Method and apparatus for controlling cleaning device, medium, and cleaning device

Abstract

A control method includes determining that a base station solution container of a cleaning device is not in a solution discharge state, and controlling supply of solution into the base station solution container. The base station solution container is configured to supply solution to a mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device and / or a base station cleaning component of the cleaning device.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] The present application is a continuation of PCT application No. PCT / CN2023 / 107732 filed on Jul. 17, 2023, which claims priority to Chinese patent application No. 202310537982.7, filed with the China National Intellectual Property Administration on May 12, 2023, with the title “Method and apparatus for controlling cleaning device, medium, and cleaning device,” the entire contents of both of which are incorporated herein by reference.TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present disclosure relates to the technical field of cleaning device, in particular to a method and apparatus for controlling cleaning device, a medium, and a cleaning device.BACKGROUND

[0003] A floor sweeper is an important household appliance that can improve quality of life and reduce life burdens. When cleaning a room, the floor sweeper may be used to clean the floor, which not only ensures the cleaning speed but also guarantees the cleaning effect, thereby reducing the cleaning burden of users.

[0004] When using the floor sweeper to clean the floor, it is needed to pre-fill the water tank of the floor sweeper base station with water. The floor sweeper may replenish water at the water tank of the base station for use in the mopping process. After replenishing water, the floor sweeper moves to the floor to be cleaned and cleans the floor. If water is not prepared in time in the water tank of the floor sweeper base station, the floor sweeper cannot be supplied with water. It is needed to add water to the water tank of the floor sweeper base station first and then supply water to the floor sweeper for enabling the floor sweeper continuing cleaning. Therefore, the floor sweeper may have to wait for water to be prepared in the water tank of the base station, which may prolong the cleaning time of the floor sweeper, affect the working efficiency of the floor sweeper, and bring a poor user experience to users.SUMMARY(I) Technical Problem

[0005] The technical problem to be solved by the present disclosure is to address the problem of the cleaning operation time of the floor sweeper being prolonged due to waiting for water tank of the base station to fill.(II) Technical Solution

[0006] To solve the above-mentioned technical problem or at least partially solve the problem, the present disclosure provides a method and apparatus for controlling cleaning device, medium, and the cleaning device.

[0007] In a first aspect, the present disclosure provides a method for controlling the cleaning device, including:

[0008] determining that the base station solution container of the cleaning device is not in a solution discharge state, and controlling supply of solution into the base station solution container;

[0009] wherein, the base station solution container is used to supply solution to the mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device and / or the base station cleaning component of the cleaning device.

[0010] Optionally, determining that the base station solution container of the cleaning device is not in a solution discharge state includes:

[0011] determining that the base station solution container of the cleaning device is not in the solution discharge state based on the mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device performing a floor cleaning operation or a cleaning piece drying operation.

[0012] Optionally, determining that the base station solution container of the cleaning device is not in the solution discharge state includes:

[0013] determining that the base station solution container of the cleaning device is not in the solution discharge state based on the mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device being in a charging state or a standby state in the base station of the cleaning device.

[0014] Optionally, controlling supply of solution into the base station solution container includes:

[0015] determining that the solution stored in the base station solution container is lower than a preset water volume threshold, and controlling supply of solution into the base station solution container.

[0016] Optionally, controlling supply of solution into the base station solution container includes:

[0017] controlling supply of water into the base station solution container.

[0018] Optionally, controlling supply of solution into the base station solution container includes:

[0019] controlling dispensing of detergent and supply of water into the base station solution container.

[0020] Optionally, controlling dispensing of detergent and supply of water into the base station solution container includes:

[0021] determining amount of the detergent to be dispensed and volume of water awaiting intake according to a preset solution concentration;

[0022] controlling dispensing of detergent and supply of water into the base station solution container based on the amount of the detergent to be dispensed and the volume of water awaiting intake.

[0023] In a second aspect, the present disclosure further provides an apparatus for controlling a cleaning device, including:

[0024] a control module configured to determine that the base station solution container of the cleaning device is not in a solution discharge state, and control supply of solution into the base station solution container;

[0025] wherein, the base station solution container is used to supply solution to a mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device and / or a base station cleaning component of the cleaning device.

[0026] In a third aspect, the present disclosure further provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores programs or instructions; the programs or instructions cause a computer to execute the steps of any one of the methods provided in the first aspect.

[0027] In the fourth aspect, the present disclosure further provides a cleaning device, including a processor and a memory, wherein the processor executes the steps of any one of the methods provided in the first aspect by calling the programs or instructions stored in the memory.(III) Beneficial Effects

[0028] Compared with the existing technology, the above-mentioned technical solution provided by the present disclosure has the following advantages.

[0029] The method for controlling the cleaning device provided by the present disclosure includes determining that the base station solution container of the cleaning device is not in a solution discharge state, and controlling supply of solution into the base station solution container, wherein the base station solution container is used to supply solution to the mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device and / or the base station cleaning component of the cleaning device. Thus, in order to enable the base station of the cleaning device to timely supply solution to the mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device and the base station cleaning component of the cleaning device, when the base station solution container is not in the solution discharge state, i.e., is no need to supply solution to the outside, it may control the addition of solution to the base station solution container to prepare solution in advance, thereby avoiding the problem that the mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device and / or the base station cleaning component of the cleaning device have to wait for solution injection due to insufficient solution in the base station solution container. The present disclosure can timely replenish solution to the base station solution container when the base station solution container is not in the solution discharge state, preventing the cleaning device from waiting for solution injection due to no solution or insufficient solution in the base station solution container. Therefore, it can improve the working efficiency of the cleaning device and provide users with a better cleaning experience.

[0030] It should be understood that the above general description and the following detailed description are merely exemplary and explanatory, and shall not limit the present disclosure.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0031] The accompanying drawings are incorporated herein by reference and form part of the specification. They illustrate embodiments of the present disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the present disclosure.

[0032] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the following provides a brief introduction to the drawings for describing the embodiments. It is obvious that, for those skilled in the art, other drawings may be derived from these drawings without creative labor.

[0033] FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling a cleaning device provided by embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0034] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the structure of an apparatus for controlling a cleaning device provided by embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0035] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating the structure of a cleaning device provided by embodiments of the present disclosure.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0036] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of the present disclosure clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present disclosure, rather than all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present disclosure, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without making creative efforts shall fall within the protection scope of the present disclosure.

[0037] When using the cleaning device, for example, a floor sweeper, for cleaning work, users usually start the cleaning function of the floor sweeper and then do other work. During the cleaning process of the floor sweeper, if the floor sweeper has been cleaning the floor for a period of time, the water volume in the water tank of the floor sweeper is low and cannot meet the subsequent cleaning work of the floor sweeper, it is needed to control the floor sweeper to return to the floor sweeper base station to replenish the solution. At the moment, if there is no solution in the floor sweeper base station or the solution is insufficient, the floor sweeper may have to has to replenish the solution after the floor sweeper base station replenishes the solution. Thus, it may prolong the cleaning time of the floor sweeper, cause the cleaning efficiency decreasing, and affect the user experience.

[0038] To address the above-mentioned drawbacks of the existing technology, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method for controlling a cleaning device. The method may be executed by the apparatus for controlling the cleaning device provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure. The apparatus for controlling the cleaning device may be implemented in the form of software and / or hardware. The embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit the type of the cleaning device. FIG. 1 is a schematic flowchart of a method for controlling the cleaning device provided in embodiments of the present disclosure. The method for controlling the cleaning device includes S100:

[0039] S100. Determining that the base station solution container of the cleaning device is not in a solution discharge state, and controlling supply of solution into the base station solution container; wherein the base station solution container is used to supply solution to a mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device and / or a base station cleaning component of the cleaning device.

