Pool cleaning robot detrapping method and cleaning robot

Abstract

The invention discloses a pool cleaning robot escape method and a pool cleaning robot, and the method comprises the steps: controlling a cleaning robot to run in a pool so as to execute cleaning operation; in the driving process, whether the cleaning robot is in a rotating stuck state or not is judged; if the cleaning robot is in the rotary clamping state, a de-trapping action is executed; wherein the disengagement action comprises the steps that the cleaning robot is controlled to retreat by a preset first distance and rotate by a preset first angle. The situation that the cleaning robot is clamped in a rotating mode can be detected, and the corresponding detrapping capacity is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of cleaning robots, and in particular to a method for escaping a pool cleaning robot and the cleaning robot. Background Art

[0002] In recent years, with the advancement of science and technology and the development of the Internet, robot technology has become increasingly mature and widely used in various fields of life. Looking at the market, a large number of robots with various special purposes have emerged. Among them, pool cleaning robots have solved a large number of cleaning tasks for users and provided significant help. It is used to clean foreign objects such as mud, dirt, and algae on the bottom and side walls of the pool to keep the pool clean.

[0003] When the pool cleaning robot is performing full coverage cleaning at the bottom of the pool, it will encounter many complex terrains and often get stuck due to various terrain reasons. For example, the pool cleaning robot may hit a wall or other obstacles during rotation, resulting in difficulty in rotation, that is, the pool cleaning robot is in a rotating state but cannot turn, and thus cannot continue normal cleaning.

[0004] Therefore, how to detect the rotation jam of the pool cleaning robot and make the pool cleaning robot get out of the jam becomes a problem to be solved urgently. Summary of the invention

[0005] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a method for escaping a pool cleaning robot and a cleaning robot, which can detect the situation where the pool cleaning robot is stuck while rotating and improve the corresponding escaping ability.

[0006] In order to solve the above technical problems, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is as follows: In a first aspect, the present invention provides a method for a pool cleaning robot to escape from trouble, comprising: Control the cleaning robot to travel in the pool to perform cleaning operations; During driving, determine whether the cleaning robot is in a rotating stuck state; If the cleaning robot is in a rotating stuck state, it will perform an escape action; The escape action includes controlling the pool cleaning robot to retreat a preset first distance and rotate a preset first angle.

[0007] In a second aspect, the present invention further provides a cleaning robot, the cleaning robot comprising: A filtering device, used for filtering water flow entering the cleaning robot; A walking mechanism, used for driving the cleaning robot to walk on a supporting surface; A water spray mechanism, used to provide water flow force for the cleaning robot; one or more processors; A storage device for storing one or more programs; When the one or more programs are executed by the one or more processors, the one or more processors implement the escape method provided in the first aspect.

[0008] The beneficial effect of the present invention is that the cleaning robot is detected to be in a rotational stuck state during driving, and when the cleaning robot is detected to be in a rotational stuck state, the cleaning robot is controlled to retreat and rotate to escape. The present application can efficiently detect the trapped state and improve the corresponding escape ability of the cleaning robot. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] Figure 1 A flow chart of a method for escaping a pool cleaning robot provided by the present invention; Figure 2 A flow chart of a method for escaping a pool cleaning robot according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 This is a schematic structural diagram of a cleaning robot provided by the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0010] The present invention will be further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It is to be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain the present invention, rather than to limit the present invention. It should also be noted that, for ease of description, only parts related to the present invention, rather than all structures, are shown in the accompanying drawings.

[0011] Before discussing the exemplary embodiments in more detail, it should be mentioned that some exemplary embodiments are described as processes or methods depicted as flow charts. Although the flow charts describe the steps as sequential processes, many of the steps therein can be implemented in parallel, concurrently or simultaneously. In addition, the order of the steps can be rearranged. The process can be terminated when its operation is completed, but can also have additional steps not included in the accompanying drawings. The process can correspond to a method, function, procedure, subroutine, sub-computer program, etc.

