Automatic cleaning device for pool

Abstract

The utility model provides an automatic pool cleaning device. The automatic pool cleaning device comprises a shell; a filtering device; a water suction port; a water outlet; the suction device is used for guiding water flow to enter the shell from the water suction opening, and the water flow is filtered by the filtering device and discharged from the water outlet; the image acquisition equipment is arranged on the shell and is used for acquiring the position or direction of a to-be-cleaned object on the water surface; the driving device can control the automatic pool cleaning device to move towards the to-be-cleaned object based on the position or direction; and the polaroid is arranged in front of a camera in the image acquisition equipment, and the polaroid can filter light rays, collected by the image acquisition equipment, of an inverted image of a to-be-cleaned object floating on the water surface. The polaroid is arranged in front of the camera, so that inverted light is filtered through the polaroid, the inverted image of the to-be-cleaned object does not exist in the image as far as possible, and the accuracy degree of identifying and positioning the to-be-cleaned object through the image is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to the field of cleaning device technology, and in particular to an automatic pool cleaning device, control method, and computer storage medium. Background Technology

[0002] Automatic pool cleaning devices can identify objects to be cleaned (such as twigs, leaves, plastic, and paper scraps) on the water surface and plan their path to these objects for quick cleaning. However, in practice, the identification of these objects is affected by their reflections in the water, which in turn affects the accuracy of object positioning and reduces the cleaning efficiency of the automatic pool cleaning device. Therefore, improving the accuracy of object identification is a problem that urgently needs to be solved. Utility Model Content

[0003] The technical problem to be solved by this application is to address the shortcomings of the prior art by providing an automatic water tank cleaning device, comprising: a housing 1; a filter device, at least partially located inside the housing 1; a water inlet located at the head of the housing 1; a water outlet located at the tail, top, or side of the housing 1; a suction device for guiding water flow from the water inlet into the housing 1, filtering it through the filter device, and then discharging it from the water outlet; an image acquisition device 2, wherein the image acquisition device 2 is disposed on the housing 1 and is used to acquire the position or orientation of the object to be cleaned on the water surface; a driving device, which is capable of controlling the automatic water tank cleaning device to move towards the object to be cleaned based on the position or orientation; and a polarizer 3, wherein the polarizer 3 is disposed in front of the camera 4 in the image acquisition device 2, and the polarizer 3 is capable of filtering the light of the reflection of the object to be cleaned floating on the water surface acquired by the image acquisition device 2.

[0004] Furthermore, the aforementioned automatic pool cleaning device can move on the water surface to clean objects floating on the surface.

[0005] Furthermore, in the aforementioned automatic water tank cleaning device, the image acquisition device 2 is a monocular camera or a binocular camera.

[0006] Furthermore, in the aforementioned automatic water tank cleaning device, the image acquisition device 2 is disposed on the top or head of the housing.

[0007] Furthermore, in the aforementioned automatic water tank cleaning device, when the automatic cleaning device moves on the water surface, the image acquisition device 2 is located below the water surface.

[0008] Furthermore, in the aforementioned automatic water tank cleaning device, the polarizer 3 is parallel to the camera in the image acquisition device 2.

[0009] Furthermore, the aforementioned automatic water tank cleaning device also includes a control unit, which can control the image acquisition device 2 to acquire images and identify the object to be cleaned from the acquired images.

[0010] Furthermore, the aforementioned automatic water tank cleaning device also includes a rotating module, which can control the polarizer 3 to rotate to the position that filters the most light.

[0011] Furthermore, in the aforementioned automatic water tank cleaning device, the rotating module can drive the camera and the polarizer 3 to rotate together.

[0012] Furthermore, in the aforementioned automatic water tank cleaning device, the control unit is able to control the rotation module to rotate the polarizer 3 based on the quality of the image acquired by the image acquisition device 2.

[0013] The embodiments described in this application have the following beneficial effects:

[0014] This application adds a polarizer to the image acquisition device of an automatic water tank cleaning device. The polarizer is placed in front of the camera, thereby filtering out the light from the reflection of the object to be cleaned floating on the water surface, which is captured by the image acquisition device. This makes the image as free of reflection as possible, thereby improving the accuracy of identifying and locating the object to be cleaned through image recognition.

[0015] The above description is only an overview of the technical solution of this application. In order to better understand the technical means of this application, it can be implemented according to the contents of the specification. In order to make the above and other objects, features and advantages of this application more obvious and understandable, specific embodiments of this application are given below. Attached Figure Description

[0016] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of this disclosure, the accompanying drawings used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. The accompanying drawings in the following description are merely exemplary embodiments of this disclosure.

