Cleaning robot control method and cleaning robot

Abstract

The invention provides a control method of a cleaning robot and the cleaning robot, and the method comprises the steps: responding to the triggering of a robot maintenance event, and determining a target maintenance point location corresponding to the type of the robot maintenance event in a working scene of the cleaning robot; controlling the cleaning robot to go to the target maintenance point location; and in response to the situation that the cleaning robot arrives at the target maintenance point location, prompting a user to execute a maintenance operation corresponding to the robot maintenance event through a preset interaction mode. Therefore, the robot can automatically go to the set point location and automatically prompt the user when having a maintenance demand, so that the user can timely know the maintenance demand of the robot and conveniently find the position of the robot in a large public place to execute maintenance operation. Even if a base station cannot be deployed in a public place, the commercial robot can be applied in combination with manual auxiliary operation, and the application range of the commercial cleaning robot is expanded.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of robots, and in particular, to a control method for a cleaning robot and a cleaning robot. Background Art

[0002] Commercial cleaning robots can ensure the cleanliness and hygiene of places due to their efficient cleaning performance and continuous stable working ability, and are currently widely used in large public places such as shopping malls, schools, hospitals, hotels, etc. In order to facilitate the cleaning robot to perform cleaning tasks, in the current related technologies, it is necessary to set up a base station in the cleaning scenario. When the cleaning robot docks into the base station, it can perform tasks such as charging, filling water into the clean water tank, and draining water from the sewage tank. However, in actual applications, due to the limitations of the actual environment of public places, many public places do not have the conditions to deploy a base station, resulting in the inability to use commercial cleaning robots and restricting the application scope of commercial cleaning robots. Summary of the Invention

[0003] In view of this, the purpose of the present application is to provide a control method for a cleaning robot and a cleaning robot to solve the problem that commercial cleaning robots cannot be used due to the lack of conditions for deploying a base station in public places.

[0004] The embodiment of the present application provides a control method for a cleaning robot, and the control method includes:

[0005] In response to the triggering of a robot maintenance event, determining a target maintenance point in the working scenario of the cleaning robot corresponding to the type of the robot maintenance event;

[0006] Controlling the cleaning robot to go to the target maintenance point;

[0007] In response to the cleaning robot reaching the target maintenance point, prompting the user to perform a maintenance operation corresponding to the robot maintenance event through a preset interaction method.

[0008] Further, the types of the robot maintenance events include water tank maintenance events; a clean water tank and a sewage tank are installed in the cleaning robot body; the water tank maintenance events include a clean water tank water replenishment event and a sewage tank drainage event; the control method further includes determining a maintenance point corresponding to the water tank maintenance event in the following manner:

[0009] Obtaining drainage points and water replenishment points marked in the map of the working scenario;

[0010] Determining a maintenance point corresponding to the water tank maintenance event according to the distance between the water replenishment point and the drainage point.

[0011] Further, determining a maintenance point corresponding to the water tank maintenance event according to the distance between the water replenishment point and the drainage point includes:

[0012] When the distance between the water replenishment point and the drainage point is less than a preset threshold, determining the water replenishment point as the maintenance point corresponding to the water tank maintenance event;

[0013] Then, in response to the cleaning robot reaching the target maintenance point, prompting the user to perform the maintenance operation corresponding to the robot maintenance event through a preset interaction method, including:

[0014] In response to the cleaning robot reaching the water replenishment point, prompting the user to perform the water replenishment maintenance operation for the clean water tank and the drainage maintenance operation for the sewage tank through the preset interaction method.

[0015] Further, determining a maintenance point corresponding to the water tank maintenance event according to the distance between the water replenishment point and the drainage point further includes:

[0016] When the distance between the water replenishment point and the drainage point is greater than or equal to the preset threshold, determining the water replenishment point as the maintenance point corresponding to the clean water tank water replenishment event, and determining the drainage point as the maintenance point corresponding to the sewage tank drainage event;

[0017] Then, in response to the cleaning robot reaching the target maintenance point, prompting the user to perform the maintenance operation corresponding to the robot maintenance event through a preset interaction method, including:

[0018] In response to the cleaning robot reaching the maintenance point corresponding to the triggered water tank maintenance event, prompting the user to perform the maintenance operation corresponding to the triggered water tank maintenance event through the preset interaction method.

[0019] Further, after prompting the user to perform the maintenance operation corresponding to the triggered water tank maintenance event through the preset interaction method, the control method further includes:

[0020] Controlling the cleaning robot to go to a second target maintenance point corresponding to another water tank maintenance event that has not been triggered;

[0021] In response to the cleaning robot reaching the second target maintenance point, prompting the user to perform the maintenance operation corresponding to the other water tank maintenance event through a preset interaction method.

[0022] Further, before controlling the cleaning robot to go to a second target maintenance point corresponding to another water tank maintenance event that has not been triggered, the control method includes:

[0023] Detecting the cleaning mode of the cleaning robot;

[0024] When the current cleaning mode is the synchronous cleaning mode and / or the historical cleaning modes between the current cleaning mode and the last water tank maintenance operation are all synchronous cleaning modes, control the cleaning robot to go to a second target maintenance point corresponding to another water tank maintenance event that has not been triggered; wherein, the synchronous cleaning mode refers to a cleaning mode in which the water consumption of the clean water tank is synchronized with the water production of the sewage tank.

[0025] Further, after prompting the user to perform the maintenance operation corresponding to the robot maintenance event through a preset interaction method, the control method further includes:

[0026] In response to the received resume task instruction, detect whether the robot maintenance event has been lifted;

[0027] If it has been lifted, resume executing the target task;

[0028] If it has not been lifted yet, continue to prompt the user to perform the maintenance operation through the preset interaction method.

[0029] Further, the target task includes multiple subtasks, and each subtask corresponds to a sub-region within the working scenario; resuming execution of the target task includes:

[0030] Determine the execution progress of the target task when the robot maintenance event is triggered;

[0031] If the execution progress is to execute a subtask within a certain sub-region, control the cleaning robot to return to the point where the robot maintenance event was triggered and resume executing the target task from that point;

[0032] If the execution progress is during the navigation process from the first sub-region to the second sub-region, control the cleaning robot to go to the second sub-region and resume executing the target task from the second sub-region;

[0033] If the execution progress is during the return charging process, control the cleaning robot to go to the charging point within the working scenario.

