A cleaning sequence planning method for a cleaning robot

Abstract

The application discloses a cleaning sequence planning method of a cleaning robot, and relates to the technical field of the cleaning robot. The method comprises the following steps: acquiring a to-be-cleaned area, wherein the to-be-cleaned area comprises at least one cleaning subzone; determining an outline of the to-be-cleaned area and a traversal starting point, wherein the traversal starting point is a starting point of the cleaning robot when performing edge traversal of the to-be-cleaned area starting from a cleaning starting point; performing traversal of each cleaning subzone along the outline of the to-be-cleaned area in a clockwise or counterclockwise manner starting from the traversal starting point, so as to generate a traversal record of the cleaning subzone; and determining a cleaning planning sequence of the cleaning robot for the cleaning subzone based on the traversal record of the cleaning subzone. Therefore, the application has the advantages of improving cleaning efficiency and cleaning quality.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the technical field of cleaning robots, and more specifically, to a cleaning sequence planning method for cleaning robots. Background Technology

[0002] The order in which a cleaning robot performs cleaning work on multiple zones (rooms) within a cleaning area significantly impacts cleaning efficiency and time. Existing products primarily employ two path planning methods: one is to determine the shortest distance between each zone and the robot's current position, thus determining the next zone to clean, or to sort the cleaning order based on the distances between zones, meaning that after determining the cleaning order for one zone, the next zone to clean is determined based on the distances between each zone and that zone; the other is to prioritize cleaning the farthest zone, planning the path from farthest to nearest. Both of these path planning methods are unsuitable for situations with a large number of zones and diverse layouts within the cleaning area. In areas with complex zone configurations, the robot is prone to repeated cleaning, secondary contamination, or chaotic cleaning paths. Furthermore, the entire cleaning process requires real-time distance detection or continuous path optimization based on a map.

[0003] Therefore, existing products urgently need a new cleaning path planning method to enable cleaning robots to reduce their reliance on maps or distance detection during the cleaning process and effectively improve cleaning efficiency and quality. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of this application is to provide a cleaning sequence planning method for a cleaning robot. By controlling the cleaning robot to start from a traversal starting point and traverse each cleaning zone clockwise or counterclockwise, generating traversal records, the cleaning sequence is determined from these records. This application effectively reduces the cleaning robot's dependence on maps or distance detection during the cleaning process, shortens the transition distance required for the cleaning robot to switch cleaning zones, and improves the cleaning efficiency or quality of the cleaning robot.

[0005] The embodiments of this application are implemented as follows:

[0006] The first aspect of this application provides a cleaning sequence planning method for a cleaning robot. The method includes: obtaining a region to be cleaned, the region to be cleaned including at least one cleaning partition; determining the outline of the region to be cleaned and a traversal starting point; traversing each of the cleaning partitions along the outline of the region to be cleaned in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction starting from the traversal starting point to generate a traversal record of the cleaning partitions; and determining the cleaning planning sequence of the cleaning robot for the cleaning partitions based on the traversal record of the cleaning partitions.

[0007] In one embodiment, determining the cleaning planning order of the cleaning robot for the cleaning partition based on the traversal record of the cleaning partition includes: when there are repeated occurrences of the cleaning partition in the traversal record, retaining only the first occurrence of the cleaning partition, or retaining only the last occurrence of the cleaning partition, to determine the cleaning planning order.

[0008] In one embodiment, determining the cleaning planning order of the cleaning robot for the cleaning partition based on the traversal record of the cleaning partition includes: determining the endpoint partitions, endpoint chains, or connected chains in the traversal record based on the distribution characteristics of the cleaning partitions in the traversal record; for the cleaning partitions for which no cleaning order has been planned, searching for the endpoint partitions, endpoint chains, or connected chains according to the order of the partition numbers in the traversal record; the partition numbers are used to characterize the order in which each of the cleaning partitions first appears in the traversal record; when an endpoint partition, endpoint chain, or connected chain is found, at least one of its corresponding cleaning partitions is added to the cleaning planning order.

[0009] In one embodiment, determining the endpoint partitions, endpoint chains, or connected chains in the traversal record based on the distribution characteristics of the clean partitions in the traversal record includes: for clean partitions of repeated records in the traversal record, when there is only one clean partition between the first clean partitions of adjacent repeated records, marking the one clean partition as an endpoint partition; when there are endpoint partitions between the second clean partitions of the farthest repeated records, marking the chain containing the second clean partition as an endpoint chain; when there are no endpoint partitions between the third clean partitions of the farthest repeated records, marking the chain containing the third clean partition as a connected chain.

[0010] In one embodiment, determining the endpoint partition, endpoint chain, or connected chain in the traversal record based on the distribution characteristics of the clean partition in the traversal record further includes: deleting the markers of the other endpoint chains when any endpoint chain contains other endpoint chains and contains only one clean partition with a duplicate record in addition to the other endpoint chains.

[0011] In one embodiment, determining the cleaning planning order of the cleaning robot for the cleaning partition based on the traversal record of the cleaning partition further includes: determining the order in which each of the cleaning partitions first appears in the traversal record; and adding the cleaning partition that first appears in the traversal record to the last position of the cleaning planning order.

[0012] In one embodiment, when the endpoint partition, the endpoint chain, or the connected chain is found, adding at least one of the corresponding clean partitions to the cleaning planning order includes: if the connected chain is found first, adding all the clean partitions in the connected chain to the cleaning planning order in either order or reverse order.