[0017] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of an automatic water tank cleaning device provided in this application;

[0018] Figure 2 A schematic diagram illustrating the situation where an image acquisition device provided in this application is aimed at an object to be cleaned;

[0019] Figure 3This is a schematic diagram illustrating a scenario where an image acquisition device and the object to be cleaned are at a 30-degree angle.

[0020] In the above-mentioned figures, 1 is the housing; 2 is the image acquisition device; 3 is the polarizer; and 4 is the camera. Detailed Implementation

[0021] The technical solutions in this application will be clearly and completely described below. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of this application, and not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of this application, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative effort are within the protection scope of this application. It should be noted that, unless otherwise specified, the embodiments and features in the embodiments of this application can be combined with each other.

[0022] This application provides an automatic pool cleaning device for cleaning pools. It is understood that this automatic pool cleaning device is capable of cleaning pools. The pool mentioned here can be a pool-shaped structure. This pool-shaped structure can be a swimming pool, a water storage tank, a spa pool, a water storage tank, a water storage trough, etc. The automatic pool cleaning device can be a device such as an automatic cleaning system or a pool cleaning robot, capable of cleaning the pool-shaped structure. This application does not limit the specific presentation of the automatic pool cleaning device or the pool-shaped structure, as long as the principle of this application is achieved.

[0023] The automatic pool cleaning device and its components of this application will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0024] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of an automatic water tank cleaning device provided in this application.

[0025] like Figure 1 As shown, the automatic pool cleaning device provided in this application may include: a housing 1; a filter device, at least partially located inside the housing 1; a water intake (also known as a water surface intake), located at the head of the housing 1; a drain outlet, located at the tail, top, or side of the housing 1; a suction device, used to guide water flow from the water intake into the interior of the housing 1, and after filtration by the filter device, it is discharged from the drain outlet; an image acquisition device 2, wherein the image acquisition device 2 is disposed on the housing 1, used to acquire the position or orientation of the object to be cleaned on the water surface; a drive device, which can control the automatic pool cleaning device to move towards the object to be cleaned based on the position or orientation; and a polarizer 3, wherein the polarizer 3 can be disposed in front of the camera 3 in the image acquisition device 2, and the polarizer 3 can filter the light of the reflection of the object to be cleaned floating on the water surface acquired by the image acquisition device 2.

[0026] This automatic pool cleaning device can move on the water surface to clean objects floating there. The device may include a control unit that controls an image acquisition device 2 to capture images and identify the objects to be cleaned from the captured images. This control unit can be an electronic device within the automatic pool cleaning device used for data processing and controlling the image acquisition device, drive mechanism, and other equipment. The image acquisition device 2 may include a monocular or binocular camera.

[0027] The image acquisition device 2 can be installed, for example, on the top or head of the housing 1. The head refers to the end where the robot's water intake is located, and the back refers to the end of the robot facing away from the bottom of the pool.

[0028] like Figure 2 As shown, when the image acquisition device (2) is located at the head of the housing, the image acquisition device (2) can be located below the water surface when the automatic cleaning device of the pool moves on the water surface.

[0029] After the control unit identifies the object to be cleaned on the water surface through the image acquired by the image acquisition device 2 and locates the object to be cleaned, it can drive the automatic water cleaning device to move to the object to be cleaned through the control drive device. The automatic water cleaning device sucks the pool water and the object to be cleaned into the housing 1 through the suction device, and leaves the object to be cleaned in the housing 1 through the filter device, and then discharges the pool water out of the housing 1 through the drain outlet.

[0030] In water surface photography, the water surface typically produces strong reflected light, which often leads to blurred or distorted images. By placing a polarizer in front of the camera, this reflected light can be effectively reduced, thereby improving image clarity. This avoids the negative impact of the reflection of the object to be cleaned floating on the water surface on the accuracy of object identification and positioning, thus improving the cleaning efficiency of the automatic pool cleaning device. This application uses a polarizer 3 placed in front of the camera 4 of the image acquisition device 2. The polarizer 3 filters out the light reflecting the object to be clean projected onto the image acquisition device 2, thus ensuring that the image acquired by the image acquisition device 2 contains as few reflections of the object to be cleaned as possible.

[0031] A polarizer 3 is an optical element capable of controlling the polarization state of light, its main principle being based on the wave nature of light. When light passes through a polarizer, only the light wave component aligned with a specific direction of the polarizer can pass through, while components in other directions are absorbed or reflected, thus filtering the light. Specifically, light reflected from a water surface exhibits highly polarized characteristics, especially at a specific incident angle, where the degree of polarization of the reflected light reaches its maximum. By setting a polarizer so that its transmission axis is perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to the polarization direction of the reflected light, the reflected light can be effectively blocked. Furthermore, the optimal filtering angle for reflected light from the water surface can be found by rotating the polarizer, thereby maximizing the filtering of reflected light. An embodiment of polarizer rotation will be described below.