[0034] Further, the type of the robot maintenance event further includes a charging maintenance event; when the robot maintenance event is a water tank maintenance event, after prompting the user to perform the maintenance operation corresponding to the robot maintenance event through a preset interaction method, the control method further includes:

[0035] If no water tank maintenance operation is detected within a preset duration and a new charging maintenance event is triggered, control the cleaning robot to continue staying at the target maintenance point waiting for the water tank maintenance operation;

[0036] If no water tank maintenance operation is detected after a preset duration and a new charging and maintenance event is triggered, control the cleaning robot to go to the charging point.

[0037] Further, the control method includes:

[0038] When the charging and maintenance event and the water tank maintenance event are triggered simultaneously, preferentially control the cleaning robot to go to the water tank maintenance point corresponding to the water tank maintenance event.

[0039] Further, when the robot maintenance event is a water tank maintenance event, after prompting the user to perform the maintenance operation corresponding to the robot maintenance event through a preset interaction method, the control method further includes:

[0040] If no water tank maintenance operation is detected and a new task instruction is received, judge whether the cleaning robot can execute the new task according to the state of the water tank and the cleaning mode of the new task indicated by the new task instruction; when the water level in the clean water tank is lower than the preset clean water level threshold, the cleaning modes that cannot be executed include: floor washing and mopping; when the water level in the sewage tank is higher than the preset sewage water level threshold, the cleaning modes that cannot be executed include: floor washing and water suction;

[0041] If it can be executed, control the cleaning robot to execute the new task according to the new task instruction.

[0042] The embodiment of the present application also provides a control device for a cleaning robot, and the control device includes: [[ID=I9]]

[0043] A determination module, configured to determine a target maintenance point corresponding to the type of the robot maintenance event in the working scenario of the cleaning robot in response to the triggering of the robot maintenance event;

[0044] A control module, configured to control the cleaning robot to go to the target maintenance point;

[0045] A prompt module, configured to prompt the user to perform the maintenance operation corresponding to the robot maintenance event through a preset interaction method in response to the cleaning robot reaching the target maintenance point.

[0046] The embodiment of the present application also provides a cleaning robot, including: a processor, a memory, and a bus. The memory stores machine-readable instructions executable by the processor. When the cleaning robot runs, the processor communicates with the memory through the bus. When the machine-readable instructions are executed by the processor, the steps of the control method of the cleaning robot as described above are executed.

[0047] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, on which a computer program is stored. When the computer program is run by a processor, it executes the steps of the control method of the cleaning robot as described above.

[0048] The embodiment of the present application has the following beneficial technical effects:

[0049] After a robot maintenance event is triggered, the cleaning robot is controlled to automatically go to the corresponding target maintenance point, and the user is prompted to perform the corresponding maintenance operation after arriving at the target maintenance point. In this way, when the robot has a maintenance requirement, it can automatically go to the set point and automatically prompt the user. Then the user can timely understand the maintenance requirement of the robot and conveniently find the location of the robot in a large public place to perform the maintenance operation. Even if a base station cannot be deployed in a public place, commercial robots can still be applied in combination with manual assistance operations, expanding the application scope of commercial cleaning robots.

[0050] To make the above objects, features, and advantages of the present application more obvious and understandable, the following specific preferred embodiments are given, and in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, the detailed description is as follows. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0051] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the following will briefly introduce the drawings required in the embodiments. It should be understood that the following drawings only show some embodiments of the present application, and therefore should not be regarded as limiting the scope. For those of ordinary skill in the art, without creative efforts, other relevant drawings can also be obtained based on these drawings.

[0052] Figure 1 FIG. 1 shows one of the flowcharts of a control method for a cleaning robot provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0053] Figures 2(a) to 2(e) FIG. 2 shows a schematic display diagram of an interactive screen of a cleaning robot provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0054] Figure 3 FIG. 3 shows another flowchart of a control method for a cleaning robot provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0055] Figure 4 FIG. 4 shows a schematic structural diagram of a control device for a cleaning robot provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0056] Figure 5 FIG. 5 shows a schematic structural diagram of a cleaning robot provided by an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0057] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of this application clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of this application. Apparently, the described embodiments are only some of the embodiments of this application, rather than all of them. The components of the embodiments of this application usually described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings here can be arranged and designed in various different configurations. Therefore, the following detailed description of the embodiments of this application provided in the accompanying drawings is not intended to limit the scope of the claimed application, but merely represents selected embodiments of this application. Based on the embodiments of this application, every other embodiment obtained by those skilled in the art without creative efforts falls within the scope of protection of this application.

[0058] First, the applicable application scenarios of this application will be introduced. This application can be applied to the field of robotics and is applicable to commercial robots.

[0059] Through research, it is found that commercial cleaning robots can ensure the cleanliness and hygiene of places due to their efficient cleaning performance and continuous and stable working ability, and are currently widely used in large public places such as shopping malls, schools, hospitals, and hotels.

[0060] In order to facilitate the cleaning robot to perform cleaning tasks, in the current related technologies, it is necessary to set up a base station in the cleaning scenario. When the cleaning robot docks into the base station, it can perform tasks such as charging, filling the clean water tank, and draining the sewage tank through the base station. However, in actual applications, due to the limitations of the actual environment in public places, many public places do not have the conditions to deploy a base station, resulting in the inability to use commercial cleaning robots and restricting the application scope of commercial cleaning robots.

[0061] Based on this, the embodiments of this application provide a control method for a cleaning robot to solve the problem that commercial cleaning robots cannot be used due to the lack of conditions for deploying a base station in public places.

