Method and apparatus for operating cleaning device, storage medium and electronic device

Abstract

The application provides a method and device for controlling operation of a cleaning device, a storage medium and an electronic device. The method comprises: obtaining target area information of a to-be-cleaned area, wherein the to-be-cleaned area is a position area in front of a running track of the cleaning device; in a case where it is determined according to the target area information that the to-be-cleaned area is not passable, obtaining an area mark corresponding to the to-be-cleaned area; and in a case where the area mark is used to indicate that the to-be-cleaned area allows the cleaning device to pass, controlling the cleaning device to continue moving along the running track. The above technical solution solves the problem of low cleaning coverage rate caused by misjudgment of obstacle information in the related art.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This application relates to the field of smart homes, and more specifically, to a method and apparatus for controlling the operation of a cleaning device, a storage medium, and an electronic device. [Background Technology]

[0002] Currently, when cleaning equipment (such as robotic vacuum cleaners) is cleaning a specific area of ​​the floor, it will avoid obstacles if it detects that the obstacle is impassable, for example, if the obstacle is too low or too narrow. However, in some scenarios, the cleaning equipment's judgment of obstacles is not accurate enough, resulting in areas that need cleaning not being cleaned due to misjudgment of obstacles.

[0003] For example, a robot vacuum can reach under low obstacles such as sofas and beds to clean them. If the robot vacuum misjudges that the obstacle is too low to pass, it will navigate around it.

[0004] It is evident that the operation and control methods of cleaning equipment in related technologies suffer from low cleaning coverage due to the tendency to misjudge obstacle information. [Summary of the Invention]

[0005] The purpose of this application is to provide a method and apparatus for controlling the operation of cleaning equipment, a storage medium and an electronic device, so as to at least solve the problem of low cleaning coverage caused by misjudgment of obstacle information in the operation control methods of cleaning equipment in the related art.

[0006] The purpose of this application is to achieve the following technical solution:

[0007] According to one aspect of the embodiments of this application, a method for controlling the operation of a cleaning device is provided, comprising: acquiring target area information of a region to be cleaned, wherein the region to be cleaned is a location region in front of the operating trajectory of the cleaning device; when it is determined that the region to be cleaned is impassable based on the target area information, acquiring a region marker corresponding to the region to be cleaned; and when the region marker indicates that the region to be cleaned is permissible for the cleaning device to pass through, controlling the cleaning device to continue moving along the operating trajectory.

[0008] In an exemplary embodiment, obtaining target area information of the area to be cleaned includes: acquiring an image of the area to be cleaned using an image acquisition component on the cleaning device to obtain a target area image; and extracting features from the target area image to obtain target area information, wherein the target area information includes area information of gap areas within the area to be cleaned.

[0009] In one exemplary embodiment, the target area information includes area information of the gap area within the area to be cleaned; determining that the area to be cleaned is impassable based on the target area information includes: determining the area size of the gap area based on the area information of the gap area within the area to be cleaned; and determining that the area to be cleaned is impassable if the area size of the gap area is less than the threshold size of the cleaning device.

[0010] In one exemplary embodiment, before obtaining the area marker corresponding to the area to be cleaned, the method further includes: obtaining a target marker request corresponding to a target area map, wherein the target marker request is used to mark a first target area in the target area map as a passable area, the target area map being an area map configured for the cleaning device; and in response to the target marker request, adding a passable marker to the first target area, wherein the passable marker is used to indicate that the area marked by the passable marker is a passable area.

[0011] In one exemplary embodiment, before obtaining the target marker request corresponding to the target area map, the method further includes: displaying the target area map on the area configuration interface of the target device; generating the target marker request in response to a marking operation performed on the first target area, wherein the marking operation is used to trigger marking the first target area as a passable area.

[0012] In one exemplary embodiment, before generating the target marking request in response to the marking operation performed on the first target area, the method further includes: in response to a zoning operation performed on the target area map, determining the area divided by the zoning operation as the first target area, wherein the area divided by the zoning operation includes areas in the target area map marked as impassable areas; or, in response to a selection operation performed on the target area map, determining the area selected by the selection operation as the first target area, wherein the area selected by the selection operation is an area in the target area map marked as impassable areas.

[0013] In one exemplary embodiment, before determining the region selected by the selection operation as the first target region, the method further includes: in response to a splitting operation performed on the second target region marked as an impassable region, splitting the second target region into a plurality of sub-regions, wherein each of the plurality of sub-regions is marked as an impassable region, and the plurality of sub-regions includes the first target region.

[0014] According to another aspect of the embodiments of this application, an operation control device for a cleaning equipment is also provided, comprising: a first acquisition unit, configured to acquire target area information of a region to be cleaned, wherein the region to be cleaned is a position area in front of the operating trajectory of the cleaning equipment; a second acquisition unit, configured to acquire a region marker corresponding to the region to be cleaned when it is determined from the target area information that the region to be cleaned is impassable; and a control unit, configured to control the cleaning equipment to continue moving along the operating trajectory when the region marker indicates that the region to be cleaned is permissible for the cleaning equipment to pass through.

[0015] In an exemplary embodiment, the first acquisition unit includes: an acquisition module, configured to acquire an image of the area to be cleaned using an image acquisition component on the cleaning device to obtain a target area image; and an extraction module, configured to extract features from the target area image to obtain target area information, wherein the target area information includes area information of the gap area within the area to be cleaned.

[0016] In an exemplary embodiment, the target area information includes area information of the gap area within the area to be cleaned; the device further includes: a first determining unit, configured to determine the area size of the gap area based on the area information of the gap area within the area to be cleaned before obtaining the area marker corresponding to the area to be cleaned; and a second determining unit, configured to determine that the area to be cleaned is impassable if the area size of the gap area is less than the threshold size of the cleaning device.

