Autonomous floor cleaning device

Abstract

The present application relates to an autonomous floor cleaning device comprising: a main body; a control system; a driving system; the dust collection system is arranged on the main body and comprises a main dust collection port, a clean air outlet, a dust box, a suction motor, a main suction passage and an auxiliary suction passage which are arranged at the bottom of the main body, the main suction passage is in fluid communication with the main dust collection port and the dust box, one end of the auxiliary suction passage is connected with a suction nozzle, and the other end of the auxiliary suction passage is in fluid communication with the dust box; the manipulator is mounted on the main body and is configured to be used for picking up an article meeting a preset picking condition from the ground to be cleaned, the suction nozzle is configured to be supported by the manipulator, and the manipulator is coupled with the control system in a communication manner; and a vision system; the control system is programmed to judge whether an obstacle exists in the advancing direction of the autonomous ground cleaning device or not based on environment information fed back by the visual system, and when it is judged that the obstacle does not meet the picking condition, the mechanical arm is controlled to carry the suction nozzle to conduct dust collection work at the obstacle.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of surface cleaning, and particularly to an autonomous floor cleaning device. Background Art

[0002] During the process of a floor cleaning robot performing floor vacuuming work, when encountering obstacles such as toys discarded on the floor and garbage that cannot be sucked up, common handling methods are to avoid the obstacle and move to the next area to be cleaned on the floor to continue performing the vacuuming work, and another handling method is to move around the obstacle and use the side brush of the vacuuming robot to sweep the debris in the area around the obstacle to the main vacuuming port at the bottom of the robot.

[0003] In the above two handling methods, the first one will not vacuum the area around the obstacle, resulting in omission of the floor cleaning area; the second one, since the vacuuming robot usually needs to maintain a certain distance from the obstacle, the ability to sweep the debris in the area around the obstacle is limited. Summary of the Invention

[0004] Based on the above technical problems, the purpose of this application is to provide an autonomous floor cleaning device with a high floor cleaning coverage rate.

[0005] To achieve the above object, the present application provides an autonomous floor cleaning device, comprising: a main body; a control system disposed on the main body; a drive system that drives the main body to travel on a floor to be cleaned in response to an instruction from the control system; a dust suction system disposed on the main body and including a main dust suction port disposed at the bottom of the main body, a clean air outlet communicating with the outside atmosphere, a dust box for storing debris, a suction motor, a main suction passage, and an auxiliary suction passage. The main suction passage fluidly connects the main dust suction port and the dust box. One end of the auxiliary suction passage is connected to a suction nozzle, and the other end is fluidly connected to the dust box. The suction motor is configured to generate a driving air flow to flow from the main dust suction port and / or the suction nozzle, pass through the dust box, and flow to the clean air outlet; a manipulator mounted on the main body and configured to pick up an item that meets a preset picking condition from the floor to be cleaned. The suction nozzle is configured to be supported by the manipulator, and the manipulator is communicatively coupled to the control system; and a vision system for obtaining environmental information around the autonomous floor cleaning device during the travel of the autonomous floor cleaning device. The vision system includes at least one camera, and the vision system is communicatively coupled to the control system; wherein: the control system is programmed to: determine whether there is an obstacle in the travel direction of the autonomous floor cleaning device based on the environmental information fed back by the vision system, and when it is determined that the obstacle does not meet the picking condition, control the manipulator to carry the suction nozzle to perform a dust suction operation at the obstacle.

[0006] In the technical solution of the present application, by arranging the auxiliary suction passage and carrying it by the manipulator, the suction nozzle can be brought to the location of the obstacle to achieve dust suction treatment at the obstacle. Compared with the traditional self - mobile floor cleaning device, the dust suction operation is more flexible, and the floor cleaning coverage rate is significantly improved.

[0007] In some embodiments of the above - mentioned technical solution, preferably, the picking condition includes an obstacle size condition, an obstacle type condition, and a safety condition.

[0008] In some embodiments of the above - mentioned technical solution, preferably, the controlling the manipulator to carry the suction nozzle to perform a dust suction operation at the obstacle includes: controlling the manipulator to carry the suction nozzle to move along the outer perimeter of the obstacle.

[0009] In some embodiments of the above - mentioned technical solution, preferably, the controlling the manipulator to carry the suction nozzle to perform a dust suction operation at the obstacle includes: controlling the manipulator to carry the suction nozzle to move along the outer surface of the obstacle.