[0040] The cleaning device includes a base station and a mobile cleaning component. The base station is equipped with a base station solution container, which stores solution and is used to supply solution to the mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device and / or the base station cleaning component of the cleaning device. The solution is used for the mobile cleaning component to perform cleaning work and / or for the mobile cleaning component to use during cleaning at the base station cleaning component. When the base station solution container fails to supply solution to the cleaning device, it may be understood that the solution in the base station solution container is insufficient or exhausted, it is needed to replenish solution to the base station solution container. However, in the case that the solution is only replenished when the solution in the base station solution container is insufficient, when the mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device and / or the base station cleaning component of the cleaning device need water at the moment, it may lead to a long wait, waiting for the base station solution container to be replenished first, and then for the mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device and / or the base station cleaning component of the cleaning device to be supplied with water, which affects cleaning efficiency. Therefore, in order to replenish the solution to the base station solution container timely and automatically, the solution may be replenished when the base station solution container of the cleaning device is not in a solution discharge state. When the base station solution container is not in the solution discharge state, it may be considered that the mobile cleaning component and / or the base station cleaning component do not need to be replenished with solution through the base station solution container at the moment. Therefore, controlling supply of solution into the base station solution container is equivalent to preparing the solution in advance, which may reduce the waiting time when the mobile cleaning component and / or the base station cleaning component need solution replenishment, avoid the problem that the cleaning device waits for solution injection due to insufficient solution in the base station solution container, and improve cleaning efficiency.

[0041] For example, the base station of the cleaning device is a base station of a floor sweeper, the mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device is a floor sweeper, the base station solution container of the cleaning device is a base station water tank, which may be used for storing solution, and the base station cleaning component of the cleaning device is a base station cleaning tray. The floor sweeper may enter into the base station cleaning tray when needing to be cleaned. When using the floor sweeper for cleaning, the floor sweeper may first go to the floor sweeper base station to replenish water, and the base station water tank may provide the floor sweeper with the solution required for subsequent cleaning. Therefore, it is needed for the floor sweeper to continuously store sufficient solution for cleaning purposes. Or, after cleaning the floor for a period of time, the floor sweeper may need to return to the base station cleaning tray to clean stains from itself, the base station water tank may be required to provide sufficient solution for the base station cleaning tank at the moment. In order to meet the above requirements and reduce the waiting time for water injection, when it is determined that the base station water tank is not in the solution discharge state, the base station water tank may be controlled to supply solution, thereby ensuring that the base station water tank has sufficient water volume and timely providing solution for the floor sweeper and the base station cleaning tray.

[0042] The method for controlling the cleaning device provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure is designed to enable the base station of the cleaning device to timely supply solution to the mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device and the base station cleaning component of the cleaning device. When the base station solution container is not in the solution discharge state, i.e., there is no need to supply solution to outside, it may control the addition of solution to the base station solution container to prepare solution in advance, thereby avoiding the problem that the mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device and / or the base station cleaning component of the cleaning device have to wait for solution injection due to insufficient solution in the base station solution container. The present disclosure may timely replenish solution to the base station solution container when the base station solution container is not in the solution discharge state, preventing the cleaning device from waiting for solution injection due to no solution or insufficient solution in the base station solution container, thereby improving the working efficiency of the cleaning device and providing users with a better cleaning experience.

[0043] The operation of determining that the base station solution container of the cleaning device is not in a solution discharge state and controlling supply of solution into the base station solution container described above in the embodiments of the present disclosure may utilize solution non-discharge state to supply solution and prepare the solution in advance when the mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device and / or the base station cleaning component of the cleaning device do not need solution replenishment, which may reduce the preparation time for preparing solution.

[0044] In some embodiments, when the base station solution container of the cleaning device is in the solution discharge state, it is also possible to control supply of solution into the base station solution container. However, the manner may need both supplying solution into the base station solution container and discharging solution from the base station solution container to replenish solution for other components of the cleaning device, which may prolong the preparation time for preparing solution. But it may not mean that the base station solution container cannot be controlled to supply solution when it is in a solution discharge state; it is just that the preparation time for preparing solution of the manner is longer.

[0045] In some embodiments, determining that the base station solution container of the cleaning device is not in the solution discharge state includes:

[0046] determining that the base station solution container of the cleaning device is not in the solution discharge state based on the mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device performing a floor cleaning operation or a cleaning piece drying operation.

[0047] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, it needs to determine whether the base station solution container of the cleaning device is in the solution discharge state through combining with the state of the mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device or the state of the cleaning piece of the mobile cleaning component. First, when the mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device performs the floor cleaning operation, the mobile cleaning component is not inside the base station but is out of the base station for cleaning, indicating that the mobile cleaning component currently has sufficient solution and does not need to be supplied with solution through the base station solution container. Therefore, it may be determined that the base station solution container of the cleaning device is not in the solution discharge state. Or, when the cleaning piece of the mobile cleaning component performs a drying operation, it means that current cleaning operation of the mobile cleaning component may be ended, and the mobile cleaning component does not need to go out of the base station for cleaning nor need to be replenished with solution through the base station solution container. Therefore, it may be determined that the base station solution container of the cleaning device is not in the solution discharge state.

[0048] In some embodiments, determining that the base station solution container of the cleaning device is not in the solution discharge state includes:

[0049] determining that the base station solution container of the cleaning device is not in the solution discharge state based on the mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device being in a charging state or a standby state within the base station of the cleaning device.

[0050] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, determining whether the base station solution container of the cleaning device is in a solution discharge state may need to be combined with the state of the mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device when it is inside the base station of the cleaning device. When the mobile cleaning component is inside the base station, the state of the mobile cleaning component is determined. In the case that the mobile cleaning component is in the charging state, it may indicate that the current power of the mobile cleaning component is insufficient, and the mobile cleaning component may not go out of the base station to perform cleaning operations and may still need to be charged inside the base station. Since the mobile cleaning component has no need to go out for cleaning at the moment, there is no need to supply solution to the mobile cleaning component through the base station solution container, and it may be determined that the base station solution container of the cleaning device is not in the solution discharge state. Or, in the case that the mobile cleaning component is in the standby state, it may indicate that the mobile cleaning component has not received a work instruction and is in a waiting state, and also has no need to go out of the station to perform cleaning operations. Therefore, there is no need to supply solution to the mobile cleaning component through the base station solution container, and it may be determined that the base station solution container of the cleaning device is not in the solution discharge state.

[0051] The embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit the manner of determining that the base station solution container of the cleaning device is not in the solution discharge state. The above embodiments are merely illustrative, and other manners capable of determining that the base station solution container of the cleaning device is not in the solution discharge state are also applicable.

[0052] In some embodiments, controlling supply of solution into the base station solution container includes:

[0053] determining that the solution stored in the base station solution container is lower than a preset water volume threshold, and controlling supply of solution into the base station solution container.

[0054] controlling supply of solution into the base station solution container may also need to consider the status of the solution currently stored in the base station solution container. For example, there may be solution in the base station solution container but the amount of the solution is insufficient, i.e., the current amount of the solution may be unable to meet the requirements of the cleaning device and be lower than the preset water volume threshold; or there may be no solution in the base station solution container. Both the situation may need to replenish the solution to the base station solution container and control supply of solution into the base station solution container.

