Control method of automatic pool cleaning device and automatic pool cleaning device

By using a depth gauge in the automatic pool cleaning device to monitor depth changes and perform anti-biasing operations, the lateral drift problem of the device during wall cleaning is solved, cleaning coverage and efficiency are improved, and misjudgment and cumulative errors caused by changes in yaw angle are avoided.

CN120178886APending Publication Date: 2025-06-20SHENZHEN AIPER INTELLIGENT CO LTD
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Patent Information

Application Number
CN202510339137.8
Authority / Receiving Office
CN · China
Patent Type
Applications(China)
Current Assignee / Owner
Filing Date
2025-03-20
Publication Date
2025-06-20

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

The automatic pool cleaning device is prone to lateral drifting during wall cleaning, causing the cleaning path to deviate from the preset path and reducing cleaning coverage and efficiency.

Method used

By installing a depth meter in the automatic pool cleaning device, the changes in the depth of the pool are monitored in real time. When the depth change does not meet the preset conditions, the control device performs an anti-bias operation to adjust the speed difference of the walking element to correct the yaw angle.

Benefits of technology

Effectively prevent the lateral drift of the automatic pool cleaning device, ensure that the cleaning path travels along the preset path, improve cleaning coverage and efficiency, and avoid misjudgment and cumulative errors caused by changes in yaw angle.

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Abstract

The invention relates to a control method of an automatic pool cleaning device and the automatic pool cleaning device, the automatic pool cleaning device is used for cleaning a pool, the pool comprises a pool wall, the automatic pool cleaning device comprises a depth gauge, and the method comprises the steps that the automatic pool cleaning device is controlled to advance on the pool wall, and in the advancing process, the depth gauge is used for measuring the depth of the pool wall; acquiring a depth change condition of the automatic cleaning device for the water pool; judging whether the depth change condition meets a preset change condition or not; if not, the automatic pool cleaning device is controlled to execute deviation prevention operation based on the change condition. The wall climbing control of the automatic cleaning device for the pool can be improved, and transverse drifting is prevented.
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Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of automatic control technology, and particularly to a control method for a pool automatic cleaning device and a pool automatic cleaning device. Background Art

[0002] When the pool automatic cleaning device cleans the pool wall, it needs to work at a certain yaw angle. Due to power reasons or other reasons, the pool automatic cleaning device may drift laterally. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The technical problem to be solved by this application is to provide a control method for a pool automatic cleaning device and a pool automatic cleaning device, which can improve the wall-climbing control of the pool automatic cleaning device and prevent lateral drift.

[0004] To solve the above technical problem, on the one hand, this application provides a control method for a pool automatic cleaning device. The pool automatic cleaning device is used to clean a pool, the pool includes a pool wall, and the pool automatic cleaning device includes a depth gauge. The method includes:

[0005] Control the pool automatic cleaning device to travel on the pool wall. During the travel, obtain the depth change situation of the pool automatic cleaning device;

[0006] Judge whether the depth change situation meets a preset condition;

[0007] If not, control the pool automatic cleaning device to perform an anti-deviation operation based on the change situation.

[0008] Further, the depth change situation includes the depth change amount within a preset time period or a preset walking distance.

[0009] Further, the preset change condition includes:

[0010] The depth change amount within a preset duration or a preset walking distance is equal to or close to a preset change threshold or the actual travel distance value.

[0011] Further, the preset change threshold is determined based on a preset travel speed, and a preset duration or a preset walking distance value.

[0012] Further, the step of controlling the pool automatic cleaning device to perform an anti-deviation operation based on the change situation includes:

[0013] Obtain the offset direction of the pool automatic cleaning device;

[0014] Control the pool automatic cleaning device to offset according to the offset direction.

[0015] Further, the step of obtaining the deviation direction of the automatic pool cleaning device includes:

[0016] Obtaining the acceleration of the automatic pool cleaning device;

[0017] Confirming the deviation direction of the automatic pool cleaning device according to the acceleration.

[0018] Further, the step of obtaining the deviation direction of the automatic pool cleaning device includes:

[0019] Randomly setting the deviation direction or obtaining the deviation direction based on the historical deviation direction.

[0020] On the other hand, the present application provides an automatic pool cleaning device, and the automatic pool cleaning device includes:

[0021] A main body;

[0022] A depth gauge;

[0023] A controller;

[0024] A driving mechanism;

[0025] A first walking element on a first side of the main body; and

[0026] A second walking element on a second side of the main body opposite to the first side; the at least one driving mechanism is configured to, when the depth gauge senses that the depth change of the main body when the automatic pool cleaning device travels on the pool wall does not meet the preset change condition, the controller adjusts the speed difference between the first walking element and the second walking element.

