Automatic energy complementing system and energy complementing method for commercial cleaning robot

Abstract

The invention discloses an automatic energy complementing system for a commercial cleaning robot, which comprises a cleaning robot body and an energy complementing workstation, and is characterized in that the cleaning robot body comprises a first charging electrode plate, a battery, a water tank and a control module; the energy supplementing work station comprises a butt joint port, a two-dimensional code, a backlight lamp, an electric lead screw, a power adapter and a water valve, the two-dimensional code is arranged in front of the backlight lamp and used for guiding the robot body to be in butt joint with the energy supplementing work station, a water pipe and a second charging electrode plate are arranged on the electric lead screw, and the electric lead screw is telescopically arranged in the butt joint port. The electric lead screw pushes the water pipe and the second charging electrode plate to be in butt joint with the water tank and the first charging electrode plate, the power adapter is connected with the second charging electrode plate, and the water valve is connected with the water pipe. The beneficial effects of the invention are that the installation is simple, the occurrence probability of wear, oxidation, poor contact and the like is reduced, the butt joint is relatively easy when the robot body needs to be charged, and the bad situation of low charging efficiency caused by the alignment problem is avoided.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of cleaning robots, and particularly to an automatic energy replenishment system and method for a commercial cleaning robot. Background Art

[0002] With the development of technologies in aspects such as sensors, intelligent control, and energy, service robots have begun to be applied in various scenarios. As a member of service robots, commercial intelligent cleaning robots have gradually come into view. Since customers hope that the cleaning robot can extend the operation time as much as possible and achieve autonomous work for a long time, automatic energy replenishment has become an urgent problem to be solved. For example, most of the currently operating cleaning robots use rechargeable batteries to charge themselves and use water tanks to store operation water, but they can generally only last for a few hours. Once the power or water volume is less than the preset threshold, manual charging or water addition is required, which cannot meet the intelligent design requirements of the robot.

[0003] In the existing technologies, most of the robot automatic energy replenishment technologies replenish energy by directly inserting a power adapter, a water gun or through contact, and use a laser rangefinder, a vision sensor or an infrared detector to dock with the energy replenishment device. Generally speaking, there are mainly four existing automatic docking methods: infrared sensing, infrared camera fusion, lidar, and ultrasonic radar. For the above four methods, infrared sensing has low accuracy, is greatly affected by the environment, and has low recharge efficiency. Infrared camera fusion and lidar are difficult to develop and require large computing power and algorithm support, with high complexity. The ultrasonic radar has poor directivity and is easily affected by the environment (temperature, humidity, obstacles, etc.). In addition, most of the existing robot automatic energy replenishment solutions install devices such as lead screws and motors on the robot body to assist in energy replenishment, with low utilization rate. Moreover, the charging contacts of the robot are always exposed outside, which is prone to wear, oxidation, poor contact and other situations. The exposed contact points have obvious safety hazards in use. Especially, they cannot cope with the influence of bad weather. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of the present invention is to provide an automatic energy replenishment system for a commercial cleaning robot to solve the problems raised in the above background art.

[0005] To achieve the above purpose, the present invention provides the following technical solutions:

[0006] In the first aspect, the present invention provides an automatic energy replenishment system for a commercial cleaning robot, including a cleaning robot body and an energy replenishment workstation,

[0007] The cleaning robot body includes: a first charging electrode plate, a battery, a water tank, and a control module. The charging electrode plate is connected to the battery, and the control module is connected to the battery and the water tank for monitoring the charging state and the water addition state;

[0008] The energy replenishment workstation includes: a docking interface, a QR code, a backlight, an electric lead screw, a power adapter, and a water valve. The QR code is arranged in front of the backlight to guide the robot body to dock with the energy replenishment workstation. A water pipe and a second charging electrode plate are provided on the electric lead screw. The electric lead screw is telescopically arranged in the docking interface, and the electric lead screw pushes the water pipe and the second charging electrode plate to dock with the water tank and the first charging electrode plate respectively. The power adapter is connected to the second charging electrode plate, and the water valve is connected to the water pipe.

[0009] Preferably, the cleaning robot is provided with a front door.