[0012] In addition, the terms "first", "second", etc. can be used in this article to describe various directions, actions, steps or elements, etc., but these directions, actions, steps or elements are not limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish a first direction, action, step or element from another direction, action, step or element. For example, without departing from the scope of the present application, the first information can be referred to as the second information, and similarly, the second information can be referred to as the first information. Both the first information and the second information are information, but they are not the same information. The terms "first", "second", etc. cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of indicated technical features. Thus, the features defined as "first" and "second" can expressly or implicitly include one or more of the features. In the description of the present invention, the meaning of "multiple" is at least two, such as two, three, etc., unless otherwise clearly and specifically defined.

[0013] Please refer to Figure 1 , a method for escaping a pool cleaning robot, comprising: Control the cleaning robot to travel in the pool to perform cleaning operations; During driving, determine whether the cleaning robot is in a rotating stuck state; If the cleaning robot is in a rotating stuck state, it will perform an escape action; The escape action includes controlling the pool cleaning robot to retreat a preset first distance and rotate a preset first angle.

[0014] It can be seen from the above description that the situation where the cleaning robot is stuck while rotating can be detected, and the corresponding escape capability can be improved.

[0015] In addition, it should be noted that "rotational jam state" refers to a state in which a certain rotating mechanism or device is stuck, stagnant or cannot rotate smoothly during operation. In this application, "rotational jam state" refers to a state in which the pool cleaning robot cannot move smoothly during turning or rotating due to the pool wall or other obstacles, such as being stuck by obstacles. Even if the robot is equipped with a high-precision map and has planned a path or action that can avoid obstacles, rotation jam is inevitable. This is because underwater driving is prone to slipping. Therefore, it is very important to detect the rotation jam state and execute escape.

[0016] In an optional embodiment, the determining whether the cleaning robot is in a rotationally stuck state includes: acquiring posture information of the cleaning robot during driving, and determining whether the cleaning robot is in a rotationally stuck state based on the posture information.

[0017] In an optional embodiment, the posture information includes a yaw angle or a rotation angle obtained by a code disc.

[0018] In an optional embodiment, judging whether the cleaning robot is in a rotationally stuck state according to the posture information includes: if the posture information satisfies a preset condition, judging that the cleaning robot is in a rotationally stuck state; The preset conditions include: the cumulative difference between the yaw angle and the turning angle within a preset first time period is greater than a preset first angle threshold, or the change value of the yaw angle within a preset second time period is less than a preset second angle threshold.

[0019] From the above description, it can be seen that when the cleaning robot is in a rotational stuck state, the body cannot rotate, so it is possible to determine whether the cleaning robot is in a rotational stuck state by monitoring the yaw angle or the difference between the yaw angle and the rotation angle.

[0020] In an optional embodiment, the preset first distance is greater than or equal to half of the length of the cleaning robot body.

[0021] In an optional embodiment, the preset first angle is 10 degrees to 40 degrees.

[0022] In an optional embodiment, after executing the escape action, the method further includes: after completing the escape action, if the escape is successful, performing an action of searching for the pool wall or continuing the cleaning operation.

[0023] From the above description, it can be seen that the cleaning robot continues to perform the previous task after getting out of trouble, thereby improving the autonomy of the cleaning robot.

[0024] In an optional embodiment, after executing the escape action, the method further includes: after completing the escape action, if the cleaning robot is still in a rotationally stuck state, executing the escape action again.

[0025] As can be seen from the above description, by repeatedly performing the escape action, the possibility of escaping from a predicament is increased. There is no limit to the number of times the escape action can be repeated, and it can be defined according to the needs of the specific scene.

[0026] In an optional embodiment, after executing the escape action again, it also includes: if the cleaning robot is still in a rotationally stuck state after the escape action is completed again, the water spray mechanism of the cleaning robot is turned off, and the cleaning robot is controlled to move forward a preset second distance and rotate at a preset second angle.