[0013] In one embodiment, when the endpoint partition, the endpoint chain, or the connected chain is found, adding at least one of the corresponding clean partitions to the cleaning planning order includes: if the endpoint chain is found first, determining whether the current endpoint chain is a target endpoint chain; the target endpoint chain only contains endpoint partitions and edge partitions; if the current endpoint chain is a target endpoint chain, then based on the partition number, first adding all the endpoint partitions in the target endpoint chain to the cleaning planning order in sequence, and then adding all the edge partitions in the target endpoint chain to the cleaning planning order in reverse order.

[0014] In one embodiment, after determining whether the current endpoint chain is the target endpoint chain, the method further includes: if the current endpoint chain is not the target endpoint chain, continuing to search for the endpoint partition, the endpoint chain, or the connected chain within the current endpoint chain based on the partition number; if the endpoint partition or the connected chain is found first, adding all the cleaning partitions corresponding to the endpoint partition or the connected chain to the cleaning planning order in sequence; if the endpoint chain is found first, performing the step of determining whether the current endpoint chain is the target endpoint chain again.

[0015] In one embodiment, determining the traversal starting point includes: determining all outer contour points constituting the area to be cleaned; and determining the outer contour point with the shortest distance from the cleaning starting point as the traversal starting point of the area to be cleaned.

[0016] The advantages of this application compared to the prior art are:

[0017] This application addresses issues in existing cleaning robots such as repetitive cleaning, secondary pollution, and chaotic cleaning paths. First, it acquires the area to be cleaned and determines the traversal starting point based on the cleaning start point. Then, starting from the traversal starting point, it traverses each cleaning zone along the outline of the area to be cleaned in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction, generating a traversal record for each cleaning zone. This traversal record is then used to determine the cleaning planning sequence for each cleaning zone. This application reduces the cleaning robot's reliance on maps or real-time distance detection during the cleaning process, making the cleaning sequence or path for each cleaning zone or room more orderly and concise. This improves cleaning efficiency while ensuring cleaning quality, enhancing the user experience. Attached Figure Description

[0018] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, the accompanying drawings used in the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. It should be understood that the following drawings only show some embodiments of this application and should not be regarded as a limitation of the scope. For those skilled in the art, other related drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0019] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an electronic device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0020] Figure 2 A flowchart illustrating a cleaning sequence planning method for a cleaning robot provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0021] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of a cleaning robot provided in an embodiment of the present application, which traverses each cleaning zone clockwise along the outline of the area to be cleaned starting from the traversal starting point; wherein, (a) is a schematic diagram of the first area to be cleaned obtained by the cleaning robot; and (b) is a schematic diagram of the cleaning robot determining the zone number based on the first cleaning zone visited after traversing each cleaning zone.

[0022] Figure 4 A detailed flowchart of step S400 provided in one embodiment of this application;

[0023] Figure 5 A schematic diagram illustrating the determination of partition number, anchor partition, endpoint partition, and endpoint chain based on traversal records, as provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0024] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of determining the partition number and endpoint chain based on the traversal record of the second area to be cleaned according to an embodiment of this application; wherein, (a) is a schematic diagram of the second area to be cleaned obtained by the cleaning robot; and (b) is a schematic diagram of determining the partition number and endpoint chain based on the traversal record after the cleaning robot traverses each cleaning partition of the second area to be cleaned.

[0025] Reference numerals: 1 – Cleaning robot; 11 – Processor; 12 – Memory. Detailed Implementation

[0026] The technical solutions in the embodiments of this application will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0027] Similar reference numerals and letters in the following figures indicate similar items; therefore, once an item is defined in one figure, it does not need to be further defined and explained in subsequent figures. Furthermore, in the description of this application, terms such as "first," "second," etc., are used only to distinguish descriptions and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0028] The technical solution of this application will now be clearly and completely described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0029] Please see Figure 1 , Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a cleaning robot 1 provided in one embodiment of this application. Figure 1 As shown, the cleaning robot 1 includes at least one processor 11 and a memory 12. Figure 1 Taking a processor 11 as an example. The processor 11 is electrically connected to a memory 12, which stores instructions that can be executed by at least one processor 11. The instructions are executed by at least one processor 11 to cause at least one processor 11 to perform a cleaning sequence planning method for a cleaning robot as described in the following embodiments.

[0030] In another embodiment, the electronic device executing the cleaning sequence planning method of the cleaning robot in the following embodiments can also be a computer, mobile phone, robot workstation, or other device capable of establishing a communication connection with the cleaning robot. The electronic device determines the cleaning planning sequence based on the traversal record sent by the cleaning robot after traversing the area to be cleaned, and then sends the cleaning planning sequence to the cleaning robot to control the cleaning robot to clean multiple cleaning zones (rooms) in the area to be cleaned according to the cleaning planning sequence; or, when the cleaning robot is performing a cleaning task, the electronic device determines the next area to be cleaned based on the cleaning planning sequence and the current zone of the cleaning robot, so as to control the cleaning robot to move to the next area to be cleaned in the cleaning planning sequence after cleaning the current area.

[0031] Please see Figure 2 , Figure 2 This is a flowchart illustrating a cleaning sequence planning method for a cleaning robot according to an embodiment of this application. The method is executed by the cleaning robot's processor or by other electronic devices capable of establishing a communication connection with the cleaning robot. For ease of description, the following embodiments use the cleaning robot or its processor as the executing entity. Figure 2 As shown, the method includes the following steps:

[0032] S100: Obtain the area to be cleaned, which includes at least one cleaning zone.

[0033] The area to be cleaned refers to the area that the cleaning robot needs to clean, or the area that has not yet been cleaned while it is performing a cleaning task. The area to be cleaned is usually a connected domain, meaning it is either a single, complete cleaning zone or it comprises multiple interconnected cleaning zones. Taking a house as an example, a house may have only one room, or it may include multiple rooms separated by walls. In this case, the floor of the house is the area to be cleaned by the cleaning robot, and the individual rooms are the cleaning zones, with all rooms interconnected.