[0027] On the other hand, the present application provides a computer storage medium, and a computer program is stored in the storage medium, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, the above control method is implemented.

[0028] Implementing the embodiments of the present application has the following beneficial effects:

[0029] A depth gauge is provided in the automatic pool cleaning device in this application. When the automatic pool cleaning device moves along the pool wall, the depth of the automatic pool cleaning device in the pool will change. By obtaining the depth change of the automatic pool cleaning device and when the preset change condition is not met, the automatic pool cleaning device is controlled to perform an anti-deviation operation based on the depth change to prevent the movement of the cleaning device from deviating from the preset path. If the cleaning device does not move along the preset path, the cleaning coverage and cleaning efficiency will be reduced. The present invention solves the above problems. In the prior art, the change of the yaw angle is monitored through the IMU attitude angle for deviation correction. Since the IMU is prone to cumulative errors and misjudgment will occur when the machine crosses obstacles such as wall lights, the method in the prior art has a large error. The depth gauge in the present invention works based on the principle of detecting water pressure, does not have the problem of cumulative errors, and is not affected by obstacles. Description of the Drawings

[0030] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions and advantages in the embodiments of the present application or the prior art, the following will briefly introduce the drawings required for the description of the embodiments or the prior art. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present application. For those of ordinary skill in the art, without creative efforts, other drawings can also be obtained based on these drawings.

[0031] Figure 1 is the flowchart of the control method for the automatic pool cleaning device provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0032] Figure 2 is the flowchart of the control method for controlling the automatic pool cleaning device to perform an anti-deviation operation based on the change situation provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0033] Figure 3 is the flowchart of the determination method for obtaining the deviation direction of the automatic pool cleaning device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0034] Figure 4 is the schematic diagram of the lateral drift of the automatic pool cleaning device provided by the embodiment of the present application.

[0035] Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0036] Automatic pool cleaning device 100

[0037] Depth gauge 110 Detailed Embodiments

[0038] To make the objectives, technical solutions and advantages of the present application clearer, the present application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Apparently, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all the embodiments. All other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments in the present application without creative efforts shall fall within the scope of protection of the present application.

[0039] It should be noted that the terms "first", "second", etc. in the description and claims of the present application and the above-mentioned drawings are used to distinguish similar objects, and do not necessarily need to be used to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that such data can be interchanged under appropriate circumstances so that the embodiments of the present application described here can be implemented in an order other than those illustrated or described here. In addition, the terms "comprising" and "having" and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, system, product or server that includes a series of steps or units does not necessarily have to be limited to those steps or units clearly listed, but may include other steps or units not clearly listed or inherent to these processes, methods, products or devices.

[0040] In the embodiments of the present application, the term "module" or "unit" refers to a computer program with a predetermined function or a part of a computer program, which works together with other relevant parts to achieve a predetermined goal, and can be fully or partially implemented by using software, hardware (such as a processing circuit or a memory), or a combination thereof. Similarly, a processor (or multiple processors or memories) can be used to implement one or more modules or units. In addition, each module or unit can be a part of the overall module or unit that includes the function of the module or unit.

[0041] To solve the technical problem of the lateral drift of the wall-climbing of the pool automatic cleaning device 100 in the prior art, the present application provides a control method for the pool automatic cleaning device. The execution subject of this method can be the controller of the pool automatic cleaning device 100. Please refer to Figure 1 、 Figure 4 , which shows the flowchart of the control method of the pool automatic cleaning device 100 and the schematic diagram of the lateral drift of the pool automatic cleaning device 100. Further, the pool automatic cleaning device 100 may include a depth gauge 110, and this method may include:

[0042] S10. Control the pool automatic cleaning device 100 to travel on the pool wall. During the travel, obtain the depth change of the pool automatic cleaning device 100.

[0043] The control method of the automatic pool cleaning device 100 provided in this embodiment can be applied to the scenario where the automatic pool cleaning device 100 travels along the pool wall of the pool according to a preset path. Specifically, the automatic pool cleaning device 100 uses a rotary brush and a filtering device to clean, adsorb, and filter the debris on the pool wall to achieve the purpose of cleaning the pool wall. The preset travel path includes an upward movement path and a downward movement path, and there are multiple upward movement paths and downward movement paths. The moving direction is often perpendicular to the intersection line of the pool bottom and the pool wall or perpendicular to the horizontal plane. It can be understood that the depth gauge 110 is an instrument for measuring the water depth at the position where an object is located. During the process of the automatic pool cleaning device 100 traveling along the pool wall, the depth change of the automatic pool cleaning device 100 is obtained. In one embodiment, the depth change can be calculated by obtaining different water depth data through the depth gauge 110; in another embodiment, the depth change can be directly obtained through the depth gauge 110 with the function of measuring depth change. Such a depth gauge 110 usually has a built-in water pressure sensor and can also be built-in to calculate the depth change amount by performing real-time analysis and processing on the depth measurement data, so as to obtain the depth change situation.