[0010] In some embodiments of the above technical solution, preferably, the dust suction system further includes: a multi-way valve, which is disposed between the auxiliary suction passage and the main suction passage, and the multi-way valve is communicatively coupled to the control system and controlled by the control system to switch between a first state in which the main suction passage is penetrated and the auxiliary suction passage is cut off and a second state in which the auxiliary suction passage is penetrated and the main auxiliary suction passage is cut off; the control system is programmed to: when it is determined that the obstacle does not meet the picking condition, control the multi-way valve to switch to the second state.

[0011] In some embodiments of the above technical solution, preferably, the dust suction system further includes: a valve, which is disposed in the auxiliary suction passage, and the valve is signal-connected to the control system and controlled by the control system to open and close, and the valve is an electro-actuated normally-closed valve; the control system is programmed to: when it is determined that the obstacle does not meet the picking condition, control the valve to open.

[0012] In some embodiments of the above technical solution, preferably, the auxiliary suction passage includes a flexible tube, and the flexible tube is attached to the robot arm.

[0013] In some embodiments of the above technical solution, preferably, the flexible tube is a telescopic tube.

[0014] In some embodiments of the above technical solution, preferably, the control system is programmed to: when it is determined that the obstacle meets the picking condition, control the robot arm to pick up the obstacle and process the obstacle.

[0015] In some embodiments of the above technical solution, preferably, the picking condition includes a first type of picking condition and a second type of picking condition; the control system is programmed to: when it is determined that the obstacle meets the first type of picking condition, processing the obstacle includes carrying the obstacle to a ground area where the dust suction work has been completed; and when it is determined that the obstacle meets the second type of picking condition, processing the obstacle includes driving the autonomous floor cleaning device to move to a target position and releasing the obstacle under control.

[0016] In some embodiments of the above technical solution, preferably, the control system is programmed to: determine the target position based on the environmental information fed back by the vision system.

[0017] Advantages of the preferred solutions of the present application will be partly given in the following description, partly will become apparent from the following description, or will be learned through the practice of the embodiments of the present application. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] Figure 1 A schematic side view of an autonomous floor cleaning device provided in an embodiment of the present application; Figure 2 A schematic top view of an autonomous floor cleaning device provided in an embodiment of the present application; Figure 3 For attachment Figure 2 Schematic cross-sectional view along the AA direction; Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the principle of the dust collection system provided in an embodiment of the present application; Figure 5 A diagram showing the relationship between the control system and various controlled components in the autonomous floor cleaning device provided in an embodiment of the present application; Figure 6 A schematic diagram of a process flow of the autonomous floor cleaning device provided in an embodiment of the present application when performing floor cleaning; Figure 7 A schematic diagram of the processing flow of the autonomous floor cleaning device provided in an embodiment of the present application when there is an obstacle in the direction of travel and the obstacle meets different picking conditions. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019] See also Figure 1-3 , which shows a schematic example of an autonomous floor cleaning device. The autonomous floor cleaning device 100 is a self-moving floor cleaning robot, which is equipped with a dust collection system. When performing floor cleaning work, the autonomous floor cleaning device 100 can suck the debris on the floor into a dust box for storage.

[0020] The autonomous floor cleaning device 100 includes a generally circular main body 1, a dust collection system 2, a manipulator 3, a battery pack 4, etc. The main body 1 is usually assembled from a plurality of parts, such as a plurality of injection molded parts. The battery pack 4 is used to supply power to various energy-consuming parts of the device.

[0021] The bottom of the main body 1 is provided with a plurality of moving wheels 11, some of which are active wheels and some of which are passive wheels. The plurality of moving wheels 11 can movably support the main body 1 on the ground. In other embodiments, a moving crawler mechanism can also be provided at the bottom of the main body.

[0022] The main body 1 is provided with a driving system, and the driving system drives the main body 1 to move on the floor to be cleaned in response to instructions from the control system of the autonomous floor cleaning device 100. The driving system generally includes a plurality of driving motors, each of which is connected to one or more moving wheels. With the driving action of the driving system, the autonomous floor cleaning device 100 can move autonomously on the floor to be cleaned.

[0023] Combination Figure 4, the dust collection system 2 includes a suction motor 21, a dust box 22, a main dust suction port 23 facing the ground to be cleaned, a clean air outlet 24 communicating with the outside atmosphere, a main suction passage 25, an auxiliary suction passage 26, etc. Among them, the dust box 22 is usually removably disposed on the main body 1.