[0034] In this step, the cleaning robot can record the location of touch points by moving along the wall, and then obtain a contour map of the area to be cleaned based on the location of the touch points; or, the cleaning robot can obtain a contour map of the area to be cleaned by moving and combining data detected by detection sensors such as LiDAR; or, the cleaning robot has a pre-stored contour map of the area to be cleaned, or the cleaning robot downloads a contour map of the area to be cleaned by connecting to the network.

[0035] In one embodiment, the contour map of the area to be cleaned includes an outer contour line corresponding to the outer edge of the area to be cleaned, and an inner contour line used to separate cleaning zones. The outer contour line and the inner contour line are collectively referred to as contour lines. The contour lines are formed by connecting multiple contour points to represent the positions that the cleaning robot cannot pass through.

[0036] S200: Determine the outline and traversal starting point of the area to be cleaned.

[0037] The traversal starting point is the point from which the cleaning robot begins its edge-traversal of the area to be cleaned, starting from the cleaning origin. The cleaning origin can be the robot's workstation or a user-preset starting position for the robot to begin cleaning. Edge-traversal typically refers to the process of the cleaning robot sequentially visiting or scanning contour points along the outline of the area to be cleaned in a fixed direction. It can also refer to the process of the cleaning robot circling the wall of the area to be cleaned. In this step, the cleaning robot determines the traversal starting point based on the known cleaning origin. For example, the cleaning robot can determine the traversal starting point based on the distance between the contour points and the cleaning origin, or based on the minimum turning angle required to reach the wall edge after starting from the cleaning origin, or the traversal starting point can be directly set to the position of the robot's workstation installed against the wall.

[0038] S300: Starting from the traversal starting point, traverse each cleaning partition along the outline of the area to be cleaned in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction, and generate a traversal record of the cleaning partition.

[0039] In this step, the cleaning robot can be controlled to start from the traversal starting point and visit the contour points that form the outline point by point or at intervals in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction. Simultaneously, the cleaning robot records the cleaning zones it passes through during the scanning or visiting process, serving as a traversal record for the cleaning zones. Alternatively, instead of controlling the robot to actually traverse the outline of the area to be cleaned, the traversal path of the cleaning robot can be simulated, and the cleaning zones passed through by the cleaning robot in the simulated path can be recorded sequentially, serving as a traversal record for the cleaning zones.

[0040] Accessing or scanning contour points includes, but is not limited to: sequentially traversing all contour points, sequentially traversing corner points formed by adjacent contour lines or boundary points of contour lines, and sequentially accessing contour points with at least one contour point in between. The methods of traversing corner points and accessing contour points with intervals can effectively improve traversal speed.

[0041] For example, during the scanning or access process, the cleaning robot enters cleaning partition C from cleaning partition B, and after scanning all the contour points corresponding to cleaning partition C, it enters cleaning partition B again. The specific content of the traversal record generated by the cleaning robot is BCB. Alternatively, during the scanning or access process, the cleaning robot starts from cleaning partition A, enters cleaning partitions B, C, D, and E in sequence, and after scanning all the contour points corresponding to cleaning partition E, it enters cleaning partitions D, C, and B in sequence and then returns to A. The specific content of the traversal record generated by the cleaning robot is ABCDEDCBA.

[0042] S400: Based on the traversal record of the cleaning zones, determine the cleaning planning sequence of the cleaning robot for each cleaning zone.

[0043] As the cleaning robot traverses the outline points of the area to be cleaned in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction, the cleaning zones it passes through are also recorded in the same clockwise or counterclockwise order. Therefore, in this step, once the cleaning robot has completed its traversal of the entire area, and the scanned or visited outline points return to or pass through the traversal starting point, processing can be performed based on the complete traversal record to generate a cleaning planning sequence, or the cleaning planning sequence can be directly determined based on the traversal record. The arrangement order of the various cleaning zones corresponding to the cleaning planning sequence is basically along the clockwise or counterclockwise direction of the area to be cleaned. The cleaning planning sequence determined based on the traversal record makes the cleaning robot's cleaning path concise and achieves orderly cleaning.

[0044] Based on the above solution, this application determines an orderly and concise cleaning planning sequence by controlling the cleaning robot to traverse each cleaning zone clockwise or counterclockwise from the traversal starting point and generating a traversal record for each cleaning zone. This application effectively reduces the cleaning robot's dependence on map or distance detection during the cleaning process, shortens the ineffective cleaning transition distance or travel distance required when the cleaning robot switches cleaning zones during cleaning tasks, and makes the cleaning planning sequence adapt as much as possible to the distribution characteristics of each cleaning zone within the area to be cleaned, thereby improving the cleaning efficiency or quality of the cleaning robot and enhancing the user experience.

[0045] In one embodiment, step S200: determining the traversal starting point includes: determining all outer contour points constituting the area to be cleaned; and determining the outer contour point with the shortest distance from the cleaning starting point as the traversal starting point.

[0046] Outer contour points refer to the contour points that form the outer contour line of the area to be cleaned; interval distance refers to the straight-line distance between an outer contour point and the cleaning start point. In step S200, after determining all the outer contour points that constitute the area to be cleaned, the cleaning robot calculates the straight-line distance (i.e., interval distance) between each outer contour point and the cleaning start point based on the position information of each outer contour point and the position information of the cleaning start point. Then, the cleaning robot sorts the multiple interval distances and determines the outer contour point corresponding to the shortest interval distance as the traversal start point.