[0055] For example, at the initial stage of operation of the cleaning device, the mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device may replenish a certain amount of solution at the base station and then perform cleaning operations. At this time, the solution in the base station solution container may decrease. After the mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device works for a period of time, the replenished solution has been used up but the cleaning operation is not completed, the mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device may return to the base station of the cleaning device to continue replenishing the solution. In the case that the amount of solution stored in the base station solution container is large, for example, higher than the preset water volume threshold, the base station solution container may directly replenish the solution into the mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device to enable the mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device to continue working. However, in the case that it is determined that the solution stored in the base station solution container is lower than the preset water volume threshold at the moment, the solution in the base station solution container is insufficient to support the water consumption required for the mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device to continue the cleaning operation. It may cause the cleaning of the mobile cleaning component to be interrupted, and the mobile cleaning component may have to wait for the base station solution container to complete solution replenishment and then be replenished with solution, resulting in a relatively long overall waiting time. Therefore, to avoid this situation, when it is determined that the base station solution container of the cleaning device is not in the solution discharge state and the solution stored in the base station solution container is lower than the preset water volume threshold, the solution may be controlled to be supplied into the base station solution container, which may ensure that the solution in the base station solution container is always in a sufficient state, meet the water replenishment requirements of the cleaning device at any time, guarantee the smooth completion of cleaning work, reduce the waiting time of the cleaning device, and improve the overall cleaning efficiency.

[0056] Further, in the embodiments described above, it is needed to detect the amount of solution stored in the base station solution container. Thus, it may install water level sensors in the base station solution container to detect the amount of solution in the base station solution container, for example, various types of water level sensors, such as pressure water level sensors, float level sensors, and optical level sensors. Additionally, it may also utilize image detection devices to determine the amount of solution in the base station solution container based on images of interior of the base station solution container. Additionally, it may also utilize various other types of detection devices, such as laser sensors. The embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit the specific type of detection device, and the selection may be made according to actual requirements.

[0057] In some embodiments, controlling supply of solution into the base station solution container includes:

[0058] controlling supply of water into the base station solution container.

[0059] After determining that the base station solution container of the cleaning device is not in the solution discharge state, it is needed to replenish the solution into the base station solution container by controlling supply of water into the base station solution container. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, when the solution in the base station solution container is insufficient to supply enough solution to the mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device and / or the base station cleaning component of the cleaning device, it is needed to control replenishing solution into the base station solution container. There may be two scenarios for the situation. In the first scenarios, the solution currently stored in the base station solution container only contains water. When the solution is insufficient, the requirements of the cleaning device can be met by simply continuing to replenish water into the base station solution container. In the other scenarios, the solution contains both water and detergent, but the detergent in the base station solution container is sufficient, thus there is no need to add more detergent at present, and only water needs to be added for dilution. Thus controlling supply of water into the base station solution container may meet the requirements of the cleaning device at this time.

[0060] In some embodiments, controlling supply of solution into the base station solution container includes:

[0061] controlling dispensing of detergent and supply of water into the base station solution container.

[0062] After determining that the base station solution container of the cleaning device is not in the solution discharge state, it is needed to replenish the solution in the base station solution container, which may include controlling dispensing of detergent into the base station solution container and controlling supply of water into the base station solution container. In the present case, the base station solution container may need to be replenished with both detergent and water, so the base station solution container may be controlled replenished with both detergent and water. For example, when preparing solution in the base station solution container for the first time, it is needed to dispense detergent into the base station solution container and supply water into the base station solution container. After determining that the base station solution container of the cleaning device is not in the solution discharge state, detergent may be dispensed and water may be supplied into the base station solution container for obtaining a mixed solution. The mixed solution may be then used for subsequent supply to the mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device and / or the base station cleaning component of the cleaning device. It may ensure that there is sufficient solution in the base station solution container for the cleaning device to use, reduce the waiting time of the cleaning device when being filled with solution, improve the working efficiency of the cleaning device, and provide users with a better cleaning experience.

[0063] In some embodiments, controlling dispensing of detergent and supply of water into the base station solution container includes:

[0064] determining the amount of detergent to be dispensed and the volume of water awaiting intake according to a preset solution concentration;

[0065] controlling dispensing of detergent and supply of water into the base station solution container based on the amount of detergent and the volume of water awaiting intake.

[0066] When it is needed to control dispensing of detergent and supply of water into the base station solution container, it may be also required to determine the amount of detergent to be dispensed and the volume of water awaiting intake according to the preset solution concentration. First, it is needed to obtain the concentration of the solution in the base station solution container, and compare the concentration of the solution with the preset solution concentration to determine the concentration difference. In the case that the concentration of the solution is low, it may be understood that there is less detergent in the base station solution container currently, thus it is needed to dispense detergent and determine the amount of detergent to be dispensed and the volume of water awaiting intake according to the concentration difference for making the concentration of the solution in the base station solution container meeting the preset concentration. In the case that the concentration of the solution is high, it may be understood that the water in the base station solution container is low currently, thus it is needed to supply a large amount of water and determine the volume of water awaiting intake and the amount of detergent to be dispensed according to the concentration difference for making the concentration of the solution in the base station solution container meeting the preset concentration. Based on the amount of detergent and the volume of water awaiting intake, it may be controlled to dispense detergent with the amount of detergent into the base station solution container and supply water with the volume of water into the base station solution container. For example, the base station is controlled to be equipped with a component for storing detergent and a water inlet valve connected to a water tap. When needing to dispense detergent, the component for storing detergent may be controlled to deliver the detergent with the amount of detergent; when needing to supply water, the water inlet valve may be controlled to open, and after a sufficient volume of water is injected, the water inlet valve may be controlled to close.

[0067] It should be noted that the embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit the specific devices used for dispensing of detergent and supply of water; the selection may be made according to actual requirements, and the above is merely an illustrative example.

[0068] In some embodiments, controlling dispensing of detergent and supply of water into the base station solution container includes:

[0069] controlling dispensing of detergent and supply of water into the base station solution container simultaneously.

[0070] When the base station solution container needs to be replenished with both detergent and clean water, it may control dispensing of detergent and supply of water the base station solution container at the same time. After determining the amount of detergent to be dispensed and the volume of water awaiting intake according to the preset solution concentration and it may be required to both replenish detergent and supply water, it may control both actions to be performed simultaneously, and stop when the amount of detergent to be dispensed and the volume of water awaiting intake are reached. Supplying water and dispensing detergent simultaneously may reduce preparation time for preparing the solution.

[0071] In some embodiments, controlling dispensing of detergent and supply of water into the base station solution container includes:

[0072] controlling dispensing of detergent into the base station solution container, and after completing dispensing detergent into the base station solution container, supplying water into the base station solution container.

[0073] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, when the base station solution container needs to be replenished with both detergent and clean water, the amount of detergent to be dispensed and the volume of water awaiting intake may be determined according to the preset solution concentration. It may control dispensing of detergent into the base station solution container firstly; after the amount of detergent meets the requirement, it may stop dispensing detergent into the base station solution container. Then, after completing dispensing detergent into the base station solution container, water may be fed into the base station solution container, and the water may be stopped to be fed until the volume of water meets the requirement, thereby completing the operation of replenishing the solution.

[0074] In some embodiments, controlling dispensing of detergent and supply of water into the base station solution container includes:

[0075] controlling supply of water into the base station solution container, and after completing supplying the water into the base station solution container, dispensing detergent into the base station solution container.

[0076] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, when the base station solution container needs to be replenished with both detergent and clean water, the amount of detergent to be dispensed and the volume of water awaiting intake may be determined according to the preset solution concentration. It may control supply of clean water into the base station solution container firstly; after the volume of water meets the requirement, it may stop supplying the water. Then, after completing supplying the water, detergent may be controlled to be dispensed into the base station solution container; when the amount of the detergent meets the requirement, it may stop dispensing the detergent into the base station solution container, thereby completing the operation of replenishing the solution.