[0010] Preferably, the area of the first charging electrode plate is larger than the area of the second charging electrode plate.

[0011] Preferably, the QR code is arranged at the upper end of the energy replenishment workstation.

[0012] Preferably, the energy replenishment workstation is further provided with a liquid crystal display panel.

[0013] Preferably, the bottom end of the energy replenishment workstation is fixed to the ground by screws.

[0014] Preferably, the energy replenishment workstation is provided with a telescopic protective cover, and the telescopic protective cover is connected to the docking interface.

[0015] Preferably, the energy replenishment workstation is provided with a limit infrared switch.

[0016] Preferably, a control module is arranged inside the energy replenishment workstation, a receiving module is arranged on the cleaning robot, and the control module is communicatively connected to the receiving module.

[0017] In a second aspect, the present invention provides a method for replenishing energy of a cleaning robot, which is used to implement the automatic energy replenishment system for the above-mentioned commercial cleaning robot, including:

[0018] a. After initiating an automatic energy replenishment task, the robot body of the cleaning robot obtains the position information of the energy replenishment workstation and moves itself closer to the workstation;

[0019] b. At a distance of 5 m from the workstation, the cleaning robot establishes a communication connection with the energy replenishment workstation through the control module;

[0020] c. When the communication is successful, actively turn on the backlight of the QR code, and perform fusion positioning with the QR code through the camera, and move towards the workstation;

[0021] d. At a distance of 2 m from the workstation, the cleaning robot enables precise control and moves slowly;

[0022] e. After the robot approaches the workstation and triggers the limit switch, the cleaning robot body sends a charging request to the workstation through the control module;

[0023] f. After receiving the charging request, the charging workstation extends the electrode and the water pipe;

[0024] g. After the charging contact of the cleaning robot body makes good contact with the electrode rod of the charging workstation, power supply and water supply are turned on;

[0025] h. After the charging is completed, the cleaning robot body requests the workstation to cut off power and water through the control module.

[0026] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows: The robot body of the present invention only needs to be configured with two electrode plates, which are simple to install and are inside the robot. Therefore, it can avoid the contacts being always exposed outside, reducing the probability of wear, oxidation, poor contact, etc. In addition, the area of the electrode plates inside the robot body is much larger than the electrode contacts extended by the workstation. When the robot body needs to be charged, the docking becomes relatively easy, avoiding the adverse situation of low charging efficiency caused by alignment problems. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] Figure 1 is a schematic structural diagram of an automatic charging system for a commercial cleaning robot according to the present invention;

[0028] Figure 2 is a schematic external structure diagram of the charging workstation according to the present invention;

[0029] Figure 3 is a schematic internal structure diagram of the charging workstation according to the present invention;

[0030] Figure 4 is a schematic structural diagram of the flowchart of Embodiment 2 of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0031] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, rather than all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative efforts shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0032] Embodiment 1

[0033] Please refer to Figures 1 to 3 , the present invention provides a technical solution: an automatic charging system for a commercial cleaning robot, including a cleaning robot body 1 and a charging workstation 2,

[0034] The cleaning robot body 1 includes: a first charging electrode plate 11, a battery 12, a water tank 13, and a control module. The first charging electrode plate 11 is connected to the battery 12, and the control module is connected to the battery 12 and the water tank 13 for monitoring the charging status and the water filling status. The water tank 13 is provided with a water filling port. During energy replenishment, the energy replenishment workstation 2 transports water into the water tank 13 through the water filling port.

[0035] The energy replenishment workstation 2 includes: a docking port 21, a two-dimensional code 22, a backlight 23, an electric lead screw 24, a power adapter 25, and a water valve 26. The two-dimensional code 22 is arranged in front of the backlight 23 to guide the docking of the robot body 1 and the energy replenishment workstation 2. The electric lead screw 24 is provided with a water pipe 26 and a second charging electrode plate 27. The electric lead screw 24 is telescopically arranged in the docking port 21. The electric lead screw 24 pushes the water pipe 26 and the second charging electrode plate 27 to be respectively docked with the water tank 13 and the first charging electrode plate 11. The power adapter 25 is connected to the second charging electrode plate 26, and the water valve 26 is connected to the water pipe 26.