[0044] In some embodiments, the depth change includes the depth change amount within a preset time period or within a preset travel distance. In one embodiment, the first water depth data and the second water depth data of the depth gauge 110 within the preset time period are recorded, and the depth change is obtained by the difference between the first water depth data and the second water depth data. The preset time period can be controlled by a timer module, and the value range of the preset time period can be set between 0.1S and 3S. For example, when the preset time period is 3S, the automatic pool cleaning device 100 obtains the water depth data every 3S, and calculates the depth change by subtracting the previously obtained water depth data from the later obtained water depth data. In one embodiment, the third water depth data and the fourth water depth data of the depth gauge 110 within the preset travel distance are recorded, and the depth change is obtained by the difference between the third water depth data and the fourth water depth data. The value range of the preset travel distance can be set between 0.01m and 0.5m. For example, when the preset travel distance is 0.05m, the automatic pool cleaning device 100 records the travel distance through a wheel speed meter (encoder), triggers to obtain the water depth data every 0.05m of travel, and calculates the depth change by subtracting the previously obtained water depth data from the later obtained water depth data.

[0045] S20. Determine whether the depth change satisfies a preset change condition.

[0046] The preset change conditions in this embodiment include that the depth change amount within a preset duration or a preset walking distance is equal to or close to a preset change threshold or the actual travel distance value. Specifically, in some embodiments, the step of determining whether the depth change situation meets the preset change conditions includes determining whether the depth change amount within the preset duration or the preset walking distance is equal to or close to the preset change threshold or the actual travel distance value. The meaning of "close" includes that the difference between the two is within the range of 2 cm - 5 cm, and the difference range is related to the error of the depth gauge or the wheel speed gauge.

[0047] When the depth change amount is not equal to or not close to the preset change situation threshold or the actual travel distance value, it is determined that the depth change situation of the pool automatic cleaning device 100 does not meet the preset change conditions, that is, the yaw angle of the pool automatic cleaning has changed and it has deviated from the preset movement path during the upward or downward movement. This is because when the cleaning device 100 crawls vertically upward or downward along the pool wall perpendicular to the horizontal plane, within the preset time length, the water depth change amount should be equal to or close to the movement distance. When the yaw angle of the cleaning device 100 changes, the body movement direction is inclined relative to the horizontal plane, then the depth change amount within the preset time length will be less than the actual travel distance or the preset change threshold (the movement speed of the underwater robot is constant or a preset fixed value, so the estimated movement distance is used as the preset change threshold and can be calculated based on the movement speed and the preset duration). Therefore, by monitoring the depth change, it can be determined whether the yaw angle of the cleaning device 100 has changed. In addition, the

[0048] If the pool wall is not perpendicular to the horizontal plane, similar to the above, the movement path of the cleaning device is perpendicular to the intersection line of the pool wall and the pool bottom. During the upward or downward movement of the cleaning device, the movement distance within the preset duration is equal to the depth change amount adjustment value obtained by multiplying the depth change amount by a fixed coefficient. If the yaw angle changes and the body movement direction deviates from the above-mentioned predetermined path, the depth change amount adjustment value within the preset duration will be less than the actual travel distance or the preset change threshold. By monitoring the depth change situation, the change of the yaw angle can also be judged. The movement distance is obtained in real time through the wheel speed gauge on the cleaning device.

[0049] In addition, the preset duration can be set to 0.1s - 3s. If the pool is deeper or the yaw angle of the cleaning device is relatively stable, the preset duration can be increased. Additionally, since the traveling speed of the cleaning device is constant, the preset duration can also be replaced with a preset traveling distance. Based on whether the depth change amount within the preset traveling distance is equal to or close to the preset change threshold or the actual traveling distance value, it is determined whether the yaw angle of the cleaning device has changed. For example, the water depth data is triggered and recorded every 0.1 meters of travel, and the difference between the water depth values obtained from two trigger acquisitions can be used to obtain the water depth change amount within the preset traveling distance. Since the depth change amount reflects the change in the vertical movement distance, the distance that the cleaning device travels along the wall is theoretically always greater than or equal to the depth change value, and the case of "less than" will not be discussed here.