[0024] The main suction passage 25 is used to fluidly connect the main dust suction port 23 and the dust box 22. One end of the auxiliary suction passage 26 is connected to a suction nozzle 261, and the other end is fluidly connected to the dust box 22; when the suction motor 21 is started, it will generate a driving air flow from the main dust suction port 23 and / or the suction nozzle 261, pass through the dust box 22 and flow to the clean air outlet 24.

[0025] The dust collection system 2 further includes a multi-way valve 27. The multi-way valve 27 is disposed between the auxiliary suction passage 26 and the main suction passage 25. The multi-way valve 27 is controlled by the control system to switch between a first state of connecting the main suction passage 25 and cutting off the auxiliary suction passage 26 and a second state of connecting the auxiliary suction passage 26 and cutting off the main suction passage 25.

[0026] In some embodiments, the dust collection system may include a single-way valve. This valve is disposed in the auxiliary suction passage and is controlled by the control system to open or close. The valve is preferably an electrically actuated normally closed valve.

[0027] Continue as Figure 1 , Figure 2 As shown, the auxiliary suction passage 26 includes a flexible tube 260, preferably a telescopic flexible tube. The flexible tube 260 is attached to the manipulator 3. The suction nozzle 261 is supported by the manipulator 3.

[0028] The robotic arm 3 is arranged at one side wall of the main body 1 and is composed of an arm part 31 and a hand part 32. The arm part 31 can be a multi-axis robotic arm, and the specific number of axes can be set according to requirements. The robotic arm 3 can be transformed between an unfolded state and a folded state. The robotic arm 3, as an automatic operating device capable of grasping, transporting objects or operating tools according to a fixed program, is controlled by a control system. The structural form of the hand part 32 is not limited. For example, it can be a mechanical clamp, a bionic robotic arm, a mechanical hook, a suction cup, etc., and can directly pick up the target object on the ground to be cleaned. When the hand part is a mechanical claw, it can be a two-claw or a multi-claw. The specific structural form of the robotic arm 3 is not limited in this application. The robotic arm 3 in this application is configured to be able to pick up obstacles that meet the preset picking conditions from the ground to be cleaned; in some embodiments, the picking conditions include the size condition of the obstacle, the type condition of the obstacle, and the safety condition; the size condition and the type condition of the obstacle are set according to the performance parameters of the robotic arm 3. If these two conditions are met, the robotic arm 3 will be able to pick up the target obstacle from the ground to be cleaned; and the setting of the safety condition can ensure that the robotic arm will not collide with personnel or other equipment during the picking process, ensuring the safe operation of the autonomous floor cleaning device 100. After all these conditions are met, the robotic arm 3 is allowed to pick up the corresponding obstacle from the ground.

[0029] See Figure 5 As shown, a control system 5, a vision system 6 and a data memory 7 are also arranged on the autonomous floor cleaning device 100. The control system 5 is communicatively coupled to the drive system 8, the suction motor 21, the multi-way valve 27, the vision system 6 and the robotic arm 3 respectively.

[0030] The vision system 6 generally consists of a camera and various sensors and is communicatively coupled to the control system 5. The camera of the vision system can help capture images of the operating environment of the autonomous floor cleaning device 100; the control system will judge whether there are obstacles to be processed in the traveling direction based on the images fed back by the vision system 6; or search for multiple target positions around the operating environment.

[0031] The vision system 6 can be entirely arranged on the main body of the robot, or some components can be arranged on the robotic arm 3, such as Figure 1 as shown in, a camera 61 of a machine vision system is arranged on the robotic arm 3.

[0032] All data information related to the operation of the autonomous floor cleaning device 100 is stored in the data memory 7. For example, the pick-up condition information of the manipulator is pre-stored. Based on this pick-up condition information, the control system can determine whether the obstacle items encountered by the current robot can be picked up by the manipulator. The pick-up conditions can include obstacle size conditions and obstacle type conditions. For example, it can be defined which types of obstacles with what size range can be picked up. The data memory also stores the control program information for the operation of the control system. The control system controls the actions of the corresponding controlled components according to this set of control program information.

[0033] The following describes the working process of the autonomous floor cleaning device 100: As Figure 6 shown, the autonomous floor cleaning device 100 starts. The autonomous floor cleaning device 100 will move along the floor to be cleaned under the control of the control system 5 and perform the work of sucking debris using the main suction port 23. During this process, the vision system 6 continuously collects the environmental information fed back by the autonomous floor cleaning device 100. The control system 5 determines whether there are obstacles in the traveling direction of the autonomous floor cleaning device 100 based on the environmental information fed back by the vision system 6. If it is determined that there are indeed obstacles, it is further determined whether the obstacles meet the pick-up conditions of the manipulator 3. When it is determined that the obstacles do not meet the pick-up conditions, the control system 5 will control the manipulator 3 to carry the suction nozzle 261 to perform the dust suction work at the obstacles. When it is determined that the obstacles meet the pick-up conditions, the control system 5 will control the manipulator 3 to pick up and process the obstacles from the floor to be cleaned. If there are no obstacles in the traveling direction, it will continue to move autonomously on the floor to be cleaned and suck debris using the main suction port 23 until the task is completed.