[0036] Specifically, the cleaning robot 1 is provided with a front door. After the cleaning robot body 1 initiates an energy replenishment request, the energy replenishment workstation 2 will extend the electric lead screw 24, the front door opens, and the electric lead screw 24 pushes the second charging electrode plate 27 and the water pipe 25 into the interior of the cleaning robot body 1 to contact the first charging electrode plate 11 and the water tank opening, and start energy replenishment.

[0037] Specifically, the area of the first charging electrode plate 11 is larger than the area of the second charging electrode plate 27, and the area of the water tank opening inside the cleaning robot 1 is larger than the area of the water pipe 26 opening of the energy replenishment workstation. After the start of energy replenishment, it is convenient for the cleaning robot body 1 to dock with the energy replenishment workstation 2, making the docking process efficient.

[0038] Specifically, the two-dimensional code 22 is arranged at the upper end of the energy replenishment workstation 2. The two-dimensional code 22 is square, and the two-dimensional code 22 is equipped with a light box. The cleaning robot can turn on or off the light box through connection work.

[0039] Specifically, the energy replenishment workstation 2 is also provided with a liquid crystal display panel 28. The liquid crystal display panel 28 is used to display the power-on and water filling status, including voltage, current, water volume, etc.

[0040] Specifically, the bottom end of the energy replenishment workstation 2 is fixed to the ground by screws.

[0041] Specifically, the energy replenishment workstation 2 is provided with a retractable protective cover 29, and the retractable protective cover 29 is connected to the docking port 21.

[0042] Specifically, the energy replenishment workstation is provided with a limit infrared switch.

[0043] Specifically, a control module is provided inside the energy replenishment workstation, and a receiving module is provided on the cleaning robot. The control module is communicatively connected to the receiving module.

[0044] Embodiment 2

[0045] Based on Embodiment 1, this embodiment provides a method for replenishing energy of a cleaning robot, which is used to implement the automatic energy replenishment system of the commercial cleaning robot described in Embodiment 1.

[0046] Next, refer to the attached Figure 4 , to describe a method for replenishing energy of a commercial intelligent cleaning robot of the present invention. This method aims to improve the energy replenishment efficiency and accuracy of the robot in a complex and changeable environment, solve problems such as navigation and positioning deviation caused by floor materials, wear and aging caused by the shared system of the cleaning module and the energy replenishment module, and potential hazards caused by inaccurate replacement of accessories and energy replenishment time intervals.

[0047] First, after the user or the system initiates an automatic energy replenishment task, the robot body will obtain the position information of the energy replenishment workstation through the built-in positioning system, and then automatically navigate to the vicinity of the workstation. For example, in a typical shopping mall scenario, after the robot completes a day's work, it will automatically obtain the location of the nearest charging station and plan the optimal path to go there through GPS and SLAM technologies.

[0048] When the robot is 5 meters away from the workstation, its control module will automatically establish a wireless communication connection with the workstation to verify the identity and status between the two. This step ensures that the robot can perform energy replenishment operations on the correct device. In one embodiment, the robot and the workstation establish a connection through Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, check each other's software versions and hardware status to ensure the smooth progress of the subsequent steps.

[0049] After successful communication, the robot actively turns on the QR code backlight located in front of it and captures the corresponding QR code on the workstation through the camera to achieve visual fusion positioning. This step greatly improves the accuracy of navigation, especially when facing special floor materials such as carpets and floor tile joints, reducing navigation deviation. For example, when the robot detects the QR code through the camera, it will adjust its own direction and speed according to the relative position of the QR code to approach the workstation more precisely.

[0050] When the distance between the robot and the workstation is shortened to less than 2 meters, its control system will switch to a more refined control mode, moving slowly and smoothly to avoid an increase in deviation caused by rapid movement. Specifically, the speed of the robot will be reduced to 0.2 m / s at this time, and the multi-sensor fusion system will be enabled to further correct the attitude and direction by combining the data of the lidar and ultrasonic sensors.