[0077] In some embodiments, after controlling supply of solution into the base station solution container, the method further includes:

[0078] determining that the solution into the base station solution container has reached a target water level, and stopping supplying the solution into the base station solution container.

[0079] After solution is fed into the base station solution container for a period of time, determining that the solution into the solution container has reached the target water level indicates that the current solution in the base station solution container has met the requirement for supplying solution, which may supply solution to various components of the cleaning device. There may be no need to continue supplying solution into the base station solution container, thereby avoiding excessive solution in the base station solution container overflow from the base station solution container due to supply solution continuously. Therefore, supplying the solution into the base station solution container may be stopped. The target water level is set according to actual requirements, and the present disclosure does not impose specific restrictions thereon.

[0080] For example, the present disclosure explains the entire process of the method for controlling the cleaning device through a specific embodiment.

[0081] The cleaning device is a floor sweeper, and the base station of the cleaning device is a floor sweeper base station, which is equipped with a solution container such as a water tank. When the floor sweeper needs to be used for cleaning, the floor sweeper is started. The floor sweeper needs to go to the floor sweeper base station to replenish water. The water tank of the floor sweeper base station has taken in clean water and dispensed detergent into the water tank in the floor sweeper base station according to the preset solution concentration. After completing the replenishment, the solution stored in the water tank of the floor sweeper may meet the preset conditions and the storage requirements in the water tank, and may directly inject solution into the floor sweeper. After the floor sweeper works for a certain period of time, when the water volume in the water tank of the floor sweeper is low and cannot meet the subsequent cleaning work of the floor sweeper, it is needed to control the floor sweeper to return to the floor sweeper base station to replenish the solution. In the case that the solution stored in the floor sweeper base station does not meet the preset conditions, there is no need for solution replenishment, and the water tank may directly replenish solution for the floor sweeper. In the case that the solution stored in the floor sweeper base station meets the preset conditions, it is needed to replenish the solution for the water tank of the floor sweeper base station, such as replenishing water and / or detergent. Since the above solution replenishment operation for the solution has been completed timely when the solution stored in the water tank meets the preset conditions, when needing to replenish solution and moves to the base station, the floor sweeper does not need to wait for the base station water tank to replenish solution, and may directly replenish solution through the base station water tank, which may enable the floor sweeper continuing to complete the cleaning work. Thus, when the solution stored in the water tank meets the preset conditions, solution can be replenished to the water tank timely, avoiding the wait of the floor sweeper for solution injection caused by that the solution container has no solution or insufficient solution, and also avoiding suspending the cleaning caused by that the floor sweeper has insufficient solution. Therefore, the working efficiency of the floor sweeper may be improved, and a better cleaning experience may be provided for users.

[0082] For example, FIG. 2 is a structural block diagram of an apparatus for controlling a cleaning device provided in embodiments of the present disclosure. The apparatus for controlling the cleaning device may be integrated into the base station of the cleaning device, wherein the base station controls supply of water into the base station solution container. Alternatively, The apparatus for controlling the cleaning device may be integrated into the mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device, and the mobile cleaning component may send control information to the base station, which then controls supply of solution into the base station solution container. As shown in FIG. 2, the apparatus for controlling the cleaning device includes: a control module 21.

[0083] The control module 21 is configured to determine that the base station solution container of the cleaning device is not in a solution discharge state, and control supply of solution into the base station solution container.

[0084] The base station solution container is used to supply solution to the mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device and / or the base station cleaning component of the cleaning device.

[0085] It should be noted that the apparatus for controlling the cleaning device provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure may implement the steps of any one of the methods for controlling the cleaning device in the above implementation and has corresponding beneficial effects. For understanding, reference can be made to the above content, and details will not be repeated here.

[0086] Embodiments of the present disclosure further provide a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program. When the computer program is executed by a processor, it may implement the steps of the method for controlling the cleaning device provided in any of the above embodiments. Therefore, it has the beneficial effects described in the above embodiments, and details will not be repeated in the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0087] It should be noted that examples of the readable storage medium include, but are not limited to, electrical, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor systems, apparatuses, or devices, or any combination of the above. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the readable storage medium include: an electrical connection with one or more wires, a portable computer disk, a hard disk, a Random Access Memory (RAM), a Read-Only Memory (ROM), an Electrical Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM), an optical fiber, a portable Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the above. In the present disclosure, the readable storage medium may be any tangible medium that contains or stores a program, and the program may be used by or in combination with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

[0088] The storage medium provided in the above embodiments of the present disclosure and the method provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure are based on the same inventive concept, and have the same beneficial effects as the method adopted, run, or implemented by the application program or instructions stored therein.

[0089] Embodiments of the present disclosure further provide a cleaning device. FIG. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of the cleaning device provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 3, the cleaning device includes: a processor 31 and a memory 32. The processor 31 executes the steps of the method for controlling the cleaning device described in any of the above embodiments by calling the programs or instructions stored in the memory 32.

[0090] It should be understood that the memory in the present embodiment may be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memories. In some implementations, the memory stores the following elements: executable units or data structures, or subsets thereof, or extended sets thereof, an operating system and application programs. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the processor executes the steps of each embodiment of the method provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure by calling the programs or instructions stored in the memory.

[0091] The method provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied in a processor or implemented by a processor. A processor may be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. During the implementation process, each step of the above-mentioned method may be completed by an integrated logic circuit of hardware in the processor or instructions in the form of software. The processor may be a general-purpose processor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, or discrete hardware components. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, or the processor may also be any conventional processor, etc.

[0092] The steps of the method provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be directly implemented by the execution of a hardware decoding processor, or by the combined execution of hardware and software units in the decoding processor. The software units may be located in mature storage media in the art, such as random access memory (RAM), flash memory, read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), or electrically erasable programmable memory (EEPROM), registers, etc. The storage medium is located in the memory, and the processor reads the information in the memory and completes the steps of the method in combination with its hardware.

[0093] The cleaning device may further include one physical component or multiple physical components, so as to act according to the instructions generated by the processor when executing the method for controlling the cleaning device provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure. Different physical components may be arranged inside the cleaning device or outside the cleaning device, such as a cloud server, etc. Each physical component cooperates with the processor and the memory to realize the functions of the cleaning device in the present embodiment.

[0094] In other implementations, the cleaning device may further include other structural or functional components known to those skilled in the art, which will not be repeated or limited herein.

[0095] It should be noted that in this document, relational terms such as “first” and “second” are only used to distinguish one entity or operation from another entity or operation, and do not necessarily require or imply that there is any such actual relationship or sequence between these entities or operations. Furthermore, the terms “comprise,”“include” or any other variants thereof are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article or device including a series of elements not only includes those elements, but also includes other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such a process, method, article or device. Without further restrictions, an element defined by the phrase “comprising a . . . ” does not exclude the presence of additional identical elements in the process, method, article or device that includes the element.