[0050] S30. If not, based on the change situation, control the automatic pool cleaning device 100 to perform an anti - deviation operation.

[0051] In some embodiments, this anti - deviation operation can be understood as an operation to correct the yaw angle. The yaw angle can be adjusted by changing the wheel speed difference of the cleaning device or by changing the driving force difference of the water spraying driving devices on both sides of the cleaning device.

[0052] In some embodiments, the step of controlling the automatic pool cleaning device 100 to perform an anti - deviation operation based on the change situation includes:

[0053] S31. Obtain the deviation direction of the automatic pool cleaning device 100;

[0054] This deviation direction indicates the deviation direction of the traveling direction of the automatic pool cleaning device 100 relative to the traveling direction of the preset traveling path. For example, when the automatic pool cleaning device 100 travels in a direction perpendicular to the horizontal plane, during the traveling process, when the yaw angle changes, the traveling path deviates from the preset path, and the deviation direction of the current traveling path is to the left or right relative to the traveling direction of the preset path. As Figure 4 described, the deviation direction of the cleaning device is to the right.

[0055] In some embodiments, the deviation direction of the automatic pool cleaning device 100 can be obtained in the following way:

[0056] S31a. Obtain the acceleration of the automatic pool cleaning device 100;

[0057] In this embodiment, the acceleration of the automatic pool cleaning device 100 can be obtained through an acceleration sensor. This acceleration sensor can be the acceleration sensor of the IMU unit of the automatic pool cleaning device 100, or a separate acceleration sensor, or a depth gauge 110 with a built - in acceleration sensor.

[0058] S31b. Confirm the deviation direction of the pool automatic cleaning device 100 according to the acceleration.

[0059] Since acceleration is a vector parameter with both magnitude and direction, for example, when a three-axis acceleration sensor detects an object moving to the right with an acceleration of 0.3 m / s 2 , its output data may be (0.3, 0, 0, 0) (unit: m / s 2 ), indicating that the acceleration in the x-axis direction (to the right) is 0.3 m / s 2 , and the accelerations in the y-axis and z-axis directions are 0; when the object moves to the left with an acceleration of 0.2 m / s2, the output data may be (-0.2, 0, 0, 0). Therefore, the deviation direction of the pool automatic cleaning device 100 can be determined according to the acceleration obtained by the acceleration sensor.

[0060] The deviation direction of the pool automatic cleaning device 100 can also be obtained in the following way: randomly generate the deviation direction, for example, by default, the orientation of the cleaning device is offset to the right or left relative to the vertical direction; or retrieve the historical deviation direction. If the historical deviation direction is to the left, and at this time the difference between the depth change amount and the preset change amount or the travel distance change amount becomes larger, it indicates that the current deviation direction is to the left. If the above difference becomes smaller, it indicates that the current deviation direction is to the right. If the deviation direction is randomly generated, it is very likely that the cleaning device will deviate more from the preset path during operation, and at this time, the deviation direction needs to be changed.

[0061] S32. Control the deviation of the pool automatic cleaning device 100 according to the deviation direction. When the deviation direction is to the right, control the pool automatic cleaning device 100 to turn to the left; when the deviation direction is to the left, control the pool automatic cleaning device 100 to turn to the right, so as to offset the lateral drift of the travel path. The turning can be controlled by the driving wheels or tracks on the left and right sides of the cleaning device 100, and can also be controlled by the water spraying mechanism. The magnitude of the turning angle depends on the difference between the depth change amount and the preset change threshold or the actual travel distance value.

[0062] The pool automatic cleaning device 100 provided in the above embodiments can execute the methods provided in any embodiment of the present application, and has the corresponding functional modules and beneficial effects for executing the methods. For the technical details not described in detail in the above embodiments, reference can be made to the methods provided in any embodiment of the present application.

[0063] The automatic pool cleaning device 100 provided in this embodiment includes: a main body, a depth gauge 110, a controller, at least one driving mechanism, a first traveling element on the first side of the main body, and a second traveling element on the second side of the main body opposite to the first side. The driving mechanism provides power for the traveling elements. The controller is configured to control the speed difference between the first traveling element and the second traveling element to turn when the depth change situation sensed by the depth gauge 110 when the main body of the automatic pool cleaning device 100 travels on the pool wall does not meet the preset depth change condition. The first traveling element can also be replaced by a first water spraying element, and the second traveling element can also be replaced by a second water spraying element.

[0064] This embodiment also provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which at least one instruction or at least one program segment is stored, and the at least one instruction or the at least one program segment is loaded and executed by a processor to perform any of the above methods in this embodiment.