[0047] In the embodiments of this application, step S400: Based on the traversal record of the cleaning zones, the cleaning planning order of the cleaning robot for the cleaning zones is determined. This can be implemented in various ways to solve the problem of repeated cleaning or secondary pollution encountered by the cleaning robot when performing cleaning tasks. Specific embodiments are as follows:

[0048] Example 1: Determine the cleaning planning order by deleting the cleaning partitions that appear repeatedly in the traversal records.

[0049] When cleaning zones appear repeatedly in the traversal record, the cleaning robot only retains the first or last appearing cleaning zone to determine the cleaning planning order. That is, the cleaning robot can extract only the first or last appearing cleaning zone from the traversal record to generate a cleaning planning order without duplicate cleaning zones. Furthermore, based on the cleaning planning order generated from the traversal record, the corresponding multiple cleaning zones are also arranged in a generally clockwise or counterclockwise direction within the area to be cleaned. Therefore, the cleaning robot can clean each cleaning zone sequentially and orderly according to the cleaning planning order, and the corresponding cleaning path is concise.

[0050] Please see Figure 3 , Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram illustrating a cleaning robot provided in one embodiment of the present application, traversing each cleaning zone clockwise along the outline of the area to be cleaned, starting from the traversal starting point. Figure 3 (a) is a schematic diagram of the first area to be cleaned obtained by the cleaning robot; Figure 3 (b) A schematic diagram showing how the cleaning robot determines the partition number (or cleaning planning order) based on the first cleaning partition it visits after traversing each cleaning partition.

[0051] like Figure 3 As shown, the cleaning robot first acquires a contour map of the area to be cleaned. The white areas represent the robot's reachable areas, while the gray or black areas represent inaccessible areas. The robot extracts the contour points between the reachable and inaccessible areas and connects them with lines (corresponding to black line segments) to form the contour line. The outermost contour line is the outer contour line. Figure 3As shown in (a), the map corresponding to the first area to be cleaned contains multiple cleaning zones and preset cleaning starting points. There are ten cleaning zones: A, B, ..., J. Then, based on the cleaning starting points and the distance between the outer contour points and the cleaning starting points, the cleaning robot determines the outer contour point corresponding to the shortest interval distance as the traversal starting point a. Figure 3 As shown in (b), the cleaning robot starts from the traversal starting point a, scans or visits contour points along the outline of the area to be cleaned in a clockwise direction, and sequentially traverses each cleaning partition in the area to be cleaned, recording in real time to generate a traversal record, until it returns to the traversal starting point a. The final complete traversal record is ABCBDBAEFGFHFEIEAJA. The cleaning robot numbers and extracts the cleaning partitions that appear for the first time in the traversal record. That is, starting from number 1, the robot sequentially increments the sequence number for the first cleaning partitions A, B, C, D, ... J. Cleaning partitions that are traversed repeatedly are not numbered. This allows the robot to obtain the cleaning planning order ABCDEFGHIJ for each cleaning partition in sequence, or the cleaning planning order JIHGFEDCBA in reverse order. Alternatively, the cleaning robot can also extract the cleaning planning order CDBGHFIEJA from the cleaning partition that appears last in the traversal record.

[0052] The advantages of the above embodiments are as follows: the cleaning zones arranged by the cleaning robot according to the cleaning plan sequence are basically continuous and adjacent zones. This cleaning plan sequence not only solves the problem of repeated cleaning, but also simplifies the cleaning path or reduces the problem of secondary pollution caused by the cleaning robot crossing already cleaned zones. It is an optimal or near-optimal cleaning sequence. After traversing each cleaning zone in the area to be cleaned, the cleaning robot can quickly output the cleaning plan sequence without repeatedly acquiring detection data and iteratively calculating the optimal path during the cleaning task, thereby effectively improving processing efficiency and cleaning efficiency. At the same time, the cleaning plan sequence adapts to the distribution characteristics of each cleaning zone in the area to be cleaned. The cleaning robot performs the cleaning task according to the cleaning plan sequence, rarely cleaning the cleaning zone on the first side of the area to be cleaned first, then cleaning the cleaning zone on the second side, and finally returning to the first side to clean the cleaning zone. This improves cleaning efficiency and cleaning quality, and the orderly cleaning enhances the user experience.

[0053] Example 2: Generate a cleaning planning sequence based on the distribution characteristics of cleaning partitions in the traversal record.

[0054] After the cleaning robot traverses the area to be cleaned, returns to the starting point, and obtains a complete traversal record, in order to reduce the secondary pollution caused by the cleaning robot repeatedly crossing cleaned areas during the cleaning task, this application determines the cleaning planning order based on the distribution characteristics of each cleaning area in the area to be cleaned in the traversal record. In the following embodiments, the cleaning planning order can be generated once before the cleaning robot starts the cleaning task, and the cleaning robot will clean all cleaning areas of the area to be cleaned in sequence based on the cleaning planning order; the cleaning robot can also clean the current cleaning area while determining the next priority cleaning area based on the cleaning planning order generation method, or determine multiple cleaning areas to be cleaned based on the cleaning planning order generation method, and after the current cleaning area is cleaned, move to the next priority cleaning area, and so on until the cleaning work of the entire area to be cleaned is completed.

[0055] Please see Figure 4 , Figure 4 This is a detailed flowchart illustrating step S400 according to an embodiment of this application. The method is executed by the processor of the cleaning robot, or by other electronic devices capable of establishing a communication connection with the cleaning robot. For ease of description, the following embodiments use the cleaning robot or its processor as the executing entity. Figure 4 As shown, step 400 includes the following sub-steps:

[0056] S410: Based on the order in which each clean partition first appears in the traversal record, mark the partition number of each clean partition that appears for the first time in the traversal record.