[0027] From the above description, it can be seen that if the robot still fails to escape after executing multiple escape actions, the reason may be that there is an obstacle behind the robot, which makes it unable to perform the backward action and thus cannot escape normally. Therefore, by turning off the water spray mechanism, the downward pressure generated by the water spray mechanism can be reduced, the possibility of escaping can be increased, and the cleaning robot can be controlled to move forward a preset second distance and rotate a preset second angle. The preset second distance can be the same as or different from the preset first distance, and the preset second angle is preferably within the range of 20-30 degrees.

[0028] In an optional embodiment, the escape action further includes: Adjust the direction of the water flow force of the water spray mechanism, or adjust the direction of the force of the traveling mechanism; Alternatively, the direction and magnitude of the water flow force of the water spraying mechanism are adjusted, or the magnitude and direction of the force of the traveling mechanism are adjusted.

[0029] From the above description, it can be seen that by increasing the magnitude and direction of the force of the moving mechanism, the forward or backward speed of the cleaning robot can be increased; by adjusting the direction of the water flow force of the water spray structure to forward or backward and increasing the magnitude of the water flow force of the water spray mechanism, the forward or backward speed of the cleaning robot can be further increased.

[0030] The present invention also provides a cleaning robot, the cleaning robot comprising: A filtering device, used for filtering water flow entering the cleaning robot; A walking mechanism, used for driving the cleaning robot to walk on a supporting surface; A water spray mechanism, used to provide water flow force for the cleaning robot; one or more processors; A storage device for storing one or more programs; When the one or more programs are executed by the one or more processors, the one or more processors implement the escape method as described above.

[0031] Figure 2 A method for escaping a pool cleaning robot is shown, comprising the following steps: S1: Control the cleaning robot to travel in the pool to move along the edge or perform cleaning operations.

[0032] S2: During the driving process, determine whether the cleaning robot is in a rotation stuck state, if so, execute step S3, if not, continue to move along the edge or perform the cleaning operation.

[0033] Specifically, whether the cleaning robot is in a rotational stuck state can be determined based on the posture information of the cleaning robot during driving, that is, if the posture information meets the preset conditions, the cleaning robot is determined to be in a rotational stuck state. The cleaning robot may turn or rotate during driving.

[0034] In some optional embodiments, the attitude information includes the yaw angle obtained by the gyroscope in the IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit) and the turning angle (the angle of the moving mechanism such as the wheel) obtained by the encoder, and the preset condition is that the cumulative difference between the yaw angle and the turning angle within a preset first time length is greater than a preset first angle threshold. The wheels referred to in this application include wheels or wheels with tracks.

[0035] For example, during the driving process of the cleaning robot, the yaw angle and the turning angle are obtained every 0.05 seconds at a frequency of 20Hz, and are stored in the yaw angle sequence and the code disk sequence respectively. If the cleaning robot is in a state of rotational jam, the yaw angle remains basically unchanged, but the turning angle in the code disk sequence will gradually increase. Therefore, the cumulative difference between the two is calculated every certain time (such as 3 seconds). If the cumulative difference is large for many times, it is considered that the cleaning robot is in a state of rotational jam.

[0036] In some other optional embodiments, the posture information includes a yaw angle, and the preset condition is that a change in the yaw angle within a preset second time period is less than a preset second angle threshold.

[0037] For example, when the cleaning robot is driving, the yaw angle is obtained in real time through the IMU. If the yaw angle does not change within 100 seconds, or the change angle is small, the cleaning robot is considered to be in a rotation stuck state. Since this judgment method takes a long time, it can be used as a bottom-line strategy.

[0038] S3: Execute an escape action, wherein the escape action includes adjusting the magnitude and direction of the driving force of the driving mechanism of the cleaning robot, and the driving mechanism includes a traveling mechanism and a water spraying mechanism.

[0039] The water spray mechanism includes a water pump, which is used to guide water to flow in from the water inlet at the bottom of the cleaning robot, and after passing through the filtering device inside the cleaning robot, it is discharged from the top or side drain outlet of the cleaning robot to the outside of the cleaning robot. The water spray mechanism may also include a water spray propulsion mechanism independent of the water pump and the drain outlet. When the direction of the water flow force of the water spray mechanism needs to be changed, it can be achieved by changing the rotation direction of the blades of the water spray propulsion mechanism, rotating the guide pipe of the water spray mechanism, or switching drain outlets at different positions.