[0032] The polarizer 3 can be parallel to the camera in the image acquisition device 2. Alternatively, a certain angle can be set between the polarizer 3 and the camera 4 according to actual business needs. The position of the image acquisition device 2 can be set so that it is below the water surface when the automatic cleaning device moves on the water surface. In one example, the image acquisition device 2 is located below the water intake.

[0033] For ease of description, the reflections referred to below are the reflections of the objects to be cleaned that are floating on the water surface.

[0034] Furthermore, in order to maximize the effect of filtering reflections through the polarizer 3, the automatic cleaning device for the pool can also be equipped with a rotating module, which can be connected to the polarizer 3 to control the rotation of the polarizer 3. The rotating module can control the polarizer 3 to rotate to the position where the light filtering out the reflection of the object to be cleaned is the most abundant.

[0035] The rotation module can be a device for controlling the rotation of the polarizer 3. For example, the rotation module can be implemented using devices such as a gimbal, electric motor, servo motor, robotic arm, or magnetic rotation device. This rotation module can control the polarizer 3 to rotate in any direction. For example, the polarizer can be rotated about a vertical line perpendicular to the water surface, or it can be rotated about a parallel line parallel to the water surface.

[0036] For example, the rotation module can rotate the camera 4 together with the polarizer 3. In other words, the rotation module can also be configured to rotate the camera 4 together with the polarizer 3. Alternatively, the rotation module can rotate only the polarizer 3.

[0037] Specifically, the aforementioned method of rotating the polarizer 3 to the position that filters out the most reflection light can be achieved in various ways.

[0038] For example, the control unit can control the rotation module to rotate the polarizer based on the quality of the images acquired by the image acquisition device 2. Specifically, the control unit can control the rotation module to continuously rotate the polarizer and control the image acquisition device 2 to continuously acquire images. The control unit can determine whether to stop the rotation module from rotating the polarizer by judging whether the quality of the images acquired by the image acquisition device 2 meets preset conditions. When the image quality meets the preset conditions, the rotation can be stopped.

[0039] There are several ways to determine whether an image quality meets the preset conditions, as mentioned above. For example, an artificial intelligence model can be used to identify whether there is a reflection in the image; if not, the image quality can be determined to meet the preset conditions. Another example is that histogram detection can be used to identify whether there are abnormal brightness areas in the image; if not, the image quality can be determined to meet the preset conditions.

[0040] Understandably, while polarizers filter light from the reflection of the object being cleaned to some extent, they also reduce the intensity of light entering the camera, making the captured image darker. By rotating the polarizer, a dynamic balance can be struck between "filtering light from the reflection of the object being cleaned" and "ensuring image brightness." For example, when the captured image is dark, rotating the polarizer allows more light to enter the camera, thus increasing image brightness; conversely, when the light entering the camera is too strong (i.e., a large amount of light from the reflection of the object being cleaned enters the camera), rotating the polarizer allows it to filter out more of the reflection's light. During the robot's cleaning process on the water surface, the rotation module can be dynamically controlled based on the brightness of the captured image, thereby dynamically adjusting the rotation of the polarizer.

[0041] A preset angle can be set between the polarizer and the camera. This preset angle can be set at the factory, manually by the user, or by the controller based on parameters such as the robot's current travel status and operating mode. For example, if the robot's current operating mode is edge-cleaning mode, where the robot moves and cleans along the edge of the pool, the camera's field of view will be affected to some extent by the nearby pool wall during this movement. Therefore, the reflected light received by the camera from the water surface is not strong. Thus, the angle between the polarizer and the camera can be preset to a larger angle to allow more external light to enter the camera. If the robot's current operating mode is random surface cleaning mode, where the robot randomly turns after encountering the pool wall and continues moving, the robot will move and clean away from the pool wall for a longer period. Therefore, the reflected light received by the camera from the water surface will be very strong. In this operating mode, the angle between the polarizer and the camera can be preset to a smaller angle to filter more emitted light. The preset angle between the polarizer and the camera can be achieved through the rotation module described above.

[0042] The angle between the polarizer and the camera can also be set by the azimuth angle between the robot and the object to be cleaned. For example, when the automatic cleaning device for a pool is facing the object to be cleaned, the control unit can acquire an image of the object through the image acquisition device 2, determine the azimuth angle of the image acquisition device 2 relative to the object based on the position of the object in the image, and then determine the required angle between the polarizer and the camera based on this azimuth angle. The control unit then controls the rotation module to rotate the polarizer so that the angle between the polarizer and the camera reaches the specified value. The robot can also determine the azimuth angle of the image acquisition device 2 relative to the object to be cleaned using other sensors (such as radar) mounted on it.