[0057] When a cleaning robot traverses the area to be cleaned along the outline, it may pass through the same cleaning zone multiple times, resulting in duplicate cleaning zones in the traversal record. In this step, the cleaning robot sequentially numbers each cleaning zone that appears for the first time in the traversal record, that is, it marks each cleaning zone with a zone number.

[0058] S420: Based on the distribution characteristics of clean partitions in the traversal record, determine the endpoint partitions, endpoint chains, or connected chains in the traversal record.

[0059] Distribution characteristics refer to the distribution features of the same cleaning partition or the arrangement features of different cleaning partitions in the traversal record. For example, there may be only one other cleaning partition between two identical cleaning partitions (arrangement form ABA), or there may be multiple non-repeating cleaning partitions between two identical cleaning partitions (arrangement form ABCA), etc. In this step, the cleaning robot marks the endpoint partitions, endpoint chains, or connected chains existing in the traversal record based on the arrangement features of multiple repeating or non-repeating cleaning partitions in the traversal record. The specific marking rules are as follows.

[0060] For clean partitions that are repeated in the traversal record, when there is only one clean partition between the first clean partitions of adjacent repeated records, the clean partition is marked as an endpoint partition; for example, when the traversal record is BCBDB, there is a first clean partition C or D between the same and adjacent clean partitions B. In this case, the processor marks C and D as endpoint partitions and marks B as an edge partition that constitutes the endpoint partition.

[0061] When there are endpoint partitions between the second clean partitions of the most distant duplicate records, the region chain containing the second clean partition is marked as an endpoint chain. The region chain containing the second clean partition is the set of all clean partitions between the most distant and duplicate second clean partitions, together with the second clean partition itself. For example, when traversing records BCBDBEFB, if there are endpoint partitions C and D between the most distant and duplicate second clean partition B, the processor marks the region chain BCDEF containing the second clean partition B as an endpoint chain.

[0062] When there are no endpoint partitions between the farthest duplicate records' third clean partitions, the chain containing the third clean partition is marked as a connected chain. The chain containing the third clean partition is the set of partitions formed by all clean partitions between the farthest and duplicate third clean partitions, together with the third clean partitions themselves. For example, when traversing records BCDEFB, since there are no endpoint partitions between the farthest and duplicate third clean partition B, the processor marks the chain BCDEF containing third clean partition B as a connected chain.

[0063] In one embodiment, when two identical fourth clean partitions are located on opposite sides of an endpoint chain and are adjacent to the endpoint chain, the fourth clean partitions are merged with the endpoint chain to obtain a new endpoint chain. For example, when the traversal record is ABCBDBEFBA, it is known that BCDEF is an endpoint chain. The identical fourth clean partition A is located on opposite sides of the endpoint chain BCDEF and is adjacent to the endpoint chain. Therefore, the processor merges the fourth clean partition A with the endpoint chain BCDEF to obtain a new endpoint chain ABCDEF.

[0064] Please see Figure 5 , Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the determination of partition numbers, anchor partitions, endpoint partitions, and endpoint chains based on traversal records, as provided in an embodiment of this application. Figure 5 As shown, the cleaning robot sequentially numbers the first cleaning partition A in the traversal record as the partition number, and then sequentially adds the cleaning partitions B, C, ... that first appear in the traversal record, starting from the first partition A in the traversal record.

[0065] The processor marks the anchor partition when each clean partition first appears in the traversal record. The anchor partition identifier of each clean partition is updated when the clean partition appears again in the traversal record. When the anchor partition identifier of a clean partition is updated, the processor checks the position of the anchor partition identifier before the update or the first appearance position of the clean partition, and the span between the updated position and the first appearance position is several partitions.

[0066] like Figure 5 As shown, if the anchor partition identifier of clean partition B spans only one clean partition C when updating the position, the processor marks clean partition C as an endpoint partition. If the anchor partition identifier of clean partition B spans multiple partitions from its first appearance to its last update, the processor checks whether there are endpoint partitions among these spanned partitions. If endpoint partitions C and D exist, the processor marks BCD as an endpoint chain. If there are no endpoint partitions, the processor marks the multiple clean partitions spanned by clean partition B and its anchor partition identifier update as a connected chain.

[0067] Please see Figure 6 , Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the determination of partition numbers and endpoint chains based on traversal records of a second region to be cleaned, according to an embodiment of this application; wherein, Figure 6 (a) is a schematic diagram of the second area to be cleaned obtained by the cleaning robot; Figure 6 (b) is a schematic diagram of the cleaning robot determining the partition number and endpoint chain based on the traversal record after traversing each cleaning partition of the second area to be cleaned.

[0068] like Figure 6 As shown, the cleaning robot starts from the cleaning starting point and traverses each cleaning partition of the second area to be cleaned in a clockwise direction, generating a traversal record JABCBDBAJ. The processor sequentially marks the partition number of the first cleaning partition JABCD appearing in the traversal record, and based on the distribution characteristics of each cleaning partition in the traversal record, marks the endpoint partitions C and D, as well as the endpoint chain BCD containing the endpoint partitions. Based on this, the processor, according to the endpoint chain fusion condition, also merges the cleaning partition A, which is adjacent to and repeats on both sides of the endpoint chain BCD, into the endpoint chain BCD, obtaining a new endpoint chain ABCD.

[0069] S425: Add the cleaning partition that appears first in the traversal record to the last position in the cleaning planning order.

[0070] When a cleaning robot performs a cleaning task, it starts from the cleaning zone where the cleaning begins and returns to the same zone. If it cleans the starting zone first, the robot will re-enter the already cleaned starting zone after cleaning the last zone, causing secondary contamination to the heavily soiled cleaning components. The starting point for the cleaning robot's traversal is usually determined based on the cleaning zone, so the first cleaning zone appearing in the traversal record is typically the starting zone. Therefore, in this step, the cleaning robot adds the cleaning zone with the traversal record number 1 to the last position in the cleaning planning sequence, thus placing the starting zone at the end of the cleaning order and reducing secondary contamination of already cleaned zones during the cleaning process.