[0017] In one exemplary embodiment, the apparatus further includes: a third acquisition unit, configured to acquire a target mark request corresponding to a target area map before acquiring an area mark corresponding to the area to be cleaned, wherein the target mark request is used to mark a first target area in the target area map as a passable area, and the target area map is an area map configured for the cleaning device; and a marking unit, configured to add a passable mark to the first target area in response to the target mark request, wherein the passable mark is used to indicate that the area marked by the passable mark is a passable area.

[0018] In one exemplary embodiment, the apparatus further includes: a display unit, configured to display the target area map on a region configuration interface of a target device before obtaining the target marker request corresponding to the target area map; and a generation unit, configured to generate the target marker request in response to a marking operation performed on the first target area, wherein the marking operation is used to trigger marking the first target area as a passable area.

[0019] In one exemplary embodiment, the apparatus further includes: a third determining unit, configured to, before generating the target marker request in response to the marking operation performed on the first target area, determine the area divided by the zoning operation performed on the target area map as the first target area in response to the zoning operation performed on the target area map; wherein the area divided by the zoning operation includes areas in the target area map marked as impassable areas; or, a fourth determining unit, configured to, before generating the target marker request in response to the marking operation performed on the first target area, determine the area selected by the selection operation performed on the target area map as the first target area in response to the selection operation performed on the target area map; wherein the area selected by the selection operation is an area in the target area map marked as impassable areas.

[0020] In one exemplary embodiment, the apparatus further includes a splitting unit, configured to split the second target region into a plurality of sub-regions in response to a splitting operation performed on a second target region marked as an impassable region, prior to determining the region selected by the selection operation as the first target region, wherein each of the plurality of sub-regions is marked as an impassable region, and the plurality of sub-regions includes the first target region.

[0021] According to another aspect of the embodiments of this application, a computer-readable storage medium is also provided, wherein a computer program is stored in the computer program, and the computer program is configured to execute the above-described operation control method for the cleaning equipment when it is run.

[0022] According to another aspect of the embodiments of this application, an electronic device is also provided, including a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein the processor executes the above-described operation control method for the cleaning equipment through the computer program.

[0023] In this embodiment, a method is adopted to mark the passable areas of the cleaning equipment using area markers. The target area information of the area to be cleaned is obtained, where the area to be cleaned is the location area ahead of the cleaning equipment's running trajectory. If it is determined that the area to be cleaned is impassable based on the target area information, an area marker corresponding to the area to be cleaned is obtained. When the area marker indicates that the cleaning equipment is allowed to pass through the area to be cleaned, the cleaning equipment is controlled to continue moving along the running trajectory. Because the passable areas of the cleaning equipment are marked using area markers, when the cleaning equipment determines that the area to be cleaned is impassable, a secondary judgment can be made based on the area markers. When it is determined that the area to be cleaned is passable, the cleaning equipment is controlled to move along the original running trajectory to clean the area to be cleaned. This reduces the possibility of the cleaning equipment misjudging a passable area as an impassable area, thereby improving the cleaning coverage rate of the cleaning equipment. This solves the problem of low cleaning coverage caused by misjudgment of obstacle information in the operation control methods of cleaning equipment in related technologies. [Attached Image Description]

[0024] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with this application and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of this application.

[0025] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, for those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0026] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the hardware environment of an optional cleaning equipment operation control method according to an embodiment of this application;

[0027] Figure 2 This is a flowchart illustrating an optional operation control method for a cleaning device according to an embodiment of this application;

[0028] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of an optional area map according to an embodiment of this application;

[0029] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of an optional division of the operable area according to an embodiment of this application;

[0030] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of an optional splitting of impassable regions according to an embodiment of this application;

[0031] Figure 6This is a flowchart illustrating another optional method for controlling the operation of a cleaning device according to an embodiment of this application;

[0032] Figure 7 This is a structural block diagram of an optional operation control device for a cleaning equipment according to an embodiment of this application;

[0033] Figure 8 This is a structural block diagram of an optional electronic device according to an embodiment of this application.

Detailed Implementation Methods

[0034] The present application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be noted that, unless otherwise specified, the embodiments and features described in the embodiments of the present application can be combined with each other.

[0035] It should be noted that the terms "first," "second," etc., in the specification, claims, and drawings of this application are used to distinguish similar objects and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or sequence.

[0036] According to one aspect of the embodiments of this application, a method for controlling the operation of cleaning equipment is provided. Optionally, in this embodiment, the above-described method for controlling the operation of cleaning equipment can be applied to, for example... Figure 1 The hardware environment shown consists of terminal device 102, cleaning device 104, and server 106. For example... Figure 1 As shown, terminal device 102 can connect to cleaning device 104 and / or server 106 (e.g., IoT platform or cloud server) via a network to control cleaning device 104, for example, by binding with a cleaning robot and configuring the cleaning functions of cleaning device 104. Cleaning device 104 may include a host and a base station (or dust collection station), and the host and base station can be connected via a network to determine the current status of the other end (e.g., battery status, working status, location information, etc.).

[0037] The aforementioned network may include, but is not limited to, at least one of the following: wired network, wireless network. The aforementioned wired network may include, but is not limited to, at least one of the following: wide area network (WAN), metropolitan area network (MAN), local area network (LAN). The aforementioned wireless network may include, but is not limited to, at least one of the following: Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity), Bluetooth, infrared. The network used by terminal device 102 to communicate with cleaning device 104 and / or base station 106 may be the same as or different from the network used by cleaning device 104 to communicate with base station 106. Terminal device 102 is not limited to PC, mobile phone, tablet, etc., cleaning device 104 may be a device used for area cleaning, and server 106 may be a server of an IoT platform.

[0038] The operation control method for the cleaning equipment in this embodiment can be executed by a single terminal device 102, cleaning device 104, or server 106, or by at least two of them. Alternatively, the terminal device 102 or cleaning device 104 can execute the operation control method for the cleaning equipment in this embodiment by a client installed on it.