[0096] The above descriptions are merely specific implementations of the present disclosure, enabling those skilled in the art to understand or implement the present disclosure. Various modifications to these embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein can be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the present disclosure will not be limited to the embodiments shown in this document, but should conform to the broadest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

[0097] The method for controlling the cleaning device provided in the present disclosure includes determining that the base station solution container of the cleaning device is not in the solution discharge state, and controlling supply of solution into the base station solution container, wherein the base station solution container is used to supply solution to the mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device and / or the base station cleaning component of the cleaning device. Thereby, in order to enable the base station of the cleaning device to timely supply solution to the mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device and the base station cleaning component of the cleaning device, when the base station solution container is not in the solution discharge state, i.e., there is no need to supply solution to the outside, the method may control the addition of solution to the base station solution container to prepare solution in advance, thereby avoiding the problem that the mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device and / or the base station cleaning component of the cleaning device have to wait for solution injection due to insufficient solution in the base station solution container. The present disclosure may timely replenish solution to the base station solution container when the base station solution container is not in the solution discharge state, preventing the cleaning device from waiting for solution injection due to no solution or insufficient solution in the base station solution container. Therefore, it may improve the working efficiency of the cleaning device and provide users with a better cleaning experience, thus having strong industrial applicability.

Examples

Embodiment Construction

[0036]To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of the present disclosure clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present disclosure, rather than all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present disclosure, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without making creative efforts shall fall within the protection scope of the present disclosure.

[0037]When using the cleaning device, for example, a floor sweeper, for cleaning work, users usually start the cleaning function of the floor sweeper and then do other work. During the cleaning process of the floor sweeper, if the floor sweeper has been cleaning the floor for a period of time, the water volume in the water tank of the floor sweeper is low and cannot meet the subsequent cleaning work of the floor sweeper, it is needed to...

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] The present application is a continuation of PCT application No. PCT / CN2023 / 107732 filed on Jul. 17, 2023, which claims priority to Chinese patent application No. 202310537982.7, filed with the China National Intellectual Property Administration on May 12, 2023, with the title “Method and apparatus for controlling cleaning device, medium, and cleaning device,” the entire contents of both of which are incorporated herein by reference.TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present disclosure relates to the technical field of cleaning device, in particular to a method and apparatus for controlling cleaning device, a medium, and a cleaning device.BACKGROUND

[0003] A floor sweeper is an important household appliance that can improve quality of life and reduce life burdens. When cleaning a room, the floor sweeper may be used to clean the floor, which not only ensures the cleaning speed but also guarantees the cleaning effect, thereby reducing the cleaning burden of users.

[0004] When using the floor sweeper to clean the floor, it is needed to pre-fill the water tank of the floor sweeper base station with water. The floor sweeper may replenish water at the water tank of the base station for use in the mopping process. After replenishing water, the floor sweeper moves to the floor to be cleaned and cleans the floor. If water is not prepared in time in the water tank of the floor sweeper base station, the floor sweeper cannot be supplied with water. It is needed to add water to the water tank of the floor sweeper base station first and then supply water to the floor sweeper for enabling the floor sweeper continuing cleaning. Therefore, the floor sweeper may have to wait for water to be prepared in the water tank of the base station, which may prolong the cleaning time of the floor sweeper, affect the working efficiency of the floor sweeper, and bring a poor user experience to users.SUMMARY(I) Technical Problem

[0005] The technical problem to be solved by the present disclosure is to address the problem of the cleaning operation time of the floor sweeper being prolonged due to waiting for water tank of the base station to fill.(II) Technical Solution

[0006] To solve the above-mentioned technical problem or at least partially solve the problem, the present disclosure provides a method and apparatus for controlling cleaning device, medium, and the cleaning device.

[0007] In a first aspect, the present disclosure provides a method for controlling the cleaning device, including:

[0008] determining that the base station solution container of the cleaning device is not in a solution discharge state, and controlling supply of solution into the base station solution container;

[0009] wherein, the base station solution container is used to supply solution to the mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device and / or the base station cleaning component of the cleaning device.

[0010] Optionally, determining that the base station solution container of the cleaning device is not in a solution discharge state includes:

[0011] determining that the base station solution container of the cleaning device is not in the solution discharge state based on the mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device performing a floor cleaning operation or a cleaning piece drying operation.

[0012] Optionally, determining that the base station solution container of the cleaning device is not in the solution discharge state includes:

[0013] determining that the base station solution container of the cleaning device is not in the solution discharge state based on the mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device being in a charging state or a standby state in the base station of the cleaning device.

[0014] Optionally, controlling supply of solution into the base station solution container includes:

[0015] determining that the solution stored in the base station solution container is lower than a preset water volume threshold, and controlling supply of solution into the base station solution container.

[0016] Optionally, controlling supply of solution into the base station solution container includes:

[0017] controlling supply of water into the base station solution container.

[0018] Optionally, controlling supply of solution into the base station solution container includes:

[0019] controlling dispensing of detergent and supply of water into the base station solution container.

[0020] Optionally, controlling dispensing of detergent and supply of water into the base station solution container includes:

[0021] determining amount of the detergent to be dispensed and volume of water awaiting intake according to a preset solution concentration;

[0022] controlling dispensing of detergent and supply of water into the base station solution container based on the amount of the detergent to be dispensed and the volume of water awaiting intake.

[0023] In a second aspect, the present disclosure further provides an apparatus for controlling a cleaning device, including:

[0024] a control module configured to determine that the base station solution container of the cleaning device is not in a solution discharge state, and control supply of solution into the base station solution container;

[0025] wherein, the base station solution container is used to supply solution to a mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device and / or a base station cleaning component of the cleaning device.

[0026] In a third aspect, the present disclosure further provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores programs or instructions; the programs or instructions cause a computer to execute the steps of any one of the methods provided in the first aspect.

[0027] In the fourth aspect, the present disclosure further provides a cleaning device, including a processor and a memory, wherein the processor executes the steps of any one of the methods provided in the first aspect by calling the programs or instructions stored in the memory.(III) Beneficial Effects

[0028] Compared with the existing technology, the above-mentioned technical solution provided by the present disclosure has the following advantages.

[0029] The method for controlling the cleaning device provided by the present disclosure includes determining that the base station solution container of the cleaning device is not in a solution discharge state, and controlling supply of solution into the base station solution container, wherein the base station solution container is used to supply solution to the mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device and / or the base station cleaning component of the cleaning device. Thus, in order to enable the base station of the cleaning device to timely supply solution to the mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device and the base station cleaning component of the cleaning device, when the base station solution container is not in the solution discharge state, i.e., is no need to supply solution to the outside, it may control the addition of solution to the base station solution container to prepare solution in advance, thereby avoiding the problem that the mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device and / or the base station cleaning component of the cleaning device have to wait for solution injection due to insufficient solution in the base station solution container. The present disclosure can timely replenish solution to the base station solution container when the base station solution container is not in the solution discharge state, preventing the cleaning device from waiting for solution injection due to no solution or insufficient solution in the base station solution container. Therefore, it can improve the working efficiency of the cleaning device and provide users with a better cleaning experience.

[0030] It should be understood that the above general description and the following detailed description are merely exemplary and explanatory, and shall not limit the present disclosure.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0031] The accompanying drawings are incorporated herein by reference and form part of the specification. They illustrate embodiments of the present disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the present disclosure.

[0032] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the following provides a brief introduction to the drawings for describing the embodiments. It is obvious that, for those skilled in the art, other drawings may be derived from these drawings without creative labor.

[0033] FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling a cleaning device provided by embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0034] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the structure of an apparatus for controlling a cleaning device provided by embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0035] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating the structure of a cleaning device provided by embodiments of the present disclosure.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0036] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of the present disclosure clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present disclosure, rather than all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present disclosure, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without making creative efforts shall fall within the protection scope of the present disclosure.