[0071] In the embodiments of this application, step S425 can be executed after step S420, or after step S410 and before step S420. The cleaning robot can also execute step S420 first and then step S410. Alternatively, the cleaning robot may choose not to execute step S425.

[0072] S430: For cleaning partitions with no planned cleaning order, search for endpoint partitions, endpoint chains, or connected chains in the order of partition numbers in the traversal record.

[0073] Cleaning partitions without a planned cleaning order refer to those not added to the cleaning planning sequence. In this step, the cleaning robot sequentially checks whether the cleaning partition corresponding to the current partition number is an endpoint partition, or whether it is in an endpoint chain or connected chain, according to the partition number order. If so, it is considered found. In subsequent steps, the processor adjusts the order of each cleaning partition corresponding to the endpoint partition, endpoint chain, or connected chain according to preset rules and adds it to the cleaning planning sequence. Then, it excludes the partition numbers corresponding to the already planned cleaning partitions and continues to check whether the cleaning partition corresponding to the next partition number is an endpoint partition or in an endpoint chain or connected chain. This process is repeated until all cleaning partitions corresponding to all partition numbers are added to the cleaning planning sequence.

[0074] For example, if the current partition number is 3, and the clean partition corresponding to partition number 3 is an endpoint partition, or the region chain containing the clean partition corresponding to partition number 3 is an endpoint chain or a connected chain, then at least one clean partition corresponding to the endpoint partition, endpoint chain, or connected chain is ordered according to a preset rule and added to the cleaning planning order. If the endpoint chain containing partition number 3 includes partition numbers 4 and 6, then the processor orders each clean partition corresponding to the endpoint chain (including the clean partitions corresponding to partition numbers 4 and 6) according to a preset rule and adds them to the cleaning planning order. Then, when continuing to search for endpoint partitions, endpoint chains, or connected chains based on the partition number, the clean partitions corresponding to partition numbers 4 or 6 are excluded.

[0075] When an endpoint partition, endpoint chain, or connected chain is found, at least one corresponding clean partition is added to the cleaning planning order, as detailed below:

[0076] S441: If the endpoint partition is found first, add the endpoint partition to the cleaning plan order.

[0077] Endpoint zones are typically located at the very edge of the area to be cleaned, and there is usually only one door zone for passage through an endpoint zone, such as... Figure 3 The endpoint partitions are shown as C, D, G, H, I, and J. In this step, if the cleaning robot finds the endpoint partition first based on the order of the partition numbers in the traversal record, the processor adds the endpoint partition to the cleaning planning sequence. This ensures that when the cleaning robot performs a cleaning task on the area to be cleaned, it prioritizes cleaning the endpoint partition located at the edge and with only one door area. In this way, the cleaning robot can avoid touching the endpoint partition again when performing subsequent cleaning tasks, thus avoiding secondary contamination of the endpoint partition or other cleaned partitions.

[0078] After this step is completed, the processor execution flow returns to step S430 to search for endpoint partitions, endpoint chains, or connected chains in the order of partition numbers for cleaning partitions with no planned cleaning sequence.

[0079] S442: If a connected chain is found first, add all the cleaning partitions in the connected chain to the cleaning planning order in either order or reverse order.

[0080] A communication chain is usually composed of a plurality of cleaning partitions each having more than two door regions, wherein the door region of each cleaning partition communicates with a different partition (usually each cleaning partition has two door regions, so that the plurality of cleaning partitions can be connected in series end to end). For example, when a certain area to be cleaned is in a shape of a hollow square, the cleaning robot traverses each cleaning partition in the area to be cleaned and generates a traversal record as ABCDA, then a communication chain ABCD exists in the traversal record. After the cleaning robot adds the cleaning partition A with the partition sequence number 1 to the last position of the cleaning planning sequence, it determines that the partition chain where the cleaning partition B corresponding to the partition sequence number 2 is located is the communication chain. Then, the cleaning robot adds all cleaning partitions in the communication chain that have not been planned with a cleaning sequence to the cleaning planning sequence in order or in reverse order, so as to obtain the cleaning planning sequence BCDA or DCBA.

[0081] After this step is executed, the cleaning robot returns to step S430, so as to again search for the end partition, the end chain or the communication chain in the order of the partition sequence numbers for the cleaning partitions that have not been planned with a cleaning sequence.

[0082] S443: If the end chain is searched first, it is determined whether all cleaning partitions corresponding to the current end chain are added to the cleaning planning sequence.

[0083] If yes, that is, all the cleaning partitions corresponding to the current end chain are added to the cleaning planning sequence, the processor returns to step S430, so as to again search for the end partition, the end chain or the communication chain in the order of the partition sequence numbers for the cleaning partitions that have not been planned with a cleaning sequence.

[0084] S444: If not, it is determined whether the current end chain is a target end chain.

[0085] If not, that is, when all the cleaning partitions corresponding to the current end chain are not all added to the cleaning planning sequence, the cleaning robot further determines whether the current end chain is the target end chain. The target end chain is an end chain that only includes end partitions, that is, the target end chain only includes end partitions and edge partitions located on both sides of the end partitions, adjacent to the end partitions and repeated. It should be noted that when there are multiple end partitions in the target end chain, the edge partitions adjacent to and repeated on both sides of each end partition must be consistent, that is, the edge partitions constituting each end partition must be consistent. For example, JBABCBJ and BADAB both belong to the target end chain, while BABCDC corresponds to two target end chains. The edge partitions may also be repeated partitions located on both sides of the target end chain and adjacent to the target end chain, for example, B in BAB or C and B in CBABC both belong to the edge partitions in the target end chain.