[0062] Please refer to Figure 1 , Figure 1 which is one of the flowcharts of a control method for a cleaning robot provided by the embodiments of this application. As shown in Figure 1 , the control method provided by the embodiments of this application includes:

[0063] \nS101. In response to the triggering of a robot maintenance event, determine a target maintenance point in the working scenario of the cleaning robot corresponding to the type of the robot maintenance event.

[0064] Among them, the types of robot maintenance events include a water tank maintenance event and a charging maintenance event.

[0065] To drive the components to complete the cleaning work, a battery is installed in the cleaning robot. As the cleaning work progresses, the battery power gradually decreases. When the power is too low, a charging and maintenance event will be triggered.

[0066] For the commercial cleaning robot in the embodiments of the present application, different from general household cleaning robots, a large-capacity clean water tank and a sewage tank are built in the body of the commercial cleaning robot to ensure the continuous cleaning effect in public places with a large area and heavy dirt. Correspondingly, the water tank maintenance event further includes a clean water tank water replenishment event and a sewage tank drainage event. As the cleaning work progresses, the remaining clean water in the clean water tank gradually decreases, and the clean water tank water replenishment event is triggered. The sewage recovered by the sewage tank gradually increases, and the sewage tank drainage event is triggered.

[0067] Therefore, in the existing related technologies, in order to apply commercial robots, at least the following conditions need to be met: there is sufficient space in the working scenario to set up a base station (workstation), the position of the base station is reachable for the cleaning robot (for example, the width of the path is passable, and there are no impassable thresholds on the path, etc.), and there are water and electricity conditions around the position of the base station, so that the base station can be connected to the mains through internal circuit components and the upper and lower water pipes through internal water pipe components. In this way, the cleaning robot can successfully dock into the base station and complete the maintenance work. Obviously, many public places do not have the above conditions for deploying the base station, resulting in the inability to use commercial cleaning robots.

[0068] In the embodiments of the present application, there are different types of maintenance points corresponding to the types of the above-mentioned robot maintenance events in the working scenario of the cleaning robot, such as charging points, water tank maintenance points; or charging points, water replenishment points and drainage points. Different types of maintenance points can be set on the map during the mapping stage.

[0069] Therefore, in this step, a corresponding relationship is constructed between different types of robot maintenance events and different types of maintenance points. In this way, when a robot maintenance event is triggered, the target maintenance point corresponding to the type of the triggered robot maintenance event can be found from the maintenance points pre-marked on the map of the working scenario.

[0070] At different maintenance points, the corresponding type of maintenance operation can be completed through manual operation by the user and / or automatic operation by the robot. For example, at the charging point, there is a charging pile for the cleaning robot to automatically connect for charging, or there is a mains interface for the user to manually connect for charging; at the water replenishment point, there is a water outlet, and the user can replenish water to the clean water tank through an external water pipe; at the drainage point, there is a sewage outlet, and the user can take out the sewage tank and pour out the sewage.

[0071] By setting the above various maintenance points, the requirements for the public place scenarios can be reduced, and thus the application range of commercial cleaning robots can be expanded.

[0072] It should be noted that the above various maintenance points are only distinguished by type and can be located at the same or different physical positions in the actual space; at least one of each type of maintenance point can be set within the working scenario of the cleaning robot; when multiple are set, the target maintenance point corresponding to the type of robot maintenance event can be randomly selected from multiple maintenance points of the corresponding type, or can be selected according to the position of the cleaning robot when the robot maintenance event is triggered. For example, the corresponding type of maintenance point within the floor where the cleaning robot is located can be selected.

[0073] S102. Control the cleaning robot to go to the target maintenance point.

[0074] In this step, the path can be planned according to the position of the target maintenance point in the map and the position of the cleaning robot when the robot maintenance event is triggered, and then the cleaning robot can be controlled to go to the target maintenance point according to the path.

[0075] S103. In response to the cleaning robot reaching the target maintenance point, prompt the user to perform the maintenance operation corresponding to the robot maintenance event through a preset interaction method.

[0076] In this step, after the cleaning robot reaches the target maintenance point, the user is prompted to perform the maintenance operation corresponding to the robot maintenance event; the preset interaction method can include at least one of the following: the interactive screen on the cleaning robot displays information, the lights flash, voice broadcast, and remote push to the mobile terminal held by the user, etc. Exemplarily, the cleaning robot broadcasts "I need to replenish clean water" three times by voice every 30 seconds, and at the same time the interactive screen displays "Please add clean water".

[0077] In this way, the user can clearly understand the maintenance requirements of the robot in a timely manner, conveniently find the robot at the corresponding target maintenance point, and then perform the corresponding maintenance operation. The cleaning robot can then continue to complete the work task. Indirectly, the work efficiency of the cleaning robot can be guaranteed.

[0078] A control method for a cleaning robot provided by an embodiment of the present application controls the cleaning robot to automatically go to the corresponding target maintenance point after the robot maintenance event is triggered, and prompts the user to perform the corresponding maintenance operation after reaching the target maintenance point. In this way, when the robot has a maintenance requirement, it can automatically go to the set point and automatically prompt the user. The user can then timely understand the maintenance requirements of the robot and conveniently find the location of the robot in large public places to perform the maintenance operation. Even if a base station cannot be deployed in a public place, commercial robots can also be applied in combination with manual auxiliary operations, expanding the application scope of commercial cleaning robots.

[0079] The implementation details of the control method provided by the embodiments of the present application will be specifically introduced below.

[0080] On the one hand, for the fresh water tank replenishment event and the sewage tank drainage event included in the water tank maintenance event, determining the maintenance points corresponding to the water tank maintenance event may include:

[0081] Step a1: Obtain the drainage points and replenishment points marked on the map of the working scenario.

[0082] Here, the cleaning robot generates or imports a map of the working scenario during the mapping stage. According to the actual positions of the water outlet and the sewage outlet in the working scenario, the drainage points and replenishment points can be marked on the map.

[0083] Step a2: Determine the maintenance points corresponding to the water tank maintenance event according to the distance between the replenishment point and the drainage point.