[0039] Taking the cleaning equipment 104 as an example to execute the operation control method of the cleaning equipment in this embodiment, Figure 2 This is a flowchart illustrating an optional operation control method for cleaning equipment according to an embodiment of this application, as shown below. Figure 2 As shown, the process of this method may include the following steps:

[0040] Step S202: Obtain the target area information of the area to be cleaned, wherein the area to be cleaned is the location area in front of the running trajectory of the cleaning equipment.

[0041] The operation control method of the cleaning equipment in this embodiment can be applied to the following scenarios: using the cleaning equipment for area cleaning can be based on a regional map for comprehensive area cleaning, or it can be based on a regional map and zoning information for cleaning specific zones. The cleaning equipment can be a cleaning robot, such as a smart vacuum cleaner, a robotic vacuum cleaner, a smart sweeping machine that integrates vacuuming and sweeping, or other devices with area cleaning functions. This embodiment does not limit the specific devices used.

[0042] The cleaning equipment can be equipped with detection components. When the cleaning equipment is running, the detection components can detect the area to be cleaned to obtain target area information. Here, the area to be cleaned is the area in front of the cleaning equipment's running trajectory. The target area information can be used to represent object information of the area objects contained within the area to be cleaned, and may include, but is not limited to, at least one of the following: obstacle information (e.g., the width and height of the obstacle), the amount of gap formed between the obstacle and the ground, wall, or other obstacles, etc. In this embodiment, the target area information is not limited.

[0043] In this embodiment, the detection component can be any component capable of area detection, such as an image acquisition component or a distance sensor. The image acquisition component can be any device capable of image acquisition, such as a camera, and the distance sensor can be any sensor capable of distance detection by emitting detection signals, such as an infrared distance sensor or a laser distance sensor.

[0044] When the detection component is a distance sensor, the cleaning equipment can send a detection signal during area cleaning. When the detection signal encounters an obstacle, it can be reflected off the obstacle's surface. After acquiring the reflected signal, the cleaning equipment can determine the target area information of the area to be cleaned based on the detection signal and the reflected signal.

[0045] When the detection component is an image acquisition component, during the area cleaning process, the cleaning equipment can use the image acquisition component to acquire images of the area to be cleaned, obtaining a target area image (which can be a color image or a black and white image). Based on the acquired image of the area to be cleaned, the cleaning equipment can determine the target area information of the area to be cleaned.

[0046] For example, during the process of a robot vacuum cleaning an area, its image acquisition component can acquire images of the area to be cleaned, obtain the area to be cleaned, and determine the target area information of the area to be cleaned ahead of the running trajectory based on the acquired images.

[0047] It should be noted that, in order to improve the accuracy of the target area information of the area to be cleaned, multiple detection components can be set up on the cleaning equipment. Each of the multiple detection components can detect the area to be cleaned independently, thereby obtaining multiple detection information, and determining the target area information based on the multiple detection information.

[0048] Step S204: If it is determined that the area to be cleaned is impassable based on the target area information, obtain the area marker corresponding to the area to be cleaned.

[0049] Based on the acquired target area information, the cleaning equipment can determine whether the area to be cleaned is passable for the equipment. If the area is passable, the equipment can clean it and then reacquire the area information. If the area is impassable, the equipment can adjust its cleaning trajectory to avoid abnormal situations, such as getting stuck or trapped.

[0050] However, due to factors such as recognition accuracy and environmental conditions, cleaning equipment may misjudge whether an area is passable for cleaning, mistaking a passable area for an impassable one. For example, if the distance between the tablecloth on a dining table and the ground is too small, the cleaning equipment may determine that it cannot pass under the table, even though it can pass through the tablecloth. Similarly, if the distance between the bottom of a bed and the ground is too small, the cleaning equipment may determine that it cannot pass under the bed, even though the gap is sufficient for the cleaning equipment to pass.

[0051] Optionally, in order to reduce the probability of cleaning blind spots caused by the cleaning equipment misjudging a passable area as a non-passable area, if it is determined that the area to be cleaned is non-passable based on the target area information, the cleaning equipment can obtain an area marker corresponding to the area to be cleaned, and further determine whether the area to be cleaned is a passable area based on the obtained area marker.

[0052] The aforementioned area markers are pre-configured. Area markers can be added to at least one preset area in the area map to mark each preset area as a passable area (or an impassable area). Area markers can be of any form; for example, they can be marked by a flag bit (1 for passable area), or other forms of markers, such as markers of different colors. A preset area can be a fixed area, such as an area defined by a closed boundary, or an open area, such as an area defined by an open boundary.

[0053] After determining that the area to be cleaned is impassable, the cleaning equipment can determine whether the area to be cleaned belongs to a preset area (a preset passable area or a preset impassable area). If so, the area mark of the preset area can be set as the area mark corresponding to the area to be cleaned.

[0054] For example, when a robot vacuum cleaner determines that the area to be cleaned is an impassable area, it can determine whether the area to be cleaned belongs to a certain preset area. If so, it can set the area mark of the preset area as the area mark corresponding to the area to be cleaned.

[0055] Step S206: When the area marker indicates that the cleaning equipment is allowed to pass through the area to be cleaned, control the cleaning equipment to continue moving along the operating trajectory.

[0056] After acquiring the area marker corresponding to the area to be cleaned, the cleaning equipment can control itself to perform corresponding operations based on the different area markers. Optionally, if the area marker indicates that the cleaning equipment is permitted to pass through the area to be cleaned, the cleaning equipment can continue to move along its operating trajectory.

[0057] When a zone marker indicates that the cleaning equipment is not allowed to pass through the area to be cleaned, the cleaning equipment can adjust its operating trajectory to move away from the area to be cleaned, or it can send a planning request to the associated terminal device to replan its operating route. After receiving a response message from the terminal device, the operating route is replanned and the equipment moves according to the replanned route.

[0058] It should be noted that the process of controlling the cleaning equipment to adjust its operating trajectory can be to control the cleaning equipment to turn in place. For example, the left and right wheels of the cleaning equipment can rotate around the center point (or center of gravity) of the cleaning equipment, or the wheels on the target side can remain stationary while the wheels on the other side rotate.

