Method and equipment for finding target wall surface by pool cleaning robot

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of swimming pool cleaning, in particular to a method for a pool cleaning robot to find a wall position underwater. The method comprises the steps that the swimming pool cleaning robot rotates a circle underwater, data of the edge of a swimming pool is obtained, whether the cleaning robot faces a wall facing the current direction or not currently is judged based on the edge data, if not, the wall closest to the swimming pool cleaning robot is selected from the edge data, and the robot is controlled to rotate to the wall directly facing the closest wall; and finally controlling the robot to advance towards the nearest wall. When the robot needs to climb on the wall to clean the wall surface or needs to return to the shore, the robot can climb on the wall quickly.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of swimming pool cleaning, and in particular to a method for a pool cleaning robot to find a target wall and the pool cleaning robot. Background Art

[0002] With the development of technology, the demand for pool cleaning equipment is increasing; pool cleaning equipment refers to equipment for cleaning pools, swimming pools or spa pools. Specifically, pool cleaning equipment can be a pool robot, which has highly intelligent movement and operation capabilities. After cleaning the bottom of the pool, if the existing pool cleaning robot needs to continue cleaning the wall, it will randomly choose a direction to move forward or continue to move in the current direction until it collides with the wall and then climbs the wall. Since the wall may be far away, the walking distance is too long, which wastes time. Summary of the invention

[0003] In view of the above problems in the prior art, the purpose of the present application is to find the most time-saving path to the wall by collecting and processing the data of the wall.

[0004] In order to solve the above problems, the present application provides a method for a pool cleaning robot to find a target wall, the method comprising:

[0005] Get the wall climbing instructions;

[0006] Control the pool cleaning robot to rotate at a preset angle at the bottom of the pool, and collect pool wall data during the rotation process;

[0007] Based on the wall data, selecting a target wall;

[0008] Controlling the cleaning robot to move toward the target wall;

[0009] The target wall includes a wall facing the current direction of the pool cleaning robot or a wall closest to the pool cleaning robot.

[0010] Preferably, when the target wall includes a wall closest to the pool cleaning robot, the cleaning robot is controlled to rotate to face the closest wall, and then the robot is controlled to move toward the closest wall.

[0011] Preferably, when the target wall includes a wall facing the current direction of the pool cleaning robot, the cleaning robot is controlled to move linearly from the current direction to the target wall.

[0012] Preferably, the preset angle is greater than or equal to 360 degrees;

[0013] Preferably, the rotation includes at least one time, and if the target wall includes a wall facing the current direction of the pool cleaning robot, the next rotation is not performed;

[0014] Preferably, when there are multiple walls closest to the pool cleaning robot, the wall that is first collected or the wall that requires the cleaning robot to rotate at the smallest angle is used as the target wall;

[0015] Preferably, based on the wall data, the step of selecting the target wall includes fitting the collected wall data, determining whether the fitted wall straight line segment is perpendicular to the orientation of the robot, and if so, taking the corresponding wall as the wall facing the current orientation of the pool cleaning robot;

[0016] Preferably, based on the wall data, the step of selecting the target wall includes fitting the collected wall data, determining whether the fitted straight line segment or curve segment of the wall is closest to the robot, and if so, taking the corresponding wall as the wall closest to the pool cleaning robot;

[0017] Preferably, the current orientation of the pool cleaning robot and the rotation angle to face the nearest wall are both generated based on data from an IMU or a gyroscope;

[0018] Preferably, the wall climbing instruction is generated by a user, or the robot automatically generates it based on the progress of the cleaning operation or its own status;

[0019] In addition, the present application also provides a pool cleaning robot that can execute the above-mentioned method of finding the target wall.

[0020] The method for finding a target wall described in this application has the following beneficial effects:

[0021] By controlling the sensors on the robot to collect the edge data of the surrounding pool, processing the edge data, and identifying the target wall that saves the most driving time, the robot can be controlled to drive towards the target wall. For example, if the nearest wall is used as the target wall, the robot will have a shorter journey to the wall, saving time; or if the wall facing the robot is currently facing is used as the target wall, the robot does not need to turn and can directly continue to move forward to reach the edge of the pool, saving turning time. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solution of the present application, the following is a brief introduction to the drawings required for use in the embodiments or prior art descriptions. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present application, and for ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative work.

[0023] Figure 1 This is a flow chart of the pool cleaning robot provided in an embodiment of the present application searching for a target wall. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present application, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative work are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0025] refer to Figure 1 , a method for a pool cleaning robot to find a target wall is provided in an embodiment of the present application, and the method comprises:

[0026] S01. The robot obtains a wall climbing instruction, which is generated by the user or automatically generated by the robot based on the progress of the cleaning operation or its own status. For example, the user can issue an instruction through the remote control to control the robot to switch from the pool bottom cleaning mode to the wall or waterline cleaning mode, or from the pool bottom cleaning operation state to the end of the task and go ashore state; the robot can also automatically generate a control command after the pool bottom cleaning operation task is completed, switching from the pool bottom cleaning mode to the wall cleaning or waterline cleaning mode, or the robot may detect its own fault or low power, and generate an instruction to trigger the wall climbing to leave the bottom of the water, so as to go ashore for charging or maintenance.

[0027] S02, after receiving the instruction, the robot rotates at a preset angle at the bottom of the pool, for example, one circle, or nearly one circle, and collects the wall data of the pool during the rotation. The sensors for collecting data include ultrasonic sensors, DTOF sensors, cameras or radars, which can collect point cloud data of the target object, and the point cloud data includes distance information.