[0084] When the distance between the replenishment point and the drainage point is relatively close (including coincidence), one of the points can be determined as the water tank maintenance point shared by both the fresh water tank replenishment event and the sewage tank drainage event, or a point can be selected between the positions of the replenishment point and the drainage point as the water tank maintenance point shared by both the fresh water tank replenishment event and the sewage tank drainage event. Then, there can actually be only one water tank maintenance point in the map. When the fresh water tank replenishment event and / or the sewage tank drainage event is triggered, this water tank maintenance point will be used as the target maintenance point.

[0085] In this way, by merging the maintenance points related to the water tank, the map markings can be reduced and the control logic of the cleaning robot can be simplified. In addition, it is noted in practice that in most cleaning scenarios, the fresh water tank and the sewage tank often have maintenance requirements almost simultaneously. When the distance is relatively close, users can completely perform the two maintenance operations at one time to ensure the maintenance efficiency. Therefore, if the replenishment point and the drainage point are still set as two maintenance points respectively, after the user finishes one operation, they need to wait for the cleaning robot to start and move to a relatively close other point, and then perform the other operation, which will increase the unnecessary consumption of the robot and reduce the cleaning efficiency.

[0086] Preferably, for step a2: when the distance between the replenishment point and the drainage point is less than a preset threshold, determine the replenishment point as the maintenance point corresponding to the water tank maintenance event.

[0087] Here, the preset threshold can be comprehensively set according to the actual working scenario, the robot water tank situation, etc. The present application does not limit this, such as 5 meters, 10 meters, etc.

[0088] For the commercial cleaning robot in the embodiments of the present application, adding water to the built-in clean water tank requires an external water supply pipe, and draining the built-in sewage tank requires taking out the sewage tank. Therefore, there are lower requirements for the distance during sewage discharge. Thus, when the positions of the water replenishment point and the drainage point are very close, in order to minimize the robot navigation process, the water replenishment point is selected as the maintenance point corresponding to the water tank maintenance event.

[0089] Correspondingly, for step S103: In response to the cleaning robot reaching the water replenishment point, prompt the user to perform the maintenance operations of replenishing water to the clean water tank and draining the sewage tank through the preset interaction method.

[0090] As mentioned above, there are often maintenance requirements for the clean water tank and the sewage tank almost simultaneously. Therefore, whether the clean water tank water replenishment event is triggered, the sewage tank drainage event is triggered, or both are triggered simultaneously, the robot navigates to the water replenishment point (the target maintenance point), and prompts the user to perform the maintenance operations of replenishing water to the clean water tank and draining the sewage tank together, so as to maintain the two water tanks at one time as much as possible, avoid the work tasks of the robot from being interrupted repeatedly, improve the cleaning efficiency, and reduce the robot navigation process.

[0091] In another possible implementation manner, for step a2: When the distance between the water replenishment point and the drainage point is greater than or equal to a preset threshold, determine the water replenishment point as the maintenance point corresponding to the clean water tank water replenishment event, and determine the drainage point as the maintenance point corresponding to the sewage tank drainage event.

[0092] When the distance between the water replenishment point and the drainage point is relatively far, the water replenishment point is the maintenance point corresponding to the clean water tank water replenishment event, and the drainage point is the maintenance point corresponding to the sewage tank drainage event; then there are actually two types of water tank maintenance points in the map. When the clean water tank water replenishment event is triggered, use this water replenishment point as the target maintenance point, and when the sewage tank drainage event is triggered, use this drainage point as the target maintenance point.

[0093] Correspondingly, for step S103: In response to the cleaning robot reaching the maintenance point corresponding to the triggered water tank maintenance event, prompt the user to perform the maintenance operation corresponding to the triggered water tank maintenance event through the preset interaction method.

[0094] That is to say, use the maintenance point corresponding to the actually triggered water tank maintenance event as the target maintenance point, control the cleaning robot to go to this target maintenance point, and prompt the user to perform the maintenance operation corresponding to the actually triggered water tank maintenance event through the preset interaction method. For example, when the clean water tank is empty and the clean water tank water replenishment event is triggered, use the water replenishment point as the target maintenance point and prompt the user to perform the clean water tank water replenishment operation.

[0095] In this case, the cleaning robot goes to the maintenance point corresponding to the actually triggered water tank maintenance event, facilitating the user to find the robot and complete the corresponding maintenance operation at this maintenance point.

[0096] Further, after prompting the user to perform the maintenance operation corresponding to the triggered water tank maintenance event through the preset interaction method, the control method further includes:

[0097] Controlling the cleaning robot to go to a second target maintenance point corresponding to another water tank maintenance event that has not been triggered; in response to the cleaning robot reaching the second target maintenance point, prompting the user to perform the maintenance operation corresponding to the another water tank maintenance event through the preset interaction method.

[0098] Similarly, considering that the water tank and the sewage tank often have maintenance requirements almost simultaneously, after arriving at the first target point for prompting and the user has completed the first maintenance operation, the cleaning robot can automatically take the maintenance point corresponding to another water tank maintenance event that has not been triggered as the second target maintenance point next, and go to the second target maintenance point to prompt the user to perform the maintenance operation corresponding to the another water tank maintenance event that has not been triggered. In this way, it is possible to maintain the two water tanks at one time as much as possible, avoid the work tasks of the robot from being repeatedly interrupted, improve the cleaning efficiency, and reduce the robot navigation process.

[0099] Further, the embodiment of the present application can further combine the cleaning mode to determine the next action of the cleaning robot. Before controlling the cleaning robot to go to a second target maintenance point corresponding to another water tank maintenance event that has not been triggered, the control method further includes:

[0100] Detecting the cleaning mode of the cleaning robot; if the current cleaning mode is the synchronous cleaning mode and / or the historical cleaning mode between the current cleaning mode and the last water tank maintenance operation is the synchronous cleaning mode, then controlling the cleaning robot to go to a second target maintenance point corresponding to another water tank maintenance event that has not been triggered.

[0101] Wherein, the synchronous cleaning mode refers to a cleaning mode in which the water consumption of the water tank is synchronized with the water production of the sewage tank. In the synchronous cleaning mode, the water tank and the sewage tank need to be maintained almost simultaneously, but there is a certain sequence in triggering.