[0037] When using the cleaning device, for example, a floor sweeper, for cleaning work, users usually start the cleaning function of the floor sweeper and then do other work. During the cleaning process of the floor sweeper, if the floor sweeper has been cleaning the floor for a period of time, the water volume in the water tank of the floor sweeper is low and cannot meet the subsequent cleaning work of the floor sweeper, it is needed to control the floor sweeper to return to the floor sweeper base station to replenish the solution. At the moment, if there is no solution in the floor sweeper base station or the solution is insufficient, the floor sweeper may have to has to replenish the solution after the floor sweeper base station replenishes the solution. Thus, it may prolong the cleaning time of the floor sweeper, cause the cleaning efficiency decreasing, and affect the user experience.

[0038] To address the above-mentioned drawbacks of the existing technology, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method for controlling a cleaning device. The method may be executed by the apparatus for controlling the cleaning device provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure. The apparatus for controlling the cleaning device may be implemented in the form of software and / or hardware. The embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit the type of the cleaning device. FIG. 1 is a schematic flowchart of a method for controlling the cleaning device provided in embodiments of the present disclosure. The method for controlling the cleaning device includes S100:

[0039] S100. Determining that the base station solution container of the cleaning device is not in a solution discharge state, and controlling supply of solution into the base station solution container; wherein the base station solution container is used to supply solution to a mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device and / or a base station cleaning component of the cleaning device.

[0040] The cleaning device includes a base station and a mobile cleaning component. The base station is equipped with a base station solution container, which stores solution and is used to supply solution to the mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device and / or the base station cleaning component of the cleaning device. The solution is used for the mobile cleaning component to perform cleaning work and / or for the mobile cleaning component to use during cleaning at the base station cleaning component. When the base station solution container fails to supply solution to the cleaning device, it may be understood that the solution in the base station solution container is insufficient or exhausted, it is needed to replenish solution to the base station solution container. However, in the case that the solution is only replenished when the solution in the base station solution container is insufficient, when the mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device and / or the base station cleaning component of the cleaning device need water at the moment, it may lead to a long wait, waiting for the base station solution container to be replenished first, and then for the mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device and / or the base station cleaning component of the cleaning device to be supplied with water, which affects cleaning efficiency. Therefore, in order to replenish the solution to the base station solution container timely and automatically, the solution may be replenished when the base station solution container of the cleaning device is not in a solution discharge state. When the base station solution container is not in the solution discharge state, it may be considered that the mobile cleaning component and / or the base station cleaning component do not need to be replenished with solution through the base station solution container at the moment. Therefore, controlling supply of solution into the base station solution container is equivalent to preparing the solution in advance, which may reduce the waiting time when the mobile cleaning component and / or the base station cleaning component need solution replenishment, avoid the problem that the cleaning device waits for solution injection due to insufficient solution in the base station solution container, and improve cleaning efficiency.

[0041] For example, the base station of the cleaning device is a base station of a floor sweeper, the mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device is a floor sweeper, the base station solution container of the cleaning device is a base station water tank, which may be used for storing solution, and the base station cleaning component of the cleaning device is a base station cleaning tray. The floor sweeper may enter into the base station cleaning tray when needing to be cleaned. When using the floor sweeper for cleaning, the floor sweeper may first go to the floor sweeper base station to replenish water, and the base station water tank may provide the floor sweeper with the solution required for subsequent cleaning. Therefore, it is needed for the floor sweeper to continuously store sufficient solution for cleaning purposes. Or, after cleaning the floor for a period of time, the floor sweeper may need to return to the base station cleaning tray to clean stains from itself, the base station water tank may be required to provide sufficient solution for the base station cleaning tank at the moment. In order to meet the above requirements and reduce the waiting time for water injection, when it is determined that the base station water tank is not in the solution discharge state, the base station water tank may be controlled to supply solution, thereby ensuring that the base station water tank has sufficient water volume and timely providing solution for the floor sweeper and the base station cleaning tray.

[0042] The method for controlling the cleaning device provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure is designed to enable the base station of the cleaning device to timely supply solution to the mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device and the base station cleaning component of the cleaning device. When the base station solution container is not in the solution discharge state, i.e., there is no need to supply solution to outside, it may control the addition of solution to the base station solution container to prepare solution in advance, thereby avoiding the problem that the mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device and / or the base station cleaning component of the cleaning device have to wait for solution injection due to insufficient solution in the base station solution container. The present disclosure may timely replenish solution to the base station solution container when the base station solution container is not in the solution discharge state, preventing the cleaning device from waiting for solution injection due to no solution or insufficient solution in the base station solution container, thereby improving the working efficiency of the cleaning device and providing users with a better cleaning experience.

[0043] The operation of determining that the base station solution container of the cleaning device is not in a solution discharge state and controlling supply of solution into the base station solution container described above in the embodiments of the present disclosure may utilize solution non-discharge state to supply solution and prepare the solution in advance when the mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device and / or the base station cleaning component of the cleaning device do not need solution replenishment, which may reduce the preparation time for preparing solution.

[0044] In some embodiments, when the base station solution container of the cleaning device is in the solution discharge state, it is also possible to control supply of solution into the base station solution container. However, the manner may need both supplying solution into the base station solution container and discharging solution from the base station solution container to replenish solution for other components of the cleaning device, which may prolong the preparation time for preparing solution. But it may not mean that the base station solution container cannot be controlled to supply solution when it is in a solution discharge state; it is just that the preparation time for preparing solution of the manner is longer.

[0045] In some embodiments, determining that the base station solution container of the cleaning device is not in the solution discharge state includes:

[0046] determining that the base station solution container of the cleaning device is not in the solution discharge state based on the mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device performing a floor cleaning operation or a cleaning piece drying operation.

[0047] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, it needs to determine whether the base station solution container of the cleaning device is in the solution discharge state through combining with the state of the mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device or the state of the cleaning piece of the mobile cleaning component. First, when the mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device performs the floor cleaning operation, the mobile cleaning component is not inside the base station but is out of the base station for cleaning, indicating that the mobile cleaning component currently has sufficient solution and does not need to be supplied with solution through the base station solution container. Therefore, it may be determined that the base station solution container of the cleaning device is not in the solution discharge state. Or, when the cleaning piece of the mobile cleaning component performs a drying operation, it means that current cleaning operation of the mobile cleaning component may be ended, and the mobile cleaning component does not need to go out of the base station for cleaning nor need to be replenished with solution through the base station solution container. Therefore, it may be determined that the base station solution container of the cleaning device is not in the solution discharge state.

[0048] In some embodiments, determining that the base station solution container of the cleaning device is not in the solution discharge state includes:

[0049] determining that the base station solution container of the cleaning device is not in the solution discharge state based on the mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device being in a charging state or a standby state within the base station of the cleaning device.

[0050] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, determining whether the base station solution container of the cleaning device is in a solution discharge state may need to be combined with the state of the mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device when it is inside the base station of the cleaning device. When the mobile cleaning component is inside the base station, the state of the mobile cleaning component is determined. In the case that the mobile cleaning component is in the charging state, it may indicate that the current power of the mobile cleaning component is insufficient, and the mobile cleaning component may not go out of the base station to perform cleaning operations and may still need to be charged inside the base station. Since the mobile cleaning component has no need to go out for cleaning at the moment, there is no need to supply solution to the mobile cleaning component through the base station solution container, and it may be determined that the base station solution container of the cleaning device is not in the solution discharge state. Or, in the case that the mobile cleaning component is in the standby state, it may indicate that the mobile cleaning component has not received a work instruction and is in a waiting state, and also has no need to go out of the station to perform cleaning operations. Therefore, there is no need to supply solution to the mobile cleaning component through the base station solution container, and it may be determined that the base station solution container of the cleaning device is not in the solution discharge state.

[0051] The embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit the manner of determining that the base station solution container of the cleaning device is not in the solution discharge state. The above embodiments are merely illustrative, and other manners capable of determining that the base station solution container of the cleaning device is not in the solution discharge state are also applicable.