[0059] Through steps S202 to S206 above, target area information of the area to be cleaned is obtained, wherein the area to be cleaned is the location area in front of the running trajectory of the cleaning equipment; if it is determined that the area to be cleaned is impassable based on the target area information, an area marker corresponding to the area to be cleaned is obtained; if the area marker indicates that the area to be cleaned is permissible for the cleaning equipment to pass through, the cleaning equipment is controlled to continue moving along the running trajectory. This solves the problem of low cleaning coverage caused by misjudgment of obstacle information in the operation control method of cleaning equipment in related technologies, and improves the cleaning coverage of the cleaning equipment.

[0060] In one exemplary embodiment, obtaining target area information of the area to be cleaned includes:

[0061] S11, The image acquisition component on the cleaning equipment acquires an image of the area to be cleaned, thereby obtaining an image of the target area;

[0062] S12, perform feature extraction on the target area image to obtain target area information, wherein the target area information includes the area information of the gap area within the area to be cleaned.

[0063] When the cleaning equipment is equipped with an image acquisition component, the target area information of the area to be cleaned can be obtained through the image acquisition component. Optionally, the image acquisition component can be used to acquire an image of the area to be cleaned to obtain the target area image, and then feature extraction can be performed on the target area image to obtain the target area information.

[0064] Optionally, if the cleaning equipment is equipped with multiple image acquisition components, images of the area to be cleaned can be acquired using these components, resulting in multiple area images (the target area image includes multiple area images). Feature extraction is then performed on each area image separately to obtain multiple area information. Finally, the multiple area information is fused to obtain the target area information. Furthermore, to improve the accuracy of target area information extraction, the target area images can be preprocessed before feature extraction to remove noise and other artifacts.

[0065] For example, a robot vacuum cleaner can use its camera to capture images of the area to be cleaned, obtain images of the area to be cleaned, and determine the size of the gaps within the area to be cleaned based on the images.

[0066] This embodiment improves the accuracy and convenience of area information detection by using the image acquisition component on the cleaning device to detect the area to be cleaned.

[0067] In one exemplary embodiment, the target area information includes area information of the gap areas within the area to be cleaned. For example, the area width and height of the gap areas. These gap areas may include, but are not limited to, at least one of the following: gap areas between obstacles, gap areas between obstacles and the ground, and gap areas between obstacles and walls; this embodiment does not limit these categories.

[0068] Correspondingly, in this embodiment, determining that the area to be cleaned is impassable based on the target area information may include:

[0069] S21, Determine the area size of the void area based on the area information of the void area within the area to be cleaned;

[0070] S22, if the area size of the gap region is smaller than the threshold size of the cleaning equipment, determine that the area to be cleaned is impassable.

[0071] In this embodiment, the cleaning device can determine the size of the gap area based on the area information of the gap area within the area to be cleaned. The area size may include, but is not limited to, the area width and / or height of the gap area. Based on the area size of the gap area and the threshold size of the cleaning device, it can be determined whether the area to be cleaned is passable. If the area size of the gap area is less than the threshold size of the cleaning device, the area to be cleaned is determined to be impassable; if the area size of the gap area is greater than or equal to the threshold size of the cleaning device, the area to be cleaned is determined to be passable.

[0072] Optionally, since cleaning equipment is generally an irregular object, the threshold dimensions of the cleaning equipment can include the maximum width of the cleaning equipment in the horizontal direction and the maximum height of the cleaning equipment in the vertical direction. When the threshold dimensions of the cleaning equipment include multiple dimensions, the area to be cleaned will be determined as impassable if any one of the threshold dimensions of the cleaning equipment (e.g., width, height, etc.) is greater than the area size of the gap region.

[0073] It should be noted that because the cleaning equipment's trajectory is not a straight line during cleaning, its position may fluctuate. When the size of the gap area is exactly equal to the cleaning equipment's maximum horizontal width or maximum vertical height, the cleaning equipment may get stuck in the gap area. Optionally, the threshold size of the cleaning equipment can be set to be greater than its maximum horizontal width and maximum vertical height, thereby reducing the probability of the cleaning equipment getting stuck during cleaning.

[0074] For example, the threshold dimensions for a robotic vacuum cleaner are: width 40cm and height 12cm. If the width of the gap within the area to be cleaned is determined to be 50cm and the height 10cm, the area to be cleaned is deemed impassable because the height of the robotic vacuum cleaner is greater than the height of the gap. However, if the width of the gap within the area to be cleaned is 50cm and the height 15cm, the area to be cleaned is deemed passable because the size of the gap is greater than the threshold dimensions of the robotic vacuum cleaner.

[0075] This embodiment determines whether the cleaning equipment can pass through the area to be cleaned based on the threshold size of the cleaning equipment and the area size of the gap region, thus improving the convenience of cleaning equipment control.

[0076] In one exemplary embodiment, before obtaining the area marker corresponding to the area to be cleaned, the method further includes:

[0077] S31, Obtain a target marker request corresponding to the target area map, wherein the target marker request is used to mark the first target area in the target area map as a passable area, and the target area map is an area map configured for the cleaning equipment;

[0078] S32, in response to the target tag request, add a passable tag to the first target area, wherein the passable tag is used to indicate that the area marked by the passable tag is a passable area.

[0079] In this embodiment, a target area map may be configured on the cleaning device. This target area map may have area markers for at least one preset area. These area markers may be added by a user via their terminal device and requested to be set by the server. The server can obtain a target marker request corresponding to the target area map, which is used to mark a first target area in the target area map as a passable area. In response to this target marker request, the server can add a passable marker to the target area map. This passable marker indicates that the marked area (e.g., the first target area) is a passable area.

[0080] The first target area can be an area determined by the cleaning equipment to be impassable. For example, during area cleaning, the first target area is scanned and identified as impassable. When viewing the target area map, if the user believes that the cleaning equipment has misjudged an impassable area, the area marker of the misjudged impassable area can be modified, triggering the aforementioned target marker request to display the area as a passable area on the target area map.