[0065] According to one aspect of the present application, there is provided a computer program product or a computer program, which includes computer instructions stored in a computer-readable storage medium. The processor of the electronic device reads the computer instructions from the computer-readable storage medium, and the processor executes the computer instructions to enable the computer device to perform any of the above methods.

[0066] This specification provides the method operation steps as described in the embodiment or the flowchart, but based on routine or non-creative labor, it may include more or fewer operation steps. The steps and sequences listed in the embodiment are only one way among many execution sequences of the steps, and do not represent the only execution sequence. When the actual system or interrupt product is executed, it can be executed in the order shown in the embodiment or the drawings or in parallel (for example, in an environment of parallel processors or multi-threaded processing).

[0067] The structure shown in this embodiment is only a part of the structure related to the solution of the present application, and does not constitute a limitation on the device to which the solution of the present application is applied. The specific device may include more or fewer components than those shown, or combine some components, or have a different arrangement of components. It should be understood that the methods, devices, etc. disclosed in this embodiment can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiment described above is only illustrative. For example, the division of the modules is only a logical function division, and there may be other division methods in actual implementation. For example, multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the displayed or discussed coupling or direct coupling or communication connection to each other can be through some interfaces, and the indirect coupling or communication connection of the device or unit module.

[0068] Based on such understanding, the technical solution of this application, in essence, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or all or part of this technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to enable a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in various embodiments of this application. The aforementioned storage medium includes: various media that can store program codes, such as USB flash drives, mobile hard disks, read-only memories (ROM, Read-Only Memory), random access memories (RAM, Random Access Memory), magnetic disks, or optical discs.

[0069] Those skilled in the art can further realize that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in combination with the embodiments disclosed in this specification can be implemented by electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of both. To clearly illustrate the interchangeability of hardware and software, the composition and steps of each example have been generally described according to functions in the above description. Whether these functions are executed in a hardware or software manner depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional technicians can use different methods for each specific application to implement the described functions, but such implementation should not be considered to exceed the scope of this application.

[0070] As mentioned above, the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of this application and are not intended to limit them; although this application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions recorded in the foregoing embodiments or perform equivalent replacements for some of the technical features; and these modifications or replacements do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of each embodiment of this application.

Claims

1. A control method for an automatic pool cleaning device, wherein the automatic pool cleaning device is used to clean a pool, wherein the pool includes a pool wall, and wherein: The automatic pool cleaning device includes a depth gauge, and the method includes: Controlling the automatic pool cleaning device to move along the pool wall, and obtaining the depth change of the automatic pool cleaning device during the moving process; Determining whether the depth change condition satisfies a preset change condition; If not, the automatic pool cleaning device is controlled to perform an anti-deviation operation based on the change.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The depth change condition includes the depth change amount within a preset time period or a preset walking distance.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The preset change conditions include: The depth change within a preset time period or a preset walking distance is equal to or close to a preset change threshold or an actual travel distance value.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The preset change threshold is determined based on a preset travel speed, and a preset duration or a preset walking distance value.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that The step of controlling the automatic pool cleaning device to perform an anti-deviation operation based on the change comprises: Obtaining the offset direction of the automatic pool cleaning device; The automatic pool cleaning device is controlled to deviate according to the deviating direction.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The step of obtaining the offset direction of the automatic pool cleaning device comprises: Obtaining the acceleration of the automatic pool cleaning device; The deviation direction of the automatic pool cleaning device is determined according to the acceleration.

7. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The step of obtaining the offset direction of the automatic pool cleaning device comprises: Randomly set the offset direction or derive the offset direction based on historical offset directions.

8. An automatic pool cleaning device, characterized in that: The automatic pool cleaning device can execute the control method described in any one of claims 1-7.

9. An automatic pool cleaning device, characterized in that: The automatic pool cleaning device comprises: ontology; Depth gauge; Controller; Driving mechanism; A first walking element or a first water spraying element on a first side of the main body; and a second walking element or a second water spraying element on a second side of the main body opposite to the first side; the driving mechanism is used to drive the first walking element and the second walking element or to drive the first water spraying element and the second water spraying element; At least one of the driving mechanisms is configured such that when the depth gauge senses that the depth change of the main body when the automatic pool cleaning device moves along the pool wall does not meet the preset change condition, the controller adjusts the speed difference between the first walking element and the second walking element or adjusts the driving force of the first water spraying element and the second water spraying element.

10. A computer storage medium storing a computer program, wherein the computer program, when executed by a processor, implements the control method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.