at the edge of the current walking surface image; the mobile printing robot extracts the pixel points whose gradient and direction meet the set conditions to obtain pixel segments; the mobile printing robot filters out pixel segments with a length greater than or equal to a first set distance and configures them as edge segments.

[0027] In one embodiment, the mobile printing robot filters the acquired image of the current walking surface using an edge filter to obtain the gradient and direction of the pixels at the edges of the current walking surface image. This includes the following steps: the mobile printing robot performs planar acquisition of the current walking surface image using a horizontal Sobel convolution factor to obtain a horizontal Sobel operator Gx; the mobile printing robot performs planar acquisition of the current walking surface image using a vertical Sobel convolution factor to obtain a vertical Sobel operator Gy; the mobile printing robot obtains the sum of the squares of the horizontal Sobel operators Gx and Gy, and then takes the square root of the sum to obtain the gradient of the pixels at the edges of the current walking surface image; the mobile printing robot performs an arctangent function operation on the quotient of the horizontal Sobel operators Gx and Gy to obtain the direction of the pixels at the edges of the current walking surface image.

[0028] The mobile printing robot determines the second boundary of the paper based on the first boundary, and then determines the initial printing position based on the first and second boundaries of the paper.

[0029] As one embodiment, the mobile printing robot determines the second boundary of the paper based on the first boundary of the paper, including the following steps: the mobile printing robot moves to the left and acquires an image of the current travel surface during the movement; the mobile printing robot determines whether there is an edge segment in the image of the current travel surface that shares a common endpoint with the first boundary; if there is an edge segment in the image of the current travel surface that shares a common endpoint with the first boundary, the mobile printing robot configures that edge segment as the second boundary of the paper; if there is no edge segment in the image of the current travel surface that shares a common endpoint with the first boundary, the mobile printing robot continues to move to the left until it acquires the second boundary of the paper.

[0030] As one embodiment, the mobile printing robot determines the initial printing position based on the first and second boundaries of the paper, including the following steps: the mobile printing robot determines the lengths of the first and second boundaries of the paper and compares the lengths of the first and second boundaries; if the length of the first boundary of the paper is less than the length of the second boundary, the mobile printing robot sets the first endpoint of the second boundary as the upper left corner endpoint of the paper; if the length of the first boundary of the paper is greater than the length of the second boundary, the mobile printing robot sets the second endpoint of the second boundary as the upper left corner endpoint of the paper; the mobile printing robot determines the initial printing position according to the distance between the first printed character on the printed document and the upper left corner endpoint of the printed document; wherein, the first endpoint of the second boundary is an endpoint shared by the first and second boundaries, and the second endpoint of the second boundary is an endpoint not shared by the second and first boundaries.

[0031] As one embodiment, the mobile printing robot determines the length of the first and second boundaries of the paper by the following steps: The mobile printing robot sets the common endpoint of the first and second boundaries as the first endpoint of the first boundary, and then constructs a coordinate system using the first endpoint of the first boundary as the origin; The mobile printing robot determines its current coordinates in the coordinate system, and then moves horizontally to the right according to the direction of the first boundary until the other endpoint of the first boundary is captured by the camera, and sets that endpoint as the second endpoint of the first boundary; The mobile printing robot determines its current coordinates in the coordinate system based on the moving distance and determines the coordinates of the second endpoint of the first boundary based on the distance between the second endpoint of the first boundary in the image and the mobile printing robot, and determines the length of the first boundary using the distance formula between the two points; The mobile printing robot moves vertically downward according to the direction of the second boundary until the second endpoint of the second boundary is captured by the camera; The mobile printing robot determines its current coordinates in the coordinate system based on the moving distance and determines the coordinates of the second endpoint of the second boundary based on the distance between the second endpoint of the second boundary in the image and the mobile printing robot, and determines the length of the second boundary using the distance formula between the two points.

[0032] A chip for storing a program configured to execute the aforementioned positioning method for a mobile printing robot.

[0033] A mobile printing robot includes a main control chip, a drive module, and a printing module. The main control chip is the aforementioned chip. The drive module is used to enable the mobile printing robot to move on paper. The printing module is used to print documents onto paper while the mobile printing robot is moving on the paper.

[0034] Compared with existing technologies, the advantages of this invention are as follows: The mobile printing robot described in this application acquires an image of the current walking surface through a camera, then identifies the first and second boundaries of the paper from the image, and then determines the starting position point based on the first and second boundaries. The mobile printing robot can independently acquire the paper boundaries for positioning without the need for additional positioning tools, making it convenient to use and reducing the overall cost. The mobile robot can perform positioning by acquiring images, with a fast positioning speed and high accuracy.

[0035] In the description of this specification, the terms "in one embodiment," "preferred," "example," "specific example," or "some examples," etc., refer to specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described in connection with that embodiment or example, which are included in at least one embodiment or example of the present invention. The illustrative expressions of the above terms in this specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described can be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments or examples. The connection methods linked in the description of this specification have significant effects and practical utility.

[0036] Based on the above description of the structure and principle, those skilled in the art should understand that the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above. Improvements and substitutions made using techniques known in the art based on the present invention all fall within the protection scope of the present invention and should be defined by the claims.