[0051] When the robot body reaches the predetermined position of the workstation and triggers the limit switch, the control module will send a charging request signal to the workstation. This limit switch ensures that the robot accurately docks at the predetermined position, thus reducing the position deviation problems caused by wear and aging during long-term use. For example, when the robot stops stably, the control system will send a pulse signal to activate the charging program of the workstation.

[0052] After receiving the charging request, the workstation will automatically extend the electrode rod and water pipe to dock with the corresponding interfaces on the robot body. The workstation and the robot use a multi-level positioning mechanism to ensure that the charging contacts and the electrode rod can be in close contact, preventing problems such as reduced efficiency caused by poor contact. Specifically, the electrode rod of the workstation is equipped with a magnetic adsorption connector, which can automatically align and adsorb to the charging contacts of the robot, ensuring stable and reliable power transmission.

[0053] When the charging contacts of the robot body are in good contact with the electrode rod of the workstation, power supply and water resource replenishment will start. The control system will monitor the current, voltage, and water volume in real-time during the charging process to ensure charging efficiency and safety. For example, if any abnormalities are detected, such as too low voltage or too large water flow, the control system will immediately stop charging and issue an alarm.

[0054] After the charging is completed, the robot body requests the workstation to disconnect the electrode and water pipe connections through the control module, and then returns to the state of waiting for instructions, ready to execute the next task. To solve the problem of cleaning accessories falling off caused by high-speed operation before and after charging, the robot will automatically check the fastening status of all accessories before charging and conduct another inspection after charging to ensure the stability of the accessories during the next work. For example, before charging, the robot will conduct self-inspection on all replaceable brush heads, mops, etc. If there is any looseness, the fixing device will be automatically activated to ensure that the accessories are firmly installed.

[0055] This method not only improves the charging efficiency and reliability of commercial intelligent cleaning robots, but also solves various technical problems that may be encountered in complex and changeable environments, ensuring long-term stable operation.

[0056] A charging method for a commercial intelligent cleaning robot of the present invention includes the following main steps:

[0057] 1. Automatically navigate to the charging workstation: After the robot body initiates an automatic charging task, it obtains the position information of the charging workstation through the internal positioning system and autonomously navigates to the charging workstation according to this information. To ensure accurate navigation in complex and changeable cleaning environments, the robot uses advanced visual recognition technology and multi-sensor fusion technology. Especially when approaching special floor materials (such as carpets or floor tile joints), it can detect changes in the ground through sensors, adjust the travel path, and reduce navigation and positioning deviations.

[0058] 2. Establish a communication connection: When the robot is about 5 meters away from the energy replenishment workstation, the control module will establish a stable communication connection with the workstation to ensure subsequent precise control. This step effectively guarantees the quality of the communication signal and avoids positioning and operation errors caused by communication interruptions.

[0059] 3. QR code fusion positioning: After the communication connection is successful, the robot will actively turn on the backlit QR code at a relatively far distance from the workstation (such as 5 meters), scan the code through the camera, and match the scanned information with the QR code information of the workstation to achieve precise positioning. In this way, even in a complex environment, the relative position accuracy between the robot and the workstation can be ensured.

[0060] 4. Close-range precise control: When the robot is about 2 meters away from the workstation, it will switch to a high-precision motion control system, gradually decelerate and slowly approach the workstation, thus avoiding impacts or position errors caused by high speed.

[0061] 5. Trigger the limit switch and send an energy replenishment request: After the robot reaches the designated position, it triggers the limit switch of the workstation and sends an energy replenishment request to the workstation through the control module. This step not only confirms the position of the robot but also starts the energy replenishment process, ensuring the smooth progress of energy replenishment.

[0062] 6. Docking of electrodes and water pipes and energy replenishment: After receiving the energy replenishment request, the workstation will extend the electrodes and water pipes to dock with the energy replenishment contacts of the robot body. To solve the possible wear problem caused by sharing the same mechanical transmission system for the energy replenishment module and the cleaning module, the invention designs an independent energy replenishment contact structure to reduce mutual influence. The electrode rod is designed with a self-correction mechanism to ensure good contact for each docking.