[0028] S03, based on the wall data, select a target wall. Specifically, the wall data includes point cloud data of a circle of a swimming pool or a pool, and a straight line or curve is fitted to the point cloud data. The fitted straight line segment or curve segment represents the wall. Since the IMU will output the corresponding robot posture or direction information during the sensor data collection process, the positional relationship between the robot and the fitted wall can be determined based on the IMU data.

[0029] Based on the positional relationship, the wall facing the current direction of the pool cleaning robot is selected, that is, the wall that the head of the robot faces after the rotation, and such a wall is used as the target wall. The robot can continue to move directly toward the target wall without turning, thereby saving time and the steps of changing the motion state. Here, facing this statement, it can be understood that the straight line segment is perpendicular to the direction of the robot, or the tangent of the curved segment is perpendicular to the direction of the robot. Of course, perpendicular can be understood as approximately perpendicular, and a slight deviation is also within an acceptable range.

[0030] In addition, based on the position relationship, the wall closest to the pool cleaning robot can be selected as the target wall. The shortest distance between the robot's position point and the wall fitting straight line segment or curve segment is the distance between the robot and the wall.

[0031] In addition, whether it is the wall closest to the robot or the wall facing the robot's current direction, both can save movement time or movement distance. Therefore, the two types of walls can be set as priority options and secondary options, or one of the two can be selected at will. The wall facing the robot's current direction is often the first choice. If there is no wall facing the robot's current direction, the wall closest to the robot is selected as the target wall. This can minimize the robot's movement changes and provide a good user experience.

[0032] S04, control the cleaning robot to move toward the target wall. If the target wall is the wall facing the current direction of the robot, the robot is controlled to continue moving along the direction and can reach the wall without turning; if the target wall is the wall closest to the robot, and the robot's direction or head is not facing the target wall, the robot needs to be controlled to turn to face the target wall, and then the cleaning robot is controlled to move toward the nearest wall. The angle between the robot's direction and the wall fitting line segment can be calculated based on the data output by the IMU, and this angle is the angle that the robot needs to turn.

[0033] In addition, in step S02, the preset angle is equal to 360 degrees or slightly greater than or less than one circle, and the preset angle can also be limited to other angles as long as enough wall surface can be collected; generally speaking, if the starting position of the robot before rotation happens to face the wall, then after one rotation, its head happens to face the wall again, and it can walk directly towards the wall.

[0034] In addition, the number of times the robot is controlled to rotate may include one or more times. For example, if the collected data quality is judged to be poor or the target wall is not obtained after one rotation, the robot may be rotated repeatedly. Once the target wall is obtained, the next rotation may be stopped.

[0035] In a special case, if there are multiple walls closest to the pool cleaning robot, the wall that is first collected or the wall that requires the cleaning robot to rotate at the smallest angle is used as the target wall.

[0036] The pool cleaning robot moves forward on the bottom of the pool until it reaches the wall or collides with the wall, and then starts to climb the wall. The forward path on the bottom of the pool can include straight-line driving or obstacle avoidance.

[0037] An embodiment of the present application also provides a cleaning robot that can load a program to implement the above-mentioned method of finding a target wall.

[0038] The above description has fully disclosed the specific implementation methods of the present application. It should be pointed out that any changes made by technicians familiar with the field to the specific implementation methods of the present application do not deviate from the scope of the claims of the present application. Accordingly, the scope of the claims of the present application is not limited to the above specific implementation methods.

Claims

1. A method for a pool cleaning robot to find a target wall, characterized in that: The method comprises: Get the wall climbing instructions; Control the pool cleaning robot to rotate at a preset angle at the bottom of the pool, and collect the pool wall data during the rotation process; Based on the wall data, selecting a target wall; Controlling the cleaning robot to move toward the target wall; The target wall includes a wall facing the current direction of the pool cleaning robot or a wall closest to the pool cleaning robot.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein: When the target wall surface includes the wall surface closest to the pool cleaning robot, the cleaning robot is controlled to rotate to face the closest wall surface, and then the robot is controlled to move toward the closest wall surface.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein: When the target wall surface includes a wall surface facing the current direction of the pool cleaning robot, the cleaning robot is controlled to move toward the target wall surface along the current direction.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: The preset angle is greater than or equal to 360 degrees.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: The rotation includes at least one time, and if the target wall includes a wall facing the current direction of the pool cleaning robot, the next rotation is not performed.

6. The method according to claim 4, wherein: When there are multiple walls closest to the pool cleaning robot, the wall that is collected first or the wall that requires the cleaning robot to rotate at the smallest angle is used as the target wall.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Based on the wall data, the step of selecting the target wall includes fitting the collected wall data, determining whether the fitted straight line segment or curve segment of the wall faces the direction of the robot, and if so, using the corresponding wall as the wall facing the current direction of the pool cleaning robot.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Based on the wall data, the step of selecting the target wall includes fitting the collected wall data, determining whether the fitted straight line segment or curve segment of the wall is closest to the robot, and if so, taking the corresponding wall as the wall closest to the pool cleaning robot.

9. The method according to claim 2, wherein: The current orientation of the pool cleaning robot and the rotation angle to face the nearest wall are both generated based on data from an IMU or a gyroscope.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The wall climbing instruction is generated by a user, or the robot automatically generates it based on the progress of the cleaning operation or its own status.

11. A pool cleaning robot capable of executing the method for finding a target wall according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

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