[0102] Therefore, if the current cleaning mode is the synchronous cleaning mode and / or the historical cleaning mode between the current cleaning mode and the last water tank maintenance operation is the synchronous cleaning mode, even if another water tank maintenance event has not been triggered, the cleaning robot can be directly controlled to go to the second target maintenance point corresponding to another water tank maintenance event, and then prompt the user to perform the maintenance operation corresponding to another water tank maintenance event through the preset interaction method.

[0103] In this way, it is possible to maintain the two water tanks at one time when there is an actual maintenance requirement, avoiding unnecessary maintenance operations by the user and preventing the work tasks of the robot from being interrupted repeatedly.

[0104] If the current cleaning mode is not the synchronous cleaning mode and / or there is an asynchronous cleaning mode in the historical cleaning modes between the last water tank maintenance operation, another water tank state can be read, such as the water level and water volume. According to the water tank state, it is determined whether to trigger another water tank maintenance event. If triggered, the cleaning robot is then controlled to the second target maintenance point.

[0105] In specific implementation, the water volume of the water tank is detected by a sensor device inside the water tank. For example, the water volume of the clean water is divided into four levels: empty, low, medium, and high. A floating ball is installed in the clean water tank. When the position of the floating ball cannot be detected, the water volume is empty; when the position of the floating ball is detected as low, the water volume is at the low level; when the position of the floating ball is detected as medium, the water volume is at the medium level; when the position of the floating ball is detected as high, the water volume is at the high level. The water volume of the sewage is divided into three levels: empty, having water, and full. Hall components are installed at the bottom and top of the sewage tank. On the premise that the sewage tank is in place, when neither the bottom Hall signal nor the top Hall signal can be detected, the water volume is empty; when the bottom Hall signal cannot be detected, the sewage tank has water; when the top Hall signal is detected, the sewage tank is full.

[0106] Here, considering that the liquid level of the water tank shakes easily during the movement of the cleaning robot, which may cause false detection and result in the machine stopping and starting, the detection signal can be filtered, and the water volume of the water tank is determined according to the filtered signal.

[0107] Therefore, also considering that the current detection of the water volume of the water tank is easily affected by the movement of the robot, and the filtering algorithm is relatively complex, which is likely to lead to inaccurate detection of the water volume and inability to timely determine whether to trigger another water tank maintenance event, this application combines the actual cleaning scenario and preferentially determines whether to perform another water tank maintenance operation by judging the cleaning mode.

[0108] Please refer to Figures 2(a) to 2(e) , Figures 2(a) to 2(e) which is a schematic display diagram of an interactive screen of a cleaning robot provided by an embodiment of this application.

[0109] As shown in Figure 2(a), when the distance between the water replenishment point and the drainage point is relatively close (including coincidence), the water replenishment point is a water tank maintenance point shared by both the clean water tank water replenishment event and the sewage tank drainage event. When any one of the water tank maintenance events is triggered, the cleaning robot goes to this water replenishment point. The interactive screen of the cleaning robot prompts to perform the clean water tank water replenishment maintenance operation and the sewage tank drainage maintenance operation together. In addition, the real-time water volumes of the clean water tank and the sewage tank can also be displayed on the interactive screen.

[0110] When the distance between the water replenishment point and the drainage point is relatively far, the water replenishment point is the maintenance point corresponding to the water replenishment event of the clean water tank, and the drainage point is the maintenance point corresponding to the drainage event of the sewage tank.

[0111] When the water replenishment event of the clean water tank is triggered first, the cleaning robot goes to the water replenishment point. As shown in Figure 2(b), the interactive screen prompts to perform the water replenishment maintenance operation of the clean water tank. At the same time, the interactive screen also prompts to go to the drainage point to discharge sewage after the maintenance of the clean water tank. After the user performs the water replenishment maintenance operation of the clean water tank, the user can click the left control to confirm that the cleaning robot goes to the drainage point for drainage, or click the right control to confirm that the clean water of the cleaning robot has been replenished and continue the task (the user can make a choice by referring to the real-time water volume displayed on the interactive screen and comprehensive information such as the tasks performed by the robot). If the left control is clicked, the cleaning robot takes the drainage point as the second target point and navigates to it. After arriving at the second target point, as shown in Figure 2(c), the interactive screen prompts to perform the drainage maintenance operation of the sewage tank. After the user performs the drainage maintenance operation of the sewage tank, the user can click the control to confirm that the sewage of the cleaning robot has been discharged and can continue the task.

[0112] When the drainage event of the sewage tank is triggered first, the cleaning robot goes to the drainage point. As shown in Figure 2(d), the interactive screen prompts to perform the drainage maintenance operation of the sewage tank. At the same time, the interactive screen also prompts to go to the water replenishment point to replenish water after the maintenance of the sewage tank. After the user performs the drainage maintenance of the sewage tank, the user can click the left control to confirm that the cleaning robot goes to the water replenishment point for water replenishment, or click the right control to confirm that the sewage of the cleaning robot has been discharged and can continue the task. If the left control is clicked, the cleaning robot takes the water replenishment point as the second target point and navigates to it. After arriving at the second target point, as shown in Figure 2(e), the interactive screen prompts to perform the water replenishment maintenance operation of the clean water tank. After the user performs the water replenishment maintenance operation of the clean water tank, the user can click the control to confirm that the clean water of the cleaning robot has been replenished and can continue the task.

[0113] On the other hand, for the charging maintenance event, the maintenance points corresponding to the charging maintenance event include the charging points on the map.

[0114] The cleaning robot in the embodiment of the present application has a low battery protection function. When the battery power is too low, the charging maintenance event is triggered. At this time, if the robot is in the states of automatic task, idle standby, or docked at a landmark point, etc., it can automatically go to the charging point. If the cleaning robot is in the states of manual cleaning, manual operation of the machine, drainage, water replenishment, emergency stop, or manual charging, etc., it cannot immediately go to the charging point. When the low battery is triggered during the process of going to the water replenishment or drainage point, the tank maintenance also needs to be completed first.