[0081] Optionally, the target marking request can also be used to mark a first target area in the target area map as an impassable area. In response to this target marking request, the server can add an impassable marker to the target area map, which indicates that the marked area (e.g., the first target area) is impassable. Similarly, a user can also use the target marking request to mark areas that were mistakenly identified as passable areas as impassable areas.

[0082] It should be noted that the above-mentioned target labeling request can be a voice labeling request. By recognizing the voice labeling request, the region to be labeled and the region type to be labeled are determined. The region type can be a passable region or an impassable region.

[0083] For example, after a user has emptied the master bedroom, they can send a message to the server via their mobile phone or robot vacuum cleaner to "mark the entire area of ​​the master bedroom as passable on the map". After receiving the voice mark request, the server can add passable marks to the entire area of ​​the master bedroom on the robot vacuum cleaner's area map.

[0084] Optionally, to prevent the cleaning equipment from getting stuck, if it is determined from the cleaning equipment's stuck record that the cleaning equipment has been stuck in the first target area requested to be marked by the target marking request, a prompt message can be sent to the sending device of the target marking request (e.g., terminal device, cleaning equipment, etc.) to indicate that the cleaning equipment has been stuck in the first target area. It can also prompt whether to still mark the first target area as passable, thereby reducing the probability of the cleaning equipment getting stuck.

[0085] This embodiment improves the flexibility of configuring accessible areas by adding accessible markers to the requested area on the area map through the marker request method.

[0086] In one exemplary embodiment, before obtaining the target marker request corresponding to the target area map, the above method further includes:

[0087] S41, Display the target area map on the target device's area configuration interface;

[0088] S42, in response to the marking operation performed on the first target area, a target marking request is generated, wherein the marking operation is used to trigger the marking of the first target area as a passable area.

[0089] In this embodiment, the target marking request can be triggered visually. The target device can run a target application that matches the cleaning device; this application can be a user's terminal device, such as a mobile phone, or it can be the cleaning device itself. The target application can display a region configuration interface, which is used to configure the target region map of the cleaning device. The configuration can include: partitions in the target region map, impassable areas in the target region map, passable areas in the target region map, and areas to be cleaned in the target region map, etc.

[0090] When configuring a passable zone through the zone configuration interface, the user can select a first target zone and perform a marking operation on it. This marking operation can trigger the marking of the first target zone as a passable zone, and can be a combination of one or more operations, including but not limited to at least one of the following: a click operation, a double-click operation, and a swipe operation. In response to the detected marking operation, the target device can generate a target marking request. If the server is the one adding the passable mark to the first target zone, the target device can also send the target marking request to the server.

[0091] For example, the area configuration interface on a mobile device can display an area map configured for the robot vacuum cleaner, which includes the bed area in the master bedroom that is marked as an impassable area. The distance between the bed and the ground is sufficient for the robot vacuum cleaner to pass through. The user can select the bed area and click the button marked "Passable Area" on the area configuration interface to trigger a marking request to the server to mark the bed area as a passable area.

[0092] This embodiment displays a region map through a region configuration interface and performs a marking operation on a specified region in the region map, thereby improving the flexibility of region configuration.

[0093] In one exemplary embodiment, before generating a target tagging request in response to a tagging operation performed on a first target region, the method further includes:

[0094] S51, in response to the zoning operation performed on the target area map, the area divided by the zoning operation is determined as the first target area, wherein the area divided by the zoning operation includes areas in the target area map marked as impassable; or...

[0095] S52, in response to the selection operation performed on the target area map, the area selected by the selection operation is determined as the first target area, wherein the area selected by the selection operation is the area in the target area map that is marked as an impassable area.

[0096] In this embodiment, the first target area may be a single area on a target area map, or it may form a large area together with other areas on the target area map. This large area may contain impassable areas. For example, ... Figure 3 As shown, when the cleaning equipment performs area scanning, areas 1, 2 and 3 are identified as a large impassable area. Among them, area 3 is an area that is misjudged as impassable, while area 4 is a separate impassable area.

[0097] As an optional implementation method, in order to facilitate area marking, when the first target area to be marked as a passable area is not a separate area, the original area information in the target area map can be ignored, and the area to be marked can be directly divided on the target area map through a zone division operation.

[0098] The target device can detect the zoning operation performed on the target area map, and respond to the detected zoning operation by determining the boundary of the area divided by the zoning operation, thereby obtaining the area divided by the zoning operation, and identifying the area divided by the zoning operation as the first target area. Here, the area divided by the zoning operation may include areas in the target area map that are marked as impassable.

[0099] The above-mentioned division operation can be a selection operation of the first target area, a drawing operation of the first target area, or other operations that can divide the first target area from the impassable area containing the first target area. This embodiment does not limit this.

[0100] For example, it can be Figure 3 Region 3 is separated out. The boundaries of this separated region can be exactly the same as those of Region 3, or they can include parts of the passable region, such as... Figure 4 As shown, the shaded area represents the region divided by the partitioning operation, which includes region 3 and the passable areas outside of region 3. Combining this with the original region boundaries, regions 1 and 2 can be identified as impassable regions.

[0101] As another optional embodiment, when the first target area to be marked as a passable area is a separate area, it can be directly selected and marked on the target area map. The target device can detect the selection operation performed on the target area map, and in response to the detected selection operation, determine the area selected by the selection operation as the first target area. Here, the area selected by the selection operation is the area in the target area map marked as an impassable area. For example, it can select... Figure 3 Region 4 in the map is marked as a passable region.

[0102] This embodiment improves the flexibility of region marking by selecting regions to be marked as passable regions in different ways, depending on whether the region to be marked as passable is connected to other impassable regions.