[0040] In some embodiments, the first escape action is performed first: the cleaning robot is controlled to retreat a preset first distance, and then rotated to a preset angle, which can be right or left. In an optional embodiment, the robot can rotate away from the wall. For example, when the distance measuring sensor is installed on the left side of the cleaning robot body, the robot generally moves along the edge with the left side close to the pool wall, and can rotate to the right at this time.

[0041] If the cleaning robot is still in the rotation stuck state after executing the first escape action, the first escape action is executed again.

[0042] If the cleaning robot is still in a rotating stuck state after executing the first escape action again, it means that there may be an obstacle behind the cleaning robot, which prevents the cleaning robot from executing the backward action, thereby preventing the first escape action from being executed normally. At this time, the second escape action is executed: turn off the water spray mechanism of the cleaning robot, control the cleaning robot to move forward a preset second distance, and then rotate to a preset angle, which can be rotated to the right or to the left. After the rotation is completed, turn on the water spray mechanism.

[0043] In other optional embodiments, if the cleaning robot is still in a rotating stuck state after executing the first escape action again, the first escape action can be repeated until the cleaning robot still cannot escape after executing the first escape action a preset number of times, and then the second escape action can be executed.

[0044] Generally, the water spray mechanism sucks water from the water inlet at the bottom of the body, and sprays it from the water outlet at the top of the body after filtering, thereby providing a downward force for the cleaning robot, allowing the wheels or tracks of the cleaning robot to closely contact the bottom of the pool, thereby improving the slippage of the pool cleaning robot. Therefore, in the second escape action, by turning off the water spray mechanism, the downward force generated by the water spray mechanism can be reduced, increasing the possibility of escape.

[0045] In an optional embodiment, the preset first distance and the second distance are greater than or equal to half the length of the cleaning robot body, and the preset angle is between 10-40°. In some embodiments, the rotation angle in the first escape action can be between 15-30°, and the rotation angle in the second escape action can be between 20-30°.

[0046] In some optional embodiments, the first escape action may also include: increasing the magnitude of the travel mechanism force to increase the speed at which the cleaning robot retreats. In one embodiment, the magnitude of the travel mechanism force may be increased by increasing the speed of the travel motor.

[0047] In other optional embodiments, the first escape action may also include: adjusting the direction and magnitude of the water flow force of the water spray mechanism. Specifically, the water spray mechanism can be controlled to spray water from the water outlet in front of the cleaning robot body, thereby reducing the downward force generated by the water spray mechanism and increasing the backward speed of the cleaning robot.

[0048] In other optional embodiments, the first escape action may also include: increasing the magnitude of the force of the traveling mechanism, adjusting the direction and magnitude of the water flow force of the water spraying mechanism, thereby further increasing the backward speed of the cleaning robot.

[0049] In some optional embodiments, the second escape action may also include: increasing the force of the traveling mechanism to increase the forward speed of the cleaning robot.

[0050] Furthermore, after the escape action is completed and the escape is successful, the cleaning robot is controlled to find the pool wall, or continue to perform the cleaning operation.

[0051] Furthermore, if the cleaning robot still fails to escape after executing the above-mentioned escape action, that is, it is still in a rotating stuck state, it means that the cleaning robot is seriously stuck and cannot escape independently. It is necessary to report an alarm message to the application end to inform the user that the escape failed and the user needs manual help to escape.

[0052] Figure 3 A cleaning robot is shown, the cleaning robot comprising: A filtering device 301, used to filter the water flow entering the cleaning robot; A walking mechanism 302, used to drive the cleaning robot to walk on the supporting surface; The water spray mechanism 303 is used to provide water flow force for the cleaning robot; One or more processors 304; Storage device 305, used to store one or more programs; When the one or more programs are executed by the one or more processors 304, the one or more processors 304 implement the various processes in the embodiment of the pool cleaning robot escape method as described above, and can achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, they will not be repeated here.