[0115] In some cases, when the charging maintenance event and the water tank maintenance event are triggered simultaneously, the cleaning robot is preferentially controlled to go to the water tank maintenance point corresponding to the water tank maintenance event.

[0116] The priority of the water tank maintenance event (water replenishment and drainage) is higher than that of the charging maintenance event because the physical positions of the charging point and the water tank maintenance point in the embodiments of the present application can be different. Therefore, navigating to the water tank maintenance point also consumes power. After preferentially performing the water tank maintenance operation and then the charging maintenance operation, the cleaning robot can directly resume the cleaning task with sufficient power. Otherwise, after charging is completed, the robot still has to navigate to maintain the water tank, causing the cleaning task to be interrupted twice, affecting the cleaning efficiency and the coherence of task execution.

[0117] More specifically, if the fresh water tank water replenishment event, the sewage tank drainage event, and the charging maintenance event are triggered simultaneously, the priority of the sewage tank drainage event is higher than that of the fresh water tank water replenishment event, and the priority of the fresh water tank water replenishment event is higher than that of the charging maintenance event. The cleaning robot goes to the corresponding maintenance points in sequence according to the priority order, and the prompts for the user are also triggered in sequence according to the priority order.

[0118] Please refer to Figure 3 , Figure 3 which is the second flowchart of a control method for a cleaning robot provided by the embodiments of the present application. As Figure 3 shown in

[0119] S301. In response to the triggering of the robot maintenance event, determine the target maintenance point in the working scenario of the cleaning robot corresponding to the type of the robot maintenance event.

[0120] S302. Control the cleaning robot to go to the target maintenance point.

[0121] S303. In response to the cleaning robot reaching the target maintenance point, prompt the user to perform the maintenance operation corresponding to the robot maintenance event through a preset interaction method.

[0122] Among them, the descriptions of S301 to S303 can refer to the descriptions of S101 to S103 and can achieve the same technical effects, which will not be elaborated here.

[0123] S304. In response to the received resume task instruction, detect whether the robot maintenance event has been lifted.

[0124] In this step, the cleaning robot stays at the target maintenance point waiting for the user to perform the corresponding maintenance operation. After the user finishes, the user can issue a resume task instruction to the cleaning robot, for example, by clicking the "Resume Task" control displayed on the interactive screen. In response to the received resume task instruction, the cleaning robot detects whether the previously triggered robot maintenance event has been lifted, that is, it checks whether the cleaning robot has returned to a state where it can continue to execute the original target task.

[0125] S305. If it has been lifted, resume executing the target task.

[0126] In this step, if the robot maintenance event has been lifted, resume executing the original interrupted target task.

[0127] S306. If it has not been lifted yet, continue to prompt the user to perform the maintenance operation through the preset interaction method.

[0128] In this step, if the robot maintenance event has not been lifted yet, continue to prompt the user to perform the maintenance operation through the preset interaction method, wait for the reissued resume task instruction, and return to execute step S304.

[0129] In this way, through the closed-loop logic design of prompting the user to perform the maintenance operation, receiving the resume task instruction, checking the robot status, resuming task execution or continuing to prompt, it is ensured that the status of the cleaning robot is successfully restored, guaranteeing the cleaning efficiency.

[0130] Among them, the target task includes multiple subtasks, and each subtask corresponds to a sub-region within the work scenario. Then, resuming the execution of the target task in S305 includes:

[0131] S3051. Determine the execution progress of the target task when the robot maintenance event is triggered.

[0132] S3052. If the execution progress is to execute a subtask within a certain sub-region, control the cleaning robot to return to the point where the robot maintenance event was triggered, and resume executing the target task from this point.

[0133] In this step, if the cleaning robot triggers a robot maintenance event while executing a subtask within a certain sub-region, pauses the subtask, and then goes to the target maintenance point, then when resuming the execution of the target task, it should return to the point where the robot maintenance event was triggered, and resume executing the target task from this point to avoid missing some sub-regions during cleaning.

[0134] S3053. If the execution progress is during the navigation process from the first sub-region to the second sub-region, control the cleaning robot to go to the second sub-region, and resume executing the target task from the second sub-region.

[0135] In this step, if the cleaning robot triggers a robot maintenance event during the navigation from the first sub-region to the second sub-region, pauses the subtask, and then goes to the target maintenance point, when resuming the execution of the target task, it can directly navigate to the destination second sub-region and resume the execution of the target task from the cleaning start point of the second sub-region, so as to reduce the robot navigation process and improve work efficiency.

[0136] S3054. If the execution progress is during the return charging process, control the cleaning robot to go to the charging point within the working scenario.

[0137] In this step, if the cleaning robot triggers a robot maintenance event during the return charging process, pauses the subtask, and then goes to the target maintenance point for water tank maintenance, when resuming the execution of the target task, it should navigate to the charging point to complete the charging task.

[0138] Further, in some cases, after the cleaning robot stays at the target maintenance point, it may not be maintained for a period of time and triggers a new charging maintenance event during the waiting process. After prompting the user to perform the maintenance operation corresponding to the water tank maintenance event through the preset interaction method, the control method further includes:

[0139] If no water tank maintenance operation is detected within the preset duration and a new charging maintenance event is triggered, control the cleaning robot to continue staying at the target maintenance point waiting for the water tank maintenance operation; if no water tank maintenance operation is detected after the preset duration and a new charging maintenance event is triggered, control the cleaning robot to go to the charging point.

[0140] Here, the preset duration can be set as the waiting time limit according to needs, such as 15 minutes. If it is not maintained within the preset duration and a new charging maintenance event is triggered, the cleaning robot will continue to stay at the target maintenance point waiting for maintenance; if it still has not been maintained after the preset duration and a new charging maintenance event is triggered, control the cleaning robot to go to the charging point for charging.

[0141] In this way, it can avoid the cleaning robot waiting empty for a long time, charge first after low battery, and improve the maintenance efficiency; in addition, if it waits empty all the time, it may cause the cleaning robot to run out of power and cannot be started again, bringing trouble to the subsequent charging and maintenance work.