[0034] When the control system 5 determines whether the obstacles faced meet the pick-up conditions of the manipulator 3, it usually needs to process and analyze the information about the obstacles to obtain the size information, type information, etc. of the obstacles. Then, these information are compared with the preset pick-up conditions one by one to accurately determine whether the obstacles meet the pick-up conditions.

[0035] In some embodiments, the preset pick-up conditions can be divided into multiple different categories of pick-up conditions. For example, the preset pick-up conditions include the first category of pick-up conditions and the second category of pick-up conditions. When it is determined that the obstacles faced meet different categories of pick-up conditions of the manipulator 3, the control system will use different processing methods to handle the obstacles.

[0036] As Figure 7As shown, when it is determined that the obstacle faced meets the first type of picking condition of the manipulator 3, the manipulator 3 is controlled to carry the picked-up obstacle to the ground area where the vacuuming work has been completed; the obstacle faced can be an item such as a shoe or a toy that hinders the progress of the autonomous floor cleaning device 100. When it is determined that the obstacle faced meets the second type of picking condition of the manipulator 3, the autonomous floor cleaning device 100 is driven to move to a target position; the target position can be the position where a trash can or a collection box is located, etc.; the obstacle can be garbage that cannot be sucked into the main suction port, small items to be sorted and stored, etc.; when the obstacle moves to the corresponding target position following the autonomous floor cleaning device 100, the manipulator 3 is controlled to release this obstacle.

[0037] In some embodiments, in order to drive the autonomous floor cleaning device to move to the corresponding target position, the control system is programmed to: find a suitable target position with the help of a vision system; for example, when it is determined that the obstacle faced meets the second type of picking condition of the manipulator 3, first find a suitable target position with the help of the vision system, and then control the manipulator to pick up the corresponding obstacle from the ground to be cleaned and drive the autonomous floor cleaning device to the target position. In some embodiments, the position coordinate information of the target position is stored in the data memory 7 of the autonomous floor cleaning device 100; in this case, the autonomous floor cleaning device 100 only needs to navigate to this position coordinate, and this position coordinate information can be set by the user or determined by the autonomous floor cleaning device 100 by executing a standard teaching program; in some embodiments, a position beacon, such as an infrared transmitter, is configured at the target position, and the robot can trace to the target garbage disposal point according to the signal emitted by the position beacon; in some other embodiments, the target position is determined on-site by the vision system 6 of the autonomous floor cleaning device 100 in combination with the control system 5. For example, the autonomous floor cleaning device 100 first captures an image of the operating environment of the autonomous floor cleaning device 100 through the vision system 6 and transmits it to the control system 5, and the control system 5 selects a suitable target position by identifying these images.

[0038] When the control system 5 determines that the corresponding obstacle does not meet the picking condition of the manipulator 3, it will control the manipulator 3 to carry the suction nozzle 261 to perform vacuuming work at this obstacle. In some embodiments, controlling the manipulator 3 to carry the suction nozzle 261 to perform vacuuming work at this obstacle includes: controlling the manipulator 3 to carry the suction nozzle 261 to move along the outer surface of the obstacle to realize vacuuming work on the surface of the obstacle; in some embodiments, controlling the manipulator 3 to carry the suction nozzle 261 to perform vacuuming work at this obstacle further includes: controlling the manipulator 3 to carry the suction nozzle 261 to move along the outer perimeter of the obstacle to realize vacuuming work on the outer peripheral area of the obstacle.

[0039] In the embodiment where the dust collection system 2 includes a multi-way valve 27 as mentioned above, when the control system 5 determines that the corresponding obstacle does not meet the picking condition of the manipulator 3, it first controls the multi-way valve 27 to switch to the second state, that is, to connect the auxiliary suction passage 26 and cut off the main suction passage 25, so that the suction nozzle 261 has sufficient dust collection ability.

[0040] In the embodiment where the dust collection system 2 includes a single-way valve as mentioned above, when the control system determines that the corresponding obstacle does not meet the picking condition of the manipulator, it first controls the valve to open, so that the suction nozzle 261 has dust collection ability.