[0043] To facilitate understanding, an example of a preset angle is given here. This preset angle may include, for example: the angle at which the polarizer filters out the most reflected light when the image acquisition device 4 is pointed at the object to be cleaned; or the angle at which the polarizer filters out the most reflected light when the image acquisition device and the object to be cleaned form a 30-degree angle. The aforementioned orientation between the image acquisition device and the object to be cleaned can be as follows: Figure 2 , Figure 3 As shown. Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the situation when an image acquisition device provided in this application is aimed at an object to be cleaned. Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram illustrating a scenario where an image acquisition device and the object to be cleaned are at a 30-degree angle.

[0044] Based on the above description, the automatic water tank cleaning device provided in this application improves the accuracy of image recognition and positioning of the object to be cleaned by adding a polarizer to the image acquisition device and placing the polarizer in front of the camera.

[0045] Furthermore, this application can also control the rotation of the polarizer and the camera through the rotation module, thereby achieving a dynamic balance between "filtering the light reflecting the object to be cleaned" and "ensuring image brightness", which can further optimize the accuracy of image recognition and positioning of the object to be cleaned.

[0046] The device embodiments described above are merely illustrative. The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate. The components shown as units may or may not be physical units; that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the modules can be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs. Those skilled in the art can understand and implement this without any creative effort.

[0047] Through the above description of the embodiments, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that each embodiment can be implemented by means of software plus necessary general-purpose hardware platforms, and of course, it can also be implemented by hardware. Based on this understanding, the above technical solutions, in essence or the part that contributes to the prior art, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, such as ROM / RAM, magnetic disk, optical disk, etc., and includes several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute the methods described in the various embodiments or some parts of the embodiments.

[0048] In the description of this specification, the references to terms such as "one embodiment," "some embodiments," "example," "specific example," or "some examples," etc., indicate that a specific feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with that embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of this application. Furthermore, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments or examples. Moreover, without contradiction, those skilled in the art can combine and integrate the different embodiments or examples described in this specification, as well as the features of those different embodiments or examples.

[0049] Furthermore, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of that feature. In the description of this application, "a plurality of" means two or more, unless otherwise explicitly specified.

[0050] In this application, unless otherwise stated, directional terms such as "up" and "down" are generally used in relation to the direction shown in the accompanying drawings, or in relation to the vertical, perpendicular, or gravitational direction; similarly, for ease of understanding and description, "left" and "right" are generally used in relation to the left and right shown in the accompanying drawings; "inner" and "outer" refer to the inner and outer contours of each component itself, but the above directional terms are not intended to limit this application.

[0051] The above description is merely an exemplary embodiment of this application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art can easily conceive of various variations or substitutions within the technical scope described in this application, and these should all be included within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. An automatic water tank cleaning device, comprising: Shell (1); The filter device is located at least partially within the housing (1); The water intake is located at the head of the housing (1); The drain outlet is located at the tail, top, or side of the housing (1); A suction device is used to guide water flow from the suction port into the housing (1), and after being filtered by the filter device, it is discharged from the drain port; Image acquisition device (2), wherein the image acquisition device (2) is disposed on the housing (1) and is used to acquire the position or orientation of the object to be cleaned on the water surface; The drive device is capable of controlling the automatic water tank cleaning device to move toward the object to be cleaned based on the position or direction; Polarizing filter (3), wherein the polarizing filter is disposed in front of the camera (4) in the image acquisition device (2), and the polarizing filter (3) can filter the light of the reflection of the object to be cleaned floating on the water surface acquired by the image acquisition device (2).

2. The automatic water tank cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein, The automatic water tank cleaning device can move on the water surface to clean objects floating on the surface.

3. The automatic water tank cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein, The image acquisition device (2) includes a monocular camera or a binocular camera.

4. The automatic water tank cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein, The image acquisition device (2) is located on the top or head of the housing.

5. The automatic water tank cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein, When the image acquisition device (2) is located at the head of the housing, the image acquisition device (2) is below the water surface when the automatic cleaning device for the water tank moves on the water surface.

6. The automatic water tank cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein, The polarizer (3) is parallel to the camera (4) in the image acquisition device (2).

7. The automatic water tank cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein, It also includes a control unit, which is capable of controlling the image acquisition device (2) to acquire images and is capable of identifying the object to be cleaned from the acquired images.

8. The automatic water tank cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein, It also includes a rotation module, which can control the polarizer (3) to rotate to the position that filters the light the most.

9. The automatic water tank cleaning device according to claim 8, wherein, The rotating module can drive the camera and the polarizer (3) to rotate together.

10. The automatic water tank cleaning device according to claim 7, wherein, The control unit can control the rotation module of the automatic water tank cleaning device to rotate the polarizer (3) based on the quality of the image acquired by the image acquisition device (2).

Images