[0086] S445: If the current endpoint chain is the target endpoint chain, based on the partition number, first add all endpoint partitions in the target endpoint chain to the cleaning planning order in sequence; then, based on the partition number, add all edge partitions in the target endpoint chain to the cleaning planning order in reverse order.

[0087] Similar to step S441, if the current endpoint chain is the target endpoint chain, the cleaning robot prioritizes adding the endpoint partitions in the target endpoint chain to the cleaning planning sequence based on the partition number. This ensures that when the cleaning robot performs a cleaning task on the area to be cleaned, it prioritizes cleaning the endpoint partitions located at the edge and with only one door area. Consequently, the cleaning robot can avoid touching these endpoint partitions during subsequent cleaning tasks, thus preventing secondary contamination of the endpoint partitions or other cleaned partitions. Then, the cleaning robot adds all edge partitions in the target endpoint chain to the cleaning planning sequence in reverse order based on the partition number. This ensures that when the cleaning robot performs a cleaning task on each cleaning partition within the area to be cleaned, it first cleans the edge partitions adjacent to the most recently cleaned endpoint partition, and then cleans the other edge partitions one by one in a direction away from that endpoint partition.

[0088] After this step is completed, the cleaning robot returns to step S443 to determine again whether all cleaning zones corresponding to the current endpoint chain have been added to the cleaning planning sequence.

[0089] S446: If the current endpoint chain is not the target endpoint chain, continue searching for endpoint partitions, endpoint chains, or connected chains within the current endpoint chain based on the partition number.

[0090] If the current endpoint chain is not the target endpoint chain, it means that the current endpoint chain also includes other endpoint chains, endpoint partitions, or connected chains. Therefore, in this step, the cleaning robot continues to search for endpoint partitions, endpoint chains, or connected chains within the current endpoint chain based on the partition number.

[0091] S447: If an endpoint partition or connected chain is found first, add all clean partitions corresponding to the endpoint partition or connected chain to the clean planning order.

[0092] If an endpoint partition or connected chain is found first within the current endpoint chain, the cleaning robot adds the cleaning partition corresponding to the endpoint partition to the cleaning planning order, or adds all cleaning partitions corresponding to the connected chain to the cleaning planning order in either order or reverse order. Preferably, if a connected chain is found first within the current endpoint chain, the cleaning robot adds all cleaning partitions corresponding to the connected chain to the cleaning planning order in sequence.

[0093] After this step is completed, the cleaning robot returns to step S443 to re-determine whether all cleaning partitions corresponding to the current endpoint chain have been added to the cleaning planning sequence. If not all have been added to the cleaning planning sequence, it will continue to search for endpoint partitions, endpoint chains, or connected chains within the current endpoint chain based on their partition numbers.

[0094] If an endpoint chain is found first, execute step S444 again: determine whether the current endpoint chain is the target endpoint chain.

[0095] by Figure 3 Taking the first area to be cleaned as an example, the cleaning robot's traversal record is ABCBDBAEFGFHFEIEAJA. After adding cleaning partition A corresponding to partition number 1 to the last position of the cleaning planning sequence, the cleaning robot searches for endpoint chain BCD based on partition number 2, adds endpoint partitions C and D to the cleaning planning sequence in sequence, and then adds edge partition B to the cleaning planning sequence. Then, the processor searches for endpoint chain EFGHI based on partition number 5 (the corresponding traversal record arrangement order is EFGFHFEIE). Within this endpoint chain, the processor searches again for target endpoint chain FGH (or FGFHF) and target endpoint chain EI (or EIE). The processor first adds endpoint partitions G and H in target endpoint chain FGH to the cleaning planning sequence, then adds edge partition F in target endpoint chain FGH to the cleaning planning sequence. Then, the processor adds endpoint partition I in another target endpoint chain EI to the cleaning planning sequence, and then adds edge partition E in another target endpoint chain EI to the cleaning planning sequence. Finally, the cleaning planning sequence corresponding to endpoint chain EFGHI is GHFIE. The cleaning robot executes the cleaning plan according to the above method, and the final cleaning sequence is: C, D, B, G, H, F, I, E, J, A.

[0096] Based on the above solution, this application can reduce or even avoid secondary pollution caused by the cleaning robot repeatedly passing through the cleaned areas. The final determined cleaning plan sequence adapts to the distribution characteristics of each cleaning area in the area to be cleaned. The cleaning robot performs cleaning tasks according to the cleaning plan sequence, and rarely cleans the first cleaning area of ​​the area to be cleaned first, then cleans the second cleaning area, and finally returns to the first cleaning area to clean. This improves cleaning efficiency and cleaning quality, and the orderly cleaning enhances the user experience.

[0097] Furthermore, this application simplifies the cleaning path while avoiding repetitive cleaning. After traversing each cleaning zone within the area to be cleaned, the cleaning robot can quickly output the cleaning plan sequence, eliminating the need to repeatedly acquire detection data and iteratively calculate the optimal path during the cleaning task, thereby effectively improving processing efficiency and cleaning efficiency.

[0098] Those skilled in the art will understand that if a cleaning robot performs cleaning in the same order as the cleaning order obtained according to this solution when cleaning multiple cleaning zones, for example, when cleaning such zones... Figure 3 When cleaning the first area to be cleaned, if a cleaning robot has the cleaning sequence as C, D, B, G, H, F, I, E, J, A, then the cleaning robot is considered to have applied the cleaning sequence planning method disclosed in this application, and thus it can be considered an infringement.