[0052] In some embodiments, controlling supply of solution into the base station solution container includes:

[0053] determining that the solution stored in the base station solution container is lower than a preset water volume threshold, and controlling supply of solution into the base station solution container.

[0054] controlling supply of solution into the base station solution container may also need to consider the status of the solution currently stored in the base station solution container. For example, there may be solution in the base station solution container but the amount of the solution is insufficient, i.e., the current amount of the solution may be unable to meet the requirements of the cleaning device and be lower than the preset water volume threshold; or there may be no solution in the base station solution container. Both the situation may need to replenish the solution to the base station solution container and control supply of solution into the base station solution container.

[0055] For example, at the initial stage of operation of the cleaning device, the mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device may replenish a certain amount of solution at the base station and then perform cleaning operations. At this time, the solution in the base station solution container may decrease. After the mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device works for a period of time, the replenished solution has been used up but the cleaning operation is not completed, the mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device may return to the base station of the cleaning device to continue replenishing the solution. In the case that the amount of solution stored in the base station solution container is large, for example, higher than the preset water volume threshold, the base station solution container may directly replenish the solution into the mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device to enable the mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device to continue working. However, in the case that it is determined that the solution stored in the base station solution container is lower than the preset water volume threshold at the moment, the solution in the base station solution container is insufficient to support the water consumption required for the mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device to continue the cleaning operation. It may cause the cleaning of the mobile cleaning component to be interrupted, and the mobile cleaning component may have to wait for the base station solution container to complete solution replenishment and then be replenished with solution, resulting in a relatively long overall waiting time. Therefore, to avoid this situation, when it is determined that the base station solution container of the cleaning device is not in the solution discharge state and the solution stored in the base station solution container is lower than the preset water volume threshold, the solution may be controlled to be supplied into the base station solution container, which may ensure that the solution in the base station solution container is always in a sufficient state, meet the water replenishment requirements of the cleaning device at any time, guarantee the smooth completion of cleaning work, reduce the waiting time of the cleaning device, and improve the overall cleaning efficiency.

[0056] Further, in the embodiments described above, it is needed to detect the amount of solution stored in the base station solution container. Thus, it may install water level sensors in the base station solution container to detect the amount of solution in the base station solution container, for example, various types of water level sensors, such as pressure water level sensors, float level sensors, and optical level sensors. Additionally, it may also utilize image detection devices to determine the amount of solution in the base station solution container based on images of interior of the base station solution container. Additionally, it may also utilize various other types of detection devices, such as laser sensors. The embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit the specific type of detection device, and the selection may be made according to actual requirements.

[0057] In some embodiments, controlling supply of solution into the base station solution container includes:

[0058] controlling supply of water into the base station solution container.

[0059] After determining that the base station solution container of the cleaning device is not in the solution discharge state, it is needed to replenish the solution into the base station solution container by controlling supply of water into the base station solution container. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, when the solution in the base station solution container is insufficient to supply enough solution to the mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device and / or the base station cleaning component of the cleaning device, it is needed to control replenishing solution into the base station solution container. There may be two scenarios for the situation. In the first scenarios, the solution currently stored in the base station solution container only contains water. When the solution is insufficient, the requirements of the cleaning device can be met by simply continuing to replenish water into the base station solution container. In the other scenarios, the solution contains both water and detergent, but the detergent in the base station solution container is sufficient, thus there is no need to add more detergent at present, and only water needs to be added for dilution. Thus controlling supply of water into the base station solution container may meet the requirements of the cleaning device at this time.

[0060] In some embodiments, controlling supply of solution into the base station solution container includes:

[0061] controlling dispensing of detergent and supply of water into the base station solution container.

[0062] After determining that the base station solution container of the cleaning device is not in the solution discharge state, it is needed to replenish the solution in the base station solution container, which may include controlling dispensing of detergent into the base station solution container and controlling supply of water into the base station solution container. In the present case, the base station solution container may need to be replenished with both detergent and water, so the base station solution container may be controlled replenished with both detergent and water. For example, when preparing solution in the base station solution container for the first time, it is needed to dispense detergent into the base station solution container and supply water into the base station solution container. After determining that the base station solution container of the cleaning device is not in the solution discharge state, detergent may be dispensed and water may be supplied into the base station solution container for obtaining a mixed solution. The mixed solution may be then used for subsequent supply to the mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device and / or the base station cleaning component of the cleaning device. It may ensure that there is sufficient solution in the base station solution container for the cleaning device to use, reduce the waiting time of the cleaning device when being filled with solution, improve the working efficiency of the cleaning device, and provide users with a better cleaning experience.

[0063] In some embodiments, controlling dispensing of detergent and supply of water into the base station solution container includes:

[0064] determining the amount of detergent to be dispensed and the volume of water awaiting intake according to a preset solution concentration;

[0065] controlling dispensing of detergent and supply of water into the base station solution container based on the amount of detergent and the volume of water awaiting intake.

[0066] When it is needed to control dispensing of detergent and supply of water into the base station solution container, it may be also required to determine the amount of detergent to be dispensed and the volume of water awaiting intake according to the preset solution concentration. First, it is needed to obtain the concentration of the solution in the base station solution container, and compare the concentration of the solution with the preset solution concentration to determine the concentration difference. In the case that the concentration of the solution is low, it may be understood that there is less detergent in the base station solution container currently, thus it is needed to dispense detergent and determine the amount of detergent to be dispensed and the volume of water awaiting intake according to the concentration difference for making the concentration of the solution in the base station solution container meeting the preset concentration. In the case that the concentration of the solution is high, it may be understood that the water in the base station solution container is low currently, thus it is needed to supply a large amount of water and determine the volume of water awaiting intake and the amount of detergent to be dispensed according to the concentration difference for making the concentration of the solution in the base station solution container meeting the preset concentration. Based on the amount of detergent and the volume of water awaiting intake, it may be controlled to dispense detergent with the amount of detergent into the base station solution container and supply water with the volume of water into the base station solution container. For example, the base station is controlled to be equipped with a component for storing detergent and a water inlet valve connected to a water tap. When needing to dispense detergent, the component for storing detergent may be controlled to deliver the detergent with the amount of detergent; when needing to supply water, the water inlet valve may be controlled to open, and after a sufficient volume of water is injected, the water inlet valve may be controlled to close.

[0067] It should be noted that the embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit the specific devices used for dispensing of detergent and supply of water; the selection may be made according to actual requirements, and the above is merely an illustrative example.

[0068] In some embodiments, controlling dispensing of detergent and supply of water into the base station solution container includes:

[0069] controlling dispensing of detergent and supply of water into the base station solution container simultaneously.

[0070] When the base station solution container needs to be replenished with both detergent and clean water, it may control dispensing of detergent and supply of water the base station solution container at the same time. After determining the amount of detergent to be dispensed and the volume of water awaiting intake according to the preset solution concentration and it may be required to both replenish detergent and supply water, it may control both actions to be performed simultaneously, and stop when the amount of detergent to be dispensed and the volume of water awaiting intake are reached. Supplying water and dispensing detergent simultaneously may reduce preparation time for preparing the solution.

[0071] In some embodiments, controlling dispensing of detergent and supply of water into the base station solution container includes:

[0072] controlling dispensing of detergent into the base station solution container, and after completing dispensing detergent into the base station solution container, supplying water into the base station solution container.