[0103] In one exemplary embodiment, before determining the region selected by the selection operation as the first target region, the method further includes:

[0104] S61, in response to the splitting operation performed on the second target region marked as an impassable region, the second target region is split into multiple sub-regions, wherein each sub-region in the multiple sub-regions is marked as an impassable region, and the multiple sub-regions include the first target region.

[0105] In this embodiment, the first target region can be a portion of the second target region that is marked as an impassable area. To more accurately select the first target region from the second target region, the second target region can be first divided into multiple sub-regions, and then the first target region can be selected from the multiple sub-regions.

[0106] Users can enter the region splitting mode through the operation area configuration interface to perform a splitting operation on the second target region, or they can directly select the region splitting tool to perform the splitting operation on the second target region. The target device can detect the above splitting operation and respond to the detected splitting operation by splitting the second target region into multiple sub-regions. All of the split sub-regions can be automatically marked as impassable regions, including the first target region to be marked as a passable region.

[0107] Optionally, the process of splitting the second target area described above can be done by selecting the second target area to be split on the displayed target area map, and then clicking the split button to split it into multiple sub-areas. This embodiment does not limit this process.

[0108] It should be noted that the above splitting operation can be performed by first selecting the second target area, or by dividing the second target area into multiple blocks using splitting lines, and then clicking the "Split" button to trigger the area splitting.

[0109] For example, such as Figure 5 As shown, users can set split lines between region 1 and region 3, and between region 2 and region 3 (i.e., Figure 5 When the solid line is in the middle, it can be split according to the set split line to get the split area 1, area 2 and area 3.

[0110] In this embodiment, by performing a splitting operation on impassable areas, they are divided into multiple impassable areas, while simultaneously facilitating the marking of passable areas and improving the flexibility of area configuration.

[0111] The operation control method of the cleaning equipment in this application embodiment will be explained below with reference to an optional example. In this optional example, the cleaning equipment is a robotic vacuum cleaner.

[0112] In some scenarios, the robot's judgment of obstacles is not accurate enough. For example, with sofas or beds that are too low, the robot may judge that they are too low to pass through, causing it to avoid them, even though it can actually pass through, resulting in the space under the sofa or bed not being cleaned. Similarly, with narrow passages, the robot may judge that the passage is impassable, even though it can actually pass through, leading to reduced efficiency.

[0113] This optional example provides a robotic cleaning method where users can indicate areas the robot can pass through by setting markers on a map displayed on an app (application) on their terminal device. For example... Figure 6 As shown, the flow of the operation control method for the cleaning equipment in this optional example may include the following steps:

[0114] Step S602: Display the map built by the robot vacuum cleaner on the APP.

[0115] When the robot vacuum cleaner is cleaning or scanning a specific area, it can build a map, which can then be displayed on the app.

[0116] Step S604: Mark the passable areas in the map built by the robot vacuum cleaner.

[0117] Users can interact with the map on the app, marking which areas are passable. The terminal device can detect these area markings and annotate passable areas on the constructed map, for example, by interacting with a server.

[0118] In step S606, if the robot vacuum determines that it cannot pass through the area ahead during operation, it then determines whether the area ahead is a passable area marked by the user. If it is, it continues; otherwise, it detours.

[0119] The robotic vacuum cleaner can clean specific areas based on a pre-built map. During operation, if it determines that the path ahead is impassable, it can further determine if the area ahead is a user-marked passable zone. If so, it proceeds; otherwise, it detours.

[0120] In this embodiment, by setting area markers for passable areas on the APP, the robot vacuum cleaner can be informed of the passable areas in the area and perform area cleaning according to the markers, thereby improving the cleaning efficiency of the robot vacuum cleaner when performing area cleaning.

[0121] It should be noted that, for the sake of simplicity, the foregoing method embodiments are all described as a series of actions. However, those skilled in the art should understand that this application is not limited to the described order of actions, as some steps may be performed in other orders or simultaneously according to this application. Furthermore, those skilled in the art should also understand that the embodiments described in the specification are preferred embodiments, and the actions and modules involved are not necessarily essential to this application.

[0122] Through the above description of the embodiments, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the methods according to the above embodiments can be implemented by means of software plus necessary general-purpose hardware platforms. Of course, they can also be implemented by hardware, but in many cases the former is a better implementation method. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of this application, in essence, or the part that contributes to the prior art, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium (such as ROM (Read-Only Memory) / RAM (Random Access Memory), magnetic disk, optical disk), and includes several instructions to cause a terminal device (which may be a mobile phone, computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute the methods described in the various embodiments of this application.

[0123] An operation control device for cleaning equipment is also provided for implementing the above-described operation control method for cleaning equipment. Figure 7This is a structural block diagram of an optional operation control device for cleaning equipment according to an embodiment of this application, such as... Figure 7 As shown, the device may include:

[0124] The first acquisition unit 702 is used to acquire target area information of the area to be cleaned, wherein the area to be cleaned is the location area in front of the running trajectory of the cleaning equipment;

[0125] The second acquisition unit 704 is connected to the first acquisition unit 702 and is used to acquire the area marker corresponding to the area to be cleaned when it is determined that the area to be cleaned is impassable based on the target area information.

[0126] The control unit 706, connected to the second acquisition unit 704, is used to control the cleaning equipment to continue moving along the operating trajectory when the area marking indicates that the cleaning equipment is allowed to pass through the area to be cleaned.

[0127] It should be noted that the first acquisition unit 702 in this embodiment can be used to execute the above step S202, the second acquisition unit 704 in this embodiment can be used to execute the above step S204, and the control unit 706 in this embodiment can be used to execute the above step S206.

[0128] The above modules obtain target area information of the area to be cleaned, where the area to be cleaned is the location area in front of the running trajectory of the cleaning equipment. If it is determined that the area to be cleaned is impassable based on the target area information, an area marker corresponding to the area to be cleaned is obtained. If the area marker indicates that the area to be cleaned is permissible for the cleaning equipment to pass through, the cleaning equipment is controlled to continue moving along the running trajectory. This solves the problem of low cleaning coverage caused by misjudgment of obstacle information in the operation control methods of cleaning equipment in related technologies, and improves the cleaning coverage of the cleaning equipment.