[0063] 7. Monitoring and ending of the energy replenishment process: During the energy replenishment process, the robot monitors the changes in electric energy and water volume in real time to ensure the efficiency of energy replenishment. After the energy replenishment is completed, the robot sends a request to the workstation to stop power supply and water supply through the control module, and the workstation then disconnects the connection. In addition, to avoid the detachment problem that occurs when the robot immediately enters the energy replenishment process after automatically replacing cleaning accessories (such as brush heads, mops, etc.), the system designs an automatic inspection mechanism to ensure safety and reliability by confirming that the accessories are fully and firmly installed before performing energy replenishment.

[0064] Through the above steps and technical means, the present invention effectively solves the technical problems of inaccurate navigation and positioning, low energy replenishment efficiency, and unsecurely installed accessories of the robot in a complex environment, and improves the overall performance and service life of the commercial intelligent cleaning robot.

[0065] Although embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes, modifications, substitutions and variations can be made to these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the present invention, and the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A commercial cleaning robot automatic energy replenishment system, comprising a cleaning robot body and an energy replenishment workstation, characterized in that: The cleaning robot body comprises: a first charging electrode sheet, a battery, a water tank, and a control module, wherein the charging electrode sheet is connected to the battery, and the control module is connected to the battery and the water tank to monitor the charging state and the water adding state; The energy charging workstation includes: a docking port, a QR code, a backlight, an electric screw, a power adapter and a water valve. The QR code is arranged in front of the backlight to guide the robot body to dock with the energy charging workstation. The electric screw is provided with a water pipe and a second charging electrode sheet. The electric screw is telescopically arranged in the docking port. The electric screw pushes the water pipe and the second charging electrode sheet to dock with the water tank and the first charging electrode sheet respectively. The power adapter is connected to the second charging electrode sheet, and the water valve is connected to the water pipe.

2. The automatic energy replenishment system for a commercial cleaning robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The cleaning robot is provided with a front door.

3. The automatic energy replenishment system for a commercial cleaning robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The area of ​​the first charging electrode sheet is greater than the area of ​​the second charging electrode sheet.

4. The automatic energy replenishment system for a commercial cleaning robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The two-dimensional code is arranged at the upper end of the energy replenishment workstation.

5. The automatic energy replenishment system for a commercial cleaning robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The energy replenishment workstation is also provided with a liquid crystal display panel.

6. The automatic energy replenishment system for a commercial cleaning robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The bottom end of the energy replenishing workstation is fixed to the ground by screws.

7. The automatic energy replenishment system for a commercial cleaning robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The energy replenishing workstation is provided with a retractable protective cover, and the retractable protective cover is connected to the docking port.

8. The automatic energy replenishment system for a commercial cleaning robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The energy replenishing workstation is provided with a limit infrared switch.

9. The automatic energy replenishment system for a commercial cleaning robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The energy charging workstation is provided with a control module, the cleaning robot is provided with a receiving module, and the control module is communicatively connected with the receiving module.

10. A cleaning robot energy replenishment method, used to implement the commercial cleaning robot automatic energy replenishment system according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that: include: a. After initiating the automatic energy replenishment task, the cleaning robot obtains the location information of the energy replenishment workstation, moves on its own and approaches the workstation; b. At a distance of 5m from the workstation, the cleaning robot establishes a communication connection with the energy replenishment workstation through the control module; c. When the communication is successful, the QR code backlight is turned on automatically, and the camera and QR code are integrated to locate the position, and the position is moved to the workstation; d. 2m away from the workstation, the cleaning robot starts precise control and moves slowly; e. After the robot approaches the workstation and triggers the limit switch, the cleaning robot body initiates a request for energy replenishment to the workstation through the control module; f. After receiving the energy replenishment request, the energy replenishment workstation pushes out the electrode and water pipe; g. After the energy-replenishing contacts of the cleaning robot body and the electrode rods of the energy-replenishing workstation are in good contact, start to add power and water; h. After the energy replenishment is completed, the cleaning robot body requests the workstation to cut off power and water through the control module.

Images