[0053] In summary, the pool cleaning robot escape method and cleaning robot provided by the present invention can efficiently detect the trapped state and improve the corresponding escape ability of the cleaning robot.

[0054] Through the above description of the implementation methods, the technicians in the relevant field can clearly understand that the present invention can be implemented by means of software and necessary general hardware, and of course can also be implemented by hardware, but in many cases the former is a better implementation method. Based on such an understanding, the technical solution of the present invention is essentially or the part that contributes to the prior art can be embodied in the form of a software product, and the computer software product can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, such as a computer floppy disk, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), flash memory (FLASH), hard disk or optical disk, etc., including a number of instructions for a computer device (which can be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute the methods described in each embodiment of the present invention.

[0055] It is worth noting that in the embodiment of the above-mentioned device, the various units and modules included are only divided according to functional logic, but are not limited to the above-mentioned division, as long as the corresponding functions can be achieved; in addition, the specific names of the functional units are only for the convenience of distinguishing each other, and are not used to limit the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0056] The above descriptions are merely embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the patent scope of the present invention. Any equivalent transformations made using the contents of the present invention's specification and drawings, or directly or indirectly applied in related technical fields, are also included in the patent protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for escaping a pool cleaning robot, characterized in that: include: Control the cleaning robot to travel in the pool to perform cleaning operations; During driving, determine whether the cleaning robot is in a rotating stuck state; If the cleaning robot is in a rotating stuck state, it will perform an escape action; The escape action includes controlling the cleaning robot to retreat a preset first distance and rotate a preset first angle.

2. The method for escaping from a difficult situation according to claim 1, characterized in that: The determining whether the cleaning robot is in a rotationally stuck state comprises: acquiring posture information of the cleaning robot during driving, and determining whether the cleaning robot is in a rotationally stuck state according to the posture information.

3. The method for escaping from a predicament according to claim 2, characterized in that: The attitude information includes a yaw angle or a rotation angle obtained by a code disc.

4. The method for escaping from a difficult situation according to claim 3, characterized in that: The step of judging whether the cleaning robot is in a rotational stuck state according to the posture information comprises: if the posture information satisfies a preset condition, judging that the cleaning robot is in a rotational stuck state; The preset conditions include: the cumulative difference between the yaw angle and the turning angle within a preset first time period is greater than a preset first angle threshold, or the change value of the yaw angle within a preset second time period is less than a preset second angle threshold.

5. The method for escaping from a difficult situation according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The preset first distance is greater than or equal to half of the length of the cleaning robot body.

6. The method for escaping from a difficult situation according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The preset first angle is 10 degrees to 40 degrees.

7. The method for escaping from a difficult situation according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: After the escape action is executed, the method further includes: after the escape action is completed, if the escape is successful, performing an action of finding the pool wall or continuing the cleaning operation.

8. The method for escaping from a difficult situation according to claim 7, characterized in that: After the escape action is executed, the method further includes: after the escape action is completed, if the cleaning robot is still in a rotationally stuck state, executing the escape action again.

9. The method for escaping from a difficult situation according to claim 8, characterized in that: After executing the escape action again, the method further includes: if the cleaning robot is still in a rotationally stuck state after the escape action is completed again, the water spraying mechanism of the cleaning robot is turned off, and the cleaning robot is controlled to move forward a preset second distance and rotate a preset second angle.

10. The method for escaping from a difficult situation according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The escape action also includes: Adjust the direction of the water flow force of the water spray mechanism, or adjust the direction of the force of the traveling mechanism; Alternatively, the direction and magnitude of the water flow force of the water spraying mechanism are adjusted, or the magnitude and direction of the force of the traveling mechanism are adjusted.

11. A cleaning robot, characterized in that: The cleaning robot comprises: A filtering device, used for filtering water flow entering the cleaning robot; A walking mechanism, used for driving the cleaning robot to walk on a supporting surface; A water spray mechanism, used to provide water flow force for the cleaning robot; one or more processors; A storage device for storing one or more programs; When the one or more programs are executed by the one or more processors, the one or more processors implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

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