[0142] Further, after prompting the user to perform the maintenance operation corresponding to the triggered water tank maintenance event through the preset interaction method, the control method further includes:

[0143] If no water tank maintenance operation is detected and a new task instruction is received, determine whether the cleaning robot can execute the new task according to the state of the water tank and the cleaning mode of the new task indicated by the new task instruction; if it can execute, control the cleaning robot to execute the new task according to the new task instruction.

[0144] Here, when the cleaning robot docks at the corresponding maintenance point waiting for the water tank maintenance operation (water replenishment operation and / or drainage operation), if a new task is received, task self-check can be performed. That is, it is determined whether the current state of the cleaning robot can execute this task. Specifically, for the state of the water tank, it can be determined whether a new task of a different cleaning mode can be executed according to the water level (water volume) of the current clean water tank and / or sewage tank. It can also check whether the water tank is in place and whether the battery power is sufficient, etc. In this way, the cleaning robot can be flexibly scheduled to execute cleaning tasks, improving the usage efficiency of the cleaning robot.

[0145] Among them, when the water level in the clean water tank is lower than the preset clean water level threshold, the cleaning modes that cannot be executed include: floor washing and mopping; the cleaning modes that can be executed include dust pushing, vacuuming, sweeping, silent dust pushing, water absorption, etc. When the water level in the sewage tank is higher than the preset sewage level threshold, the cleaning modes that cannot be executed include: floor washing and water absorption; the cleaning modes that can be executed include mopping, dust pushing, vacuuming, sweeping, silent dust pushing, etc.

[0146] A control method for a cleaning robot provided by an embodiment of the present application includes: in response to a robot maintenance event being triggered, determining a target maintenance point corresponding to the type of the robot maintenance event in the working scenario of the cleaning robot; controlling the cleaning robot to go to the target maintenance point; in response to the cleaning robot reaching the target maintenance point, prompting the user to perform the maintenance operation corresponding to the robot maintenance event through a preset interaction method.

[0147] After the robot maintenance event is triggered, control the cleaning robot to automatically go to the corresponding target maintenance point, and prompt the user to perform the corresponding maintenance operation after reaching the target maintenance point. In this way, when the robot has a maintenance requirement, it can automatically go to the set point and automatically prompt the user. Then the user can timely understand the maintenance requirement of the robot and conveniently find the location of the robot in a large public place to perform the maintenance operation. Even if a base station cannot be deployed in a public place, commercial robots can also be applied in combination with manual assistance operations, expanding the application scope of commercial cleaning robots.

[0148] Based on the same inventive concept, an embodiment of the present application also provides a control device for a cleaning robot. Please refer to Figure 4 , Figure 4 is a schematic structural diagram of a control device for a cleaning robot provided by an embodiment of the present application. As Figure 4As shown in [the figure], the control device 400 includes:

[0149] A determination module 410, configured to determine a target maintenance point corresponding to the type of the robot maintenance event in the working scenario of the cleaning robot in response to the triggering of the robot maintenance event;

[0150] A control module 420, configured to control the cleaning robot to move to the target maintenance point;

[0151] A prompt module 430, configured to prompt the user to perform a maintenance operation corresponding to the robot maintenance event in a preset interaction manner in response to the cleaning robot reaching the target maintenance point.

[0152] It should be noted that for the specific implementation manner of the device, reference can be made to the method embodiments. Since the principle of the control device in the embodiments of the present application for solving problems is similar to the above control method in the embodiments of the present application, the implementation of the device can refer to the implementation of the method, and the repeated parts will not be elaborated.

[0153] Please refer to Figure 5 , Figure 5 , which is a schematic structural diagram of a cleaning robot provided by an embodiment of the present application. As Figure 5 shown in [the figure], the cleaning robot 500 includes a processor 510, a memory 520, and a bus 530.

[0154] The memory 520 stores machine-readable instructions executable by the processor 510. When the cleaning robot 500 runs, the processor 510 communicates with the memory 520 through the bus 530. When the machine-readable instructions are executed by the processor 510, the steps of the control method of the cleaning robot in the above method embodiments can be executed. For the specific implementation manner, reference can be made to the method embodiments, and details will not be elaborated here.

[0155] The embodiments of the present application further provide a computer-readable storage medium, on which a computer program is stored. When the computer program is run by a processor, the steps of the control method of the cleaning robot in the above method embodiments can be executed. For the specific implementation manner, reference can be made to the method embodiments, and details will not be elaborated here.

[0156] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that for the sake of convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the above-described systems, devices, and units can refer to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and details will not be elaborated here.

[0157] In several embodiments provided by this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices, and methods can be implemented in other ways. The device embodiments described above are merely illustrative. For example, the division of the units is only a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For another 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, direct coupling, or communication connection between each other can be through some communication interfaces. The indirect coupling or communication connection of the devices or units can be in electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0158] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated. The components displayed as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they can be located in one place or distributed to multiple network units. Some or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment.

[0159] In addition, in each embodiment of this application, the functional units can be integrated in a processing unit, or each unit can exist physically alone, or two or more units can be integrated in one unit.

[0160] If the function is implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a non-volatile computer-readable storage medium executable by a processor. Based on such an understanding, the technical solution of this application, in essence, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or a 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 each embodiment of this application. The aforementioned storage medium includes: various media such as USB flash drives, mobile hard disks, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disks, or optical discs that can store program codes.

[0161] Finally, it should be noted that the above-described embodiments are only specific implementation manners of the present application, used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present application, rather than limiting it. The protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that any person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed by the present application can still modify the technical solutions recorded in the foregoing embodiments or can easily think of changes, or perform equivalent replacements on some of the technical features; and these modifications, changes or replacements do not make the essence of the corresponding technical solutions deviate from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and should all be covered within the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A control method for a cleaning robot, characterized in that, The control method includes: In response to a robot maintenance event being triggered, determining a target maintenance point in the working scenario of the cleaning robot corresponding to the type of the robot maintenance event; Controlling the cleaning robot to travel to the target maintenance point; In response to the cleaning robot reaching the target maintenance point, prompting the user to perform a maintenance operation corresponding to the robot maintenance event through a preset interaction method.