[0129] In one exemplary embodiment, the first acquisition unit includes:

[0130] The acquisition module is used to acquire images of the area to be cleaned through the image acquisition component on the cleaning equipment, thereby obtaining an image of the target area.

[0131] The extraction module is used to extract features from the target area image to obtain target area information, which includes the area information of the gap area within the area to be cleaned.

[0132] In one exemplary embodiment, the target area information includes area information of the void area within the area to be cleaned; the device further includes:

[0133] The first determining unit is used to determine the area size of the gap area based on the area information of the gap area in the area to be cleaned before obtaining the area mark corresponding to the area to be cleaned.

[0134] The second determining unit is used to determine that the area to be cleaned is impassable when the area size of the gap region is smaller than the threshold size of the cleaning equipment.

[0135] In one exemplary embodiment, the above-described apparatus further includes:

[0136] The third acquisition unit is used to acquire a target mark request corresponding to the target area map before acquiring the area mark corresponding to the area to be cleaned. The target mark request is used to mark the first target area in the target area map as a passable area. The target area map is an area map configured for the cleaning equipment.

[0137] A marking unit is used to respond to a target marking request and add a passable mark to a first target area, wherein the passable mark is used to indicate that the area marked by the passable mark is a passable area.

[0138] In one exemplary embodiment, the above-described apparatus further includes:

[0139] The display unit is used to display the target area map on the area configuration interface of the target device before obtaining the target marker request corresponding to the target area map;

[0140] The generation unit is configured to generate a target marking request in response to a marking operation performed on a first target region, wherein the marking operation is used to trigger the marking of the first target region as a passable region.

[0141] In one exemplary embodiment, the above-described apparatus further includes:

[0142] The third determining unit is used to determine the area divided by the zoning operation as the first target area in response to the zoning operation performed on the target area map before generating a target mark request in response to the marking operation performed on the first target area. The area divided by the zoning operation includes the area in the target area map that is marked as an impassable area.

[0143] The fourth determining unit is used to determine the area selected by the selection operation as the first target area before generating a target mark request in response to the marking operation performed on the first target area, in response to the selection operation performed on the target area map, wherein the area selected by the selection operation is the area in the target area map that is marked as an impassable area.

[0144] In one exemplary embodiment, the above-described apparatus further includes:

[0145] The splitting unit is used to split the second target region into multiple sub-regions in response to a splitting operation performed on the second target region that is marked as an impassable region, before determining the region selected by the selection operation as the first target region. Each of the multiple sub-regions is marked as an impassable region, and the multiple sub-regions include the first target region.

[0146] It should be noted that the examples and application scenarios implemented by the above modules and corresponding steps are the same, but are not limited to the content disclosed in the above embodiments. It should also be noted that the above modules, as part of a device, can operate in environments such as... Figure 1 The hardware environment shown can be implemented through software or hardware, and the hardware environment includes the network environment.

[0147] According to another aspect of the embodiments of this application, a storage medium is also provided. Optionally, in this embodiment, the storage medium can be used to execute program code for the operation control method of any of the cleaning devices described in the embodiments of this application.

[0148] Optionally, in this embodiment, the storage medium may be located on at least one of the network devices in the network shown in the above embodiment.

[0149] Optionally, in this embodiment, the storage medium is configured to store program code for performing the following steps:

[0150] S1, Obtain target area information of the area to be cleaned, wherein the area to be cleaned is the location area in front of the running trajectory of the cleaning equipment;

[0151] S2, if it is determined that the area to be cleaned is impassable based on the target area information, obtain the area marker corresponding to the area to be cleaned;

[0152] S3, when the area marker is used to indicate that the cleaning equipment is allowed to pass through the area to be cleaned, control the cleaning equipment to continue moving along the operating trajectory.

[0153] Optionally, specific examples in this embodiment can refer to the examples described in the above embodiments, and will not be repeated in this embodiment.

[0154] Optionally, in this embodiment, the storage medium may include, but is not limited to, various media capable of storing program code, such as USB flash drives, ROMs, RAMs, portable hard drives, magnetic disks, or optical disks.

[0155] According to another aspect of the embodiments of this application, an electronic device for implementing the above-described operation control method for cleaning equipment is also provided. The electronic device may be a server, a terminal, or a combination thereof.

[0156] Figure 8 This is a structural block diagram of an optional electronic device according to an embodiment of this application, such as... Figure 8 As shown, it includes a processor 802, a communication interface 804, a memory 806, and a communication bus 808. The processor 802, communication interface 804, and memory 806 communicate with each other via the communication bus 808.

[0157] Memory 806 is used to store computer programs;

[0158] When processor 802 executes a computer program stored in memory 806, it performs the following steps:

[0159] S1, Obtain target area information of the area to be cleaned, wherein the area to be cleaned is the location area in front of the running trajectory of the cleaning equipment;

[0160] S2, if it is determined that the area to be cleaned is impassable based on the target area information, obtain the area marker corresponding to the area to be cleaned;

[0161] S3, when the area marker is used to indicate that the cleaning equipment is allowed to pass through the area to be cleaned, control the cleaning equipment to continue moving along the operating trajectory.

[0162] Optionally, in this embodiment, the communication bus can be a PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) bus or an EISA (Extended Industry Standard Architecture) bus, etc. This communication bus can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of illustration, Figure 8 The symbol is represented by a single thick line, but this does not indicate that there is only one bus or one type of bus. The communication interface is used for communication between the aforementioned electronic device and other devices.

[0163] The aforementioned memory may include RAM, or non-volatile memory, such as at least one disk storage device. Optionally, the memory may also be at least one storage device located remotely from the aforementioned processor.

[0164] As an example, the memory 806 described above may include, but is not limited to, the first acquisition unit 702, the second acquisition unit 704, and the control unit 706 of the operation control device of the cleaning equipment. Furthermore, it may include, but is not limited to, other module units of the operation control device of the cleaning equipment, which will not be elaborated upon in this example.