[0041] The autonomous floor cleaning device of the present application can perform "small area" dust collection treatment on obstacles that cannot be transferred in the traveling direction through the manipulator provided by itself. It imitates the dust collection action when encountering obstacles that cannot be transferred during the manual dust collection operation, which significantly improves the floor cleaning effect of the autonomous floor cleaning device.

[0042] The above shows and describes the basic principles, main features and advantages of the present application. Those skilled in the art should understand that the present application is not limited by the above embodiments. What is described in the above embodiments and the specification only illustrates the principles of the present application. Without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application, the present application will have various changes and improvements. The scope of protection required by the present application is defined by the appended claims, the specification and their equivalents.

Claims

1. An autonomous floor cleaning device, characterized in that: include: main body; A control system, arranged on the main body; A driving system, which drives the main body to move on the floor to be cleaned in response to a command from the control system; A dust suction system is provided on the main body and comprises a main dust suction port arranged at the bottom of the main body, a clean air outlet connected to the outside atmosphere, a dust box for storing debris, a suction motor, a main suction passage and an auxiliary suction passage, wherein the main suction passage fluidly connects the main dust suction port and the dust box, one end of the auxiliary suction passage is connected to a suction nozzle, and the other end is connected to the dust box fluid, and the suction motor is configured to generate power to push the airflow from the main dust suction port and / or the suction nozzle, through the dust box and to the clean air outlet; A manipulator, mounted on the main body and configured to pick up an object satisfying a preset picking condition from the floor to be cleaned, the suction nozzle being configured to be supported by the manipulator, and the manipulator being communicatively coupled to the control system; as well as A visual system, which is used to obtain environmental information around the autonomous floor cleaning device during the movement of the autonomous floor cleaning device, the visual system comprising at least one camera, and the visual system is communicatively coupled to the control system; Wherein: the control system is programmed to: determine whether there is an obstacle in the direction of travel of the autonomous floor cleaning device based on the environmental information fed back by the visual system, and when it is determined that the obstacle does not meet the picking conditions, control the manipulator to carry the suction nozzle to perform vacuuming at the obstacle.

2. The autonomous floor cleaning device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The picking conditions include obstacle size conditions, obstacle type conditions and safety conditions.

3. The autonomous floor cleaning device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The controlling the manipulator to carry the suction nozzle to perform vacuuming at the obstacle includes: controlling the manipulator to carry the suction nozzle to move along the outer peripheral boundary of the obstacle.

4. The autonomous floor cleaning device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The controlling the manipulator to carry the suction nozzle to perform vacuuming at the obstacle includes: controlling the manipulator to carry the suction nozzle to move along the outer surface of the obstacle.

5. The autonomous floor cleaning device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The dust suction system also includes: a multi-channel valve, which is arranged between the auxiliary suction channel and the main suction channel. The multi-channel valve is communicatively coupled to the control system and is controlled by the control system to switch between a first state of penetrating the main suction channel and cutting off the auxiliary suction channel and a second state of penetrating the auxiliary suction channel and cutting off the main and auxiliary suction channels; the control system is programmed to: when it is determined that the obstacle does not meet the picking conditions, control the multi-channel valve to switch to the second state.

6. The autonomous floor cleaning device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The dust suction system also includes: a valve, which is arranged in the auxiliary suction passage, the valve is connected to the control system signal and is controlled to open and close by the control system, and the valve is an electrically actuated normally closed valve; the control system is programmed to: when it is determined that the obstacle does not meet the picking conditions, control the valve to open.

7. The autonomous floor cleaning device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The auxiliary suction passage comprises a flexible tube, and the flexible tube is attached to the manipulator.

8. The autonomous floor cleaning device according to claim 7, characterized in that: The flexible tube is a telescopic tube.

9. The autonomous floor cleaning device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The control system is programmed to: when it is determined that the obstacle meets the picking condition, control the manipulator to pick up the obstacle and process the obstacle.

10. The autonomous floor cleaning device according to claim 9, characterized in that: The picking conditions include a first type of picking conditions and a second type of picking conditions; the control system is programmed such that: when it is determined that the obstacle meets the first type of picking conditions, processing the obstacle includes carrying the obstacle to a floor area where vacuuming has been completed; and when it is determined that the obstacle meets the second type of picking conditions, processing the obstacle includes driving the autonomous floor cleaning device to move to a target position for controlled release of the obstacle.

11. The autonomous floor cleaning device according to claim 10, characterized in that: The control system is programmed to determine the target position based on the environmental information fed back by the vision system.

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