2. The control method according to claim 1, wherein The types of the robot maintenance events include a water tank maintenance event; a clean water tank and a sewage tank are installed in the cleaning robot body; the water tank maintenance event includes a clean water tank water replenishment event and a sewage tank drainage event; the control method further includes determining a maintenance point corresponding to the water tank maintenance event in the following manner: Obtaining a drainage point and a water replenishment point marked on the map of the working scenario; Determining a maintenance point corresponding to the water tank maintenance event according to the distance between the water replenishment point and the drainage point.

3. The control method according to claim 2, characterized in that The determining a maintenance point corresponding to the water tank maintenance event according to the distance between the water replenishment point and the drainage point includes: When the distance between the water replenishment point and the drainage point is less than a preset threshold, determining the water replenishment point as the maintenance point corresponding to the water tank maintenance event; Then, in response to the cleaning robot reaching the target maintenance point, prompting the user to perform a maintenance operation corresponding to the robot maintenance event through a preset interaction method includes: In response to the cleaning robot reaching the water replenishment point, prompting the user to perform a clean water tank water replenishment maintenance operation and a sewage tank drainage maintenance operation through the preset interaction method.

4. The control method according to claim 2, wherein The determining a maintenance point corresponding to the water tank maintenance event according to the distance between the water replenishment point and the drainage point further includes: When the distance between the water replenishment point and the drainage point is greater than or equal to the preset threshold, determining the water replenishment point as the maintenance point corresponding to the clean water tank water replenishment event, and determining the drainage point as the maintenance point corresponding to the sewage tank drainage event; Then, in response to the cleaning robot reaching the target maintenance point, prompting the user to perform a maintenance operation corresponding to the robot maintenance event through a preset interaction method includes: In response to the cleaning robot reaching the maintenance point corresponding to the triggered water tank maintenance event, prompting the user to perform a maintenance operation corresponding to the triggered water tank maintenance event through the preset interaction method.

5. The control method according to claim 4, wherein After prompting the user to perform a maintenance operation corresponding to the triggered water tank maintenance event through the preset interaction method, the control method further includes: Controlling the cleaning robot to travel to a second target maintenance point corresponding to another untriggered water tank maintenance event; In response to the cleaning robot reaching the second target maintenance point, prompting the user to perform a maintenance operation corresponding to the other water tank maintenance event through a preset interaction method.

6. The control method according to claim 3, characterized in that Before controlling the cleaning robot to travel to a second target maintenance point corresponding to another untriggered water tank maintenance event, the control method includes: Detecting the cleaning mode of the cleaning robot; If the current cleaning mode is the synchronous cleaning mode and / or the historical cleaning modes between the current cleaning mode and the last water tank maintenance operation are all synchronous cleaning modes, then control the cleaning robot to go to a second target maintenance point corresponding to another water tank maintenance event that has not been triggered; wherein, the synchronous cleaning mode refers to a cleaning mode in which the water consumption of the clean water tank is synchronized with the water production of the sewage tank.

7. The control method according to claim 1, wherein After prompting the user to perform the maintenance operation corresponding to the robot maintenance event through a preset interaction method, the control method further includes: In response to the received resume task instruction, detect whether the robot maintenance event has been lifted; If it has been lifted, resume executing the target task; If it has not been lifted yet, continue to prompt the user to perform the maintenance operation through the preset interaction method.

8. The control method according to claim 7, wherein The target task includes multiple subtasks, and each subtask corresponds to a sub-region within the work scenario; Resuming the execution of the target task includes: Determine the execution progress of the target task when the robot maintenance event is triggered; If the execution progress is to execute a subtask within a certain sub-region, control the cleaning robot to return to the point where the robot maintenance event was triggered and resume executing the target task from that point; If the execution progress is during the navigation process from the first sub-region to the second sub-region, control the cleaning robot to go to the second sub-region and resume executing the target task from the second sub-region; If the execution progress is during the return charging process, control the cleaning robot to go to the charging point within the work scenario.

9. The control method according to claim 2, wherein The type of the robot maintenance event further includes a charging maintenance event; when the robot maintenance event is a water tank maintenance event, after prompting the user to perform the maintenance operation corresponding to the robot maintenance event through a preset interaction method, the control method further includes: If no water tank maintenance operation is detected within a preset duration and a new charging maintenance event is triggered, control the cleaning robot to continue staying at the target maintenance point waiting for the water tank maintenance operation; If no water tank maintenance operation is detected after a preset duration and a new charging maintenance event is triggered, control the cleaning robot to go to the charging point.

10. The control method according to claim 9, wherein The control method includes: When the charging maintenance event and the water tank maintenance event are triggered simultaneously, preferentially control the cleaning robot to go to the water tank maintenance point corresponding to the water tank maintenance event.

11. The control method according to claim 1, characterized in that, When the robot maintenance event is a water tank maintenance event, after prompting the user to perform the maintenance operation corresponding to the robot maintenance event through a preset interaction method, the control method further includes: If no water tank maintenance operation is detected and a new task instruction is received, judge whether the cleaning robot can execute the new task according to the state of the water tank and the cleaning mode of the new task indicated by the new task instruction; when the water level of the clean water tank is lower than the preset clean water level threshold, the cleaning modes that cannot be executed include: floor washing and mopping; when the water level of the sewage tank is higher than the preset sewage water level threshold, the cleaning modes that cannot be executed include: floor washing and water suction; If it can be executed, control the cleaning robot to execute the new task according to the new task instruction.

12. A cleaning robot, characterized in that, Includes: A processor, a memory, and a bus, wherein the memory stores machine-readable instructions executable by the processor, and when the cleaning robot is running, the processor communicates with the memory via the bus, and when the machine-readable instructions are executed by the processor, the steps of the control method of the cleaning robot according to any one of claims 1 to 11 are performed.

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