[0165] The processors mentioned above can be general-purpose processors, including but not limited to: CPU (Central Processing Unit), NP (Network Processor), etc.; they can also be DSP (Digital Signal Processor), ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, or discrete hardware components.

[0166] Optionally, specific examples in this embodiment can refer to the examples described in the above embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0167] Those skilled in the art will understand that Figure 8 The structure shown is for illustrative purposes only. The device implementing the above-mentioned operation control method for the cleaning equipment can be a terminal device, such as a smartphone (e.g., Android phone, iOS phone), tablet computer, handheld computer, mobile internet device (MID), PAD, etc. Figure 8 This does not limit the structure of the aforementioned electronic device. For example, the electronic device may also include components that are more... Figure 8 The more or fewer components shown (such as network interfaces, display devices, etc.), or having the same Figure 8 The different configurations shown.

[0168] Those skilled in the art will understand that all or part of the steps in the various methods of the above embodiments can be implemented by a program instructing the hardware related to the terminal device. The program can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, which may include: flash drive, ROM, RAM, disk or optical disk, etc.

[0169] The sequence numbers of the embodiments in this application are for descriptive purposes only and do not represent the superiority or inferiority of the embodiments.

[0170] If the integrated units in the above embodiments are implemented as software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in the aforementioned computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of this application, in essence, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or all or part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to cause one or more computer devices (which may be personal computers, servers, or network devices, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of this application.

[0171] In the above embodiments of this application, the descriptions of each embodiment have different focuses. For parts not described in detail in a certain embodiment, please refer to the relevant descriptions of other embodiments.

[0172] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed client can be implemented in other ways. The device embodiments described above are merely illustrative; for example, the division of units is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Furthermore, the displayed or discussed mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection may be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection between units or modules, and may be electrical or other forms.

[0173] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate. The components shown as units may or may not be physical units; that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the units can be selected to achieve the purpose of the solution provided in this embodiment, depending on actual needs.

[0174] Furthermore, the functional units in the various embodiments of this application can be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit. The integrated unit can be implemented in hardware or as a software functional unit.

[0175] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of this application. It should be noted that for those skilled in the art, several improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the principle of this application, and these improvements and modifications should also be considered within the scope of protection of this application.

Claims

1. A method for controlling the operation of cleaning equipment, characterized in that, include: Obtain target area information of the area to be cleaned, wherein the area to be cleaned is the location area in front of the operating trajectory of the cleaning equipment; If it is determined that the area to be cleaned is impassable based on the target area information, an area marker corresponding to the area to be cleaned is obtained, and the area marker is added or modified by the user; When the area marker indicates that the cleaning equipment is permitted to pass through the area to be cleaned, the cleaning equipment is controlled to continue moving along the operating trajectory. The target area information includes area information of the gap area within the area to be cleaned; determining that the area to be cleaned is impassable based on the target area information includes: Based on the area information of the void area within the area to be cleaned, determine the area size of the void area; If the size of the gap area is smaller than the threshold size of the cleaning device, the area to be cleaned is determined to be impassable.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The process of obtaining the target area information of the area to be cleaned includes: The image acquisition component on the cleaning equipment acquires an image of the area to be cleaned, thereby obtaining an image of the target area. Feature extraction is performed on the target area image to obtain target area information, wherein the target area information includes the area information of the gap area within the area to be cleaned.

3. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 2, characterized in that, Before obtaining the area marker corresponding to the area to be cleaned, the method further includes: Obtain a target marker request corresponding to the target area map, wherein the target marker request is used to mark a first target area in the target area map as a passable area, and the target area map is an area map configured for the cleaning equipment; In response to the target marking request, a passable marker is added to the first target area, wherein the passable marker is used to indicate that the area marked by the passable marker is a passable area.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that, Before obtaining the target marker request corresponding to the target area map, the method further includes: Display the target area map on the target device's area configuration interface; In response to a marking operation performed on the first target region, a target marking request is generated, wherein the marking operation is used to trigger the marking of the first target region as a passable region.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, Before generating the target tagging request in response to the tagging operation performed on the first target region, the method further includes: In response to a zoning operation performed on the target area map, the area divided by the zoning operation is determined as the first target area, wherein the area divided by the zoning operation includes areas in the target area map marked as impassable; or... In response to a selection operation performed on the target area map, the area selected by the selection operation is determined as the first target area, wherein the area selected by the selection operation includes areas in the target area map that are marked as impassable areas.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that, Before determining the region selected by the selection operation as the first target region, the method further includes: In response to a splitting operation performed on a second target region marked as an impassable area, the second target region is split into a plurality of sub-regions, wherein each of the plurality of sub-regions is marked as an impassable area, and the plurality of sub-regions includes the first target region.

7. An operation control device for cleaning equipment, characterized in that, include: The first acquisition unit is used to acquire target area information of the area to be cleaned, wherein the area to be cleaned is the location area in front of the running trajectory of the cleaning equipment; The second acquisition unit is used to acquire an area marker corresponding to the area to be cleaned when it is determined from the target area information that the area to be cleaned is impassable. The area marker is added or modified by the user. The control unit is configured to, when the area markings indicate that the cleaning equipment is permitted to pass through the area to be cleaned, control the cleaning equipment to continue moving along the operating trajectory. The target area information includes area information of the gap area within the area to be cleaned; determining that the area to be cleaned is impassable based on the target area information includes: Based on the area information of the void area within the area to be cleaned, determine the area size of the void area; If the size of the gap area is smaller than the threshold size of the cleaning device, the area to be cleaned is determined to be impassable.

8. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium includes a stored program, wherein the program, when executed, performs the method of any one of claims 1 to 6.

9. An electronic device comprising a memory and a processor, characterized in that, The memory stores a computer program, and the processor is configured to execute the method of any one of claims 1 to 6 through the computer program.

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