[0099] The methods disclosed in the several embodiments provided in this application can also be implemented in other ways. The embodiments described above are merely illustrative. For example, the flowcharts and block diagrams in the accompanying drawings illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of methods and computer program products according to various embodiments of this application. In this regard, each block in a flowchart or block diagram may represent a module, segment, or portion of code, which contains one or more executable instructions for implementing a specified logical function. In some alternative implementations, the functions marked in the blocks may occur in a different order than those marked in the drawings. For example, two consecutive blocks may actually be executed substantially in parallel, and they may sometimes be executed in reverse order, depending on the functions involved. It should also be noted that each block in a block diagram and / or flowchart, and combinations of blocks in block diagrams and / or flowcharts, can be implemented using a dedicated hardware-based system that performs the specified function or action, or using a combination of dedicated hardware and computer instructions.

[0100] This application provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program. The computer program can be executed by a processor to perform a cleaning sequence planning method for a cleaning robot.

[0101] If a function is implemented as a software module and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a 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 a portion 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 a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods of the various embodiments of this application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media capable of storing program code, such as USB flash drives, portable hard drives, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disks, or optical disks.

[0102] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of this application and is not intended to limit this application. Various modifications and variations can be made to this application by those skilled in the art. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of this application should be included within the protection scope of this application.

Claims

1. A cleaning sequence planning method for a cleaning robot, the method comprising: Obtain the area to be cleaned, the area to be cleaned including at least one cleaning zone; The method is characterized in that it further includes: Determine the outline of the area to be cleaned and the starting point for traversal; Starting from the traversal starting point, each of the cleaning partitions is traversed clockwise or counterclockwise along the outline of the area to be cleaned to generate a traversal record of the cleaning partitions; Based on the traversal records of the cleaning zones, the cleaning robot determines the cleaning planning sequence for the cleaning zones; The step of determining the cleaning planning order of the cleaning robot for the cleaning zone based on the traversal record of the cleaning zone includes: Based on the distribution characteristics of the clean partitions in the traversal record, determine the endpoint partitions, endpoint chains, or connected chains in the traversal record; For the cleaning partitions for which no cleaning order has been planned, the endpoint partitions, endpoint chains, or connected chains are searched according to the partition numbers in the traversal record; the partition numbers are used to characterize the order in which each of the cleaning partitions first appears in the traversal record. When the endpoint partition, the endpoint chain, or the connected chain is found, at least one of the corresponding clean partitions is added to the clean planning sequence.

2. The cleaning sequence planning method for a cleaning robot according to claim 1, characterized in that, The step of determining the endpoint partitions, endpoint chains, or connected chains in the traversal record based on the distribution characteristics of the clean partitions in the traversal record includes: For clean partitions that are repeated in the traversal records, when there is only one clean partition between the first clean partitions of adjacent repeated records, the clean partition is marked as an endpoint partition. When there are endpoint partitions between the second clean partitions of the most distant duplicate records, the chain containing the second clean partition is marked as an endpoint chain; When there are no endpoint partitions between the third clean partitions of the most distant duplicate records, the chain containing the third clean partition is marked as a connected chain.

3. The cleaning sequence planning method for a cleaning robot according to claim 2, characterized in that, The step of determining the endpoint partitions, endpoint chains, or connected chains in the traversal record based on the distribution characteristics of the clean partitions in the traversal record further includes: If any endpoint chain contains other endpoint chains, and there is only one clean partition containing a duplicate record other than the other endpoint chains, then the tags of the other endpoint chains are deleted.

4. The cleaning sequence planning method for a cleaning robot according to claim 1, characterized in that, The step of determining the cleaning planning order of the cleaning robot for the cleaning zone based on the traversal record of the cleaning zone further includes: Determine the order in which each of the cleaned partitions first appears in the traversal record; The cleaning partition that appears first in the traversal record will be added to the last position of the cleaning plan order.

5. The cleaning sequence planning method for a cleaning robot according to claim 1, characterized in that, When the endpoint partition, the endpoint chain, or the connected chain is found, adding at least one of the corresponding clean partitions to the clean planning sequence includes: If the connected chain is found first, all the cleaning partitions in the connected chain are added to the cleaning planning sequence in either order or reverse order.

6. The cleaning sequence planning method for a cleaning robot according to claim 1, characterized in that, When the endpoint partition, the endpoint chain, or the connected chain is found, adding at least one of the corresponding clean partitions to the clean planning sequence includes: If the endpoint chain is found first, determine whether the current endpoint chain is the target endpoint chain; the target endpoint chain only contains endpoint partitions and edge partitions. If the current endpoint chain is the target endpoint chain, then based on the partition number, all the endpoint partitions in the target endpoint chain are first added to the cleaning planning order in sequence, and then all the edge partitions in the target endpoint chain are added to the cleaning planning order in reverse order.

7. The cleaning sequence planning method for a cleaning robot according to claim 6, characterized in that, After determining whether the current endpoint chain is the target endpoint chain, the method further includes: If the current endpoint chain is not the target endpoint chain, continue searching for the endpoint partition, the endpoint chain, or the connected chain within the current endpoint chain based on the partition number; If the endpoint partition or the connected chain is found first, all the cleaning partitions corresponding to the endpoint partition or the connected chain are added sequentially to the cleaning planning order; If the endpoint chain is found first, the step of determining whether the current endpoint chain is the target endpoint chain is executed again.

8. The cleaning sequence planning method for a cleaning robot according to claim 1, characterized in that, Determine the starting point of the traversal, including: Identify all the outer contour points that constitute the area to be cleaned; The outer contour point with the shortest distance from the cleaning starting point is determined as the traversal starting point of the area to be cleaned.

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