Claims

1. A positioning method for a mobile printing robot, characterized in that, The positioning method includes the following steps: The mobile printing robot begins its work on the paper. A camera is positioned on the left side of the robot, capturing an image of the current path vertically downwards. The robot captures this image at set intervals. After capturing the image, the robot checks for edge segments. If an edge segment is present, the robot sets the nearest edge segment as the first boundary of the paper. If no edge segment is present, the robot moves upwards, capturing the image of the current path and checking for edge segments as it moves, until the first boundary of the paper is determined. The mobile printing robot determines the second boundary of the paper based on the first boundary of the paper. Specifically, the mobile printing robot moves to the left and acquires an image of the current travel surface during the movement. The mobile printing robot determines whether there is an edge segment in the image of the current travel surface that shares a common endpoint with the first boundary. If there is an edge segment in the image of the current travel surface that shares a common endpoint with the first boundary, the mobile printing robot configures that edge segment as the second boundary of the paper. If there is no edge segment in the image of the current travel surface that shares a common endpoint with the first boundary, the mobile printing robot continues to move to the left until it acquires the second boundary of the paper. Then, the mobile printing robot determines the initial printing position based on the first and second boundaries of the paper. Specifically, the mobile printing robot determines the lengths of the first and second boundaries of the paper and compares them. If the length of the first boundary is less than the length of the second boundary, the mobile printing robot sets the first endpoint of the second boundary as the upper left corner of the paper. If the length of the first boundary is greater than the length of the second boundary, the mobile printing robot sets the second endpoint of the second boundary as the upper left corner of the paper. The mobile printing robot determines the initial printing position based on the distance between the first printed character on the printed document and the upper left corner of the printed document. Here, the first endpoint of the second boundary is the endpoint shared by the first and second boundaries, and the second endpoint of the second boundary is the endpoint not shared by the second and first boundaries.

2. The positioning method for the mobile printing robot according to claim 1, characterized in that, The mobile printing robot determines whether there are edge line segments in an image, including the following steps: The mobile printing robot uses an edge filter to filter the image of the current walking surface to obtain the gradient and direction of the pixels at the edges of the current walking surface image; The mobile printing robot extracts pixels whose gradients and orientations meet set conditions to obtain pixel line segments; The mobile printing robot filters out pixel line segments with a length greater than or equal to a first set distance and configures them as edge line segments.

3. The positioning method for the mobile printing robot according to claim 2, characterized in that, The mobile printing robot uses an edge filter to filter the acquired image of the current walking surface to obtain the gradient and direction of the pixel points of the edge of the current walking surface image, including the following steps: The mobile printing robot obtains the horizontal Sobel operator Gx by performing a planar Sobel operation on the image of the current walking surface using the horizontal Sobel convolution factor and the image of the current walking surface. The mobile printing robot obtains the vertical Sobel operator Gy by combining the vertical Sobel convolution factor with the image of the current walking surface to obtain the image of the current walking surface in the plane. The mobile printing robot obtains the sum of the squares of the horizontal Sobel operator Gx and the horizontal Sobel operator Gy, and then takes the square root of the sum of the squares of the horizontal Sobel operator Gx and the horizontal Sobel operator Gy to obtain the gradient of the pixel points of the edge of the image of the current walking surface. The mobile printing robot performs an arctangent function operation on the quotient of the horizontal Sobel operator Gx and the vertical Sobel operator Gy to obtain the direction of the pixel points at the edge of the image of the current walking surface.

4. The positioning method for the mobile printing robot according to claim 1, characterized in that, The mobile printing robot determines the lengths of the first and second boundaries of the paper, including the following steps: The mobile printing robot sets the endpoint common to the first boundary and the second boundary as the first endpoint of the first boundary, and then uses the first endpoint of the first boundary as the origin to construct a coordinate system. The mobile printing robot determines its current coordinates in the coordinate system, and then moves horizontally to the right according to the direction of the first boundary until the other end of the first boundary is captured by the camera, and sets that end as the second end of the first boundary; The mobile printing robot determines its current coordinates in the coordinate system based on the distance it has traveled, and determines the coordinates of the second endpoint of the first boundary based on the distance between the second endpoint of the first boundary in the image and the mobile printing robot. The length of the first boundary is then determined using the formula for the distance between the two points. The mobile printing robot moves vertically downwards according to the direction of the second boundary until the second endpoint of the second boundary is captured by the camera; The mobile printing robot determines its current coordinates in the coordinate system based on the distance it has traveled, and determines the coordinates of the second endpoint of the second boundary in the image based on the distance between the second endpoint and the mobile printing robot. The length of the second boundary is then determined using the distance formula between the two points.

5. A chip for storing a program, characterized in that, The program is configured to perform the positioning method of the mobile printing robot as described in any one of claims 1 to 4.

6. A mobile printing robot, characterized in that, The mobile printing robot includes a main control chip, a drive module, and a printing module. The main control chip is the chip described in claim 5. The drive module is used to enable the mobile printing robot to move on the paper. The printing module is used to print the document onto the paper when the mobile printing robot moves on the paper.

Images