[0073] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, when the base station solution container needs to be replenished with both detergent and clean water, the amount of detergent to be dispensed and the volume of water awaiting intake may be determined according to the preset solution concentration. It may control dispensing of detergent into the base station solution container firstly; after the amount of detergent meets the requirement, it may stop dispensing detergent into the base station solution container. Then, after completing dispensing detergent into the base station solution container, water may be fed into the base station solution container, and the water may be stopped to be fed until the volume of water meets the requirement, thereby completing the operation of replenishing the solution.

[0074] In some embodiments, controlling dispensing of detergent and supply of water into the base station solution container includes:

[0075] controlling supply of water into the base station solution container, and after completing supplying the water into the base station solution container, dispensing detergent into the base station solution container.

[0076] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, when the base station solution container needs to be replenished with both detergent and clean water, the amount of detergent to be dispensed and the volume of water awaiting intake may be determined according to the preset solution concentration. It may control supply of clean water into the base station solution container firstly; after the volume of water meets the requirement, it may stop supplying the water. Then, after completing supplying the water, detergent may be controlled to be dispensed into the base station solution container; when the amount of the detergent meets the requirement, it may stop dispensing the detergent into the base station solution container, thereby completing the operation of replenishing the solution.

[0077] In some embodiments, after controlling supply of solution into the base station solution container, the method further includes:

[0078] determining that the solution into the base station solution container has reached a target water level, and stopping supplying the solution into the base station solution container.

[0079] After solution is fed into the base station solution container for a period of time, determining that the solution into the solution container has reached the target water level indicates that the current solution in the base station solution container has met the requirement for supplying solution, which may supply solution to various components of the cleaning device. There may be no need to continue supplying solution into the base station solution container, thereby avoiding excessive solution in the base station solution container overflow from the base station solution container due to supply solution continuously. Therefore, supplying the solution into the base station solution container may be stopped. The target water level is set according to actual requirements, and the present disclosure does not impose specific restrictions thereon.

[0080] For example, the present disclosure explains the entire process of the method for controlling the cleaning device through a specific embodiment.

[0081] The cleaning device is a floor sweeper, and the base station of the cleaning device is a floor sweeper base station, which is equipped with a solution container such as a water tank. When the floor sweeper needs to be used for cleaning, the floor sweeper is started. The floor sweeper needs to go to the floor sweeper base station to replenish water. The water tank of the floor sweeper base station has taken in clean water and dispensed detergent into the water tank in the floor sweeper base station according to the preset solution concentration. After completing the replenishment, the solution stored in the water tank of the floor sweeper may meet the preset conditions and the storage requirements in the water tank, and may directly inject solution into the floor sweeper. After the floor sweeper works for a certain period of time, when the water volume in the water tank of the floor sweeper is low and cannot meet the subsequent cleaning work of the floor sweeper, it is needed to control the floor sweeper to return to the floor sweeper base station to replenish the solution. In the case that the solution stored in the floor sweeper base station does not meet the preset conditions, there is no need for solution replenishment, and the water tank may directly replenish solution for the floor sweeper. In the case that the solution stored in the floor sweeper base station meets the preset conditions, it is needed to replenish the solution for the water tank of the floor sweeper base station, such as replenishing water and / or detergent. Since the above solution replenishment operation for the solution has been completed timely when the solution stored in the water tank meets the preset conditions, when needing to replenish solution and moves to the base station, the floor sweeper does not need to wait for the base station water tank to replenish solution, and may directly replenish solution through the base station water tank, which may enable the floor sweeper continuing to complete the cleaning work. Thus, when the solution stored in the water tank meets the preset conditions, solution can be replenished to the water tank timely, avoiding the wait of the floor sweeper for solution injection caused by that the solution container has no solution or insufficient solution, and also avoiding suspending the cleaning caused by that the floor sweeper has insufficient solution. Therefore, the working efficiency of the floor sweeper may be improved, and a better cleaning experience may be provided for users.

[0082] For example, FIG. 2 is a structural block diagram of an apparatus for controlling a cleaning device provided in embodiments of the present disclosure. The apparatus for controlling the cleaning device may be integrated into the base station of the cleaning device, wherein the base station controls supply of water into the base station solution container. Alternatively, The apparatus for controlling the cleaning device may be integrated into the mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device, and the mobile cleaning component may send control information to the base station, which then controls supply of solution into the base station solution container. As shown in FIG. 2, the apparatus for controlling the cleaning device includes: a control module 21.

[0083] The control module 21 is configured to determine that the base station solution container of the cleaning device is not in a solution discharge state, and control supply of solution into the base station solution container.

[0084] The base station solution container is used to supply solution to the mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device and / or the base station cleaning component of the cleaning device.

[0085] It should be noted that the apparatus for controlling the cleaning device provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure may implement the steps of any one of the methods for controlling the cleaning device in the above implementation and has corresponding beneficial effects. For understanding, reference can be made to the above content, and details will not be repeated here.

[0086] Embodiments of the present disclosure further provide a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program. When the computer program is executed by a processor, it may implement the steps of the method for controlling the cleaning device provided in any of the above embodiments. Therefore, it has the beneficial effects described in the above embodiments, and details will not be repeated in the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0087] It should be noted that examples of the readable storage medium include, but are not limited to, electrical, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor systems, apparatuses, or devices, or any combination of the above. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the readable storage medium include: an electrical connection with one or more wires, a portable computer disk, a hard disk, a Random Access Memory (RAM), a Read-Only Memory (ROM), an Electrical Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM), an optical fiber, a portable Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the above. In the present disclosure, the readable storage medium may be any tangible medium that contains or stores a program, and the program may be used by or in combination with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

[0088] The storage medium provided in the above embodiments of the present disclosure and the method provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure are based on the same inventive concept, and have the same beneficial effects as the method adopted, run, or implemented by the application program or instructions stored therein.

[0089] Embodiments of the present disclosure further provide a cleaning device. FIG. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of the cleaning device provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 3, the cleaning device includes: a processor 31 and a memory 32. The processor 31 executes the steps of the method for controlling the cleaning device described in any of the above embodiments by calling the programs or instructions stored in the memory 32.

[0090] It should be understood that the memory in the present embodiment may be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memories. In some implementations, the memory stores the following elements: executable units or data structures, or subsets thereof, or extended sets thereof, an operating system and application programs. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the processor executes the steps of each embodiment of the method provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure by calling the programs or instructions stored in the memory.

[0091] The method provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied in a processor or implemented by a processor. A processor may be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. During the implementation process, each step of the above-mentioned method may be completed by an integrated logic circuit of hardware in the processor or instructions in the form of software. The processor may be a general-purpose processor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, or discrete hardware components. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, or the processor may also be any conventional processor, etc.

[0092] The steps of the method provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be directly implemented by the execution of a hardware decoding processor, or by the combined execution of hardware and software units in the decoding processor. The software units may be located in mature storage media in the art, such as random access memory (RAM), flash memory, read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), or electrically erasable programmable memory (EEPROM), registers, etc. The storage medium is located in the memory, and the processor reads the information in the memory and completes the steps of the method in combination with its hardware.

[0093] The cleaning device may further include one physical component or multiple physical components, so as to act according to the instructions generated by the processor when executing the method for controlling the cleaning device provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure. Different physical components may be arranged inside the cleaning device or outside the cleaning device, such as a cloud server, etc. Each physical component cooperates with the processor and the memory to realize the functions of the cleaning device in the present embodiment.

[0094] In other implementations, the cleaning device may further include other structural or functional components known to those skilled in the art, which will not be repeated or limited herein.

[0095] It should be noted that in this document, relational terms such as “first” and “second” are only used to distinguish one entity or operation from another entity or operation, and do not necessarily require or imply that there is any such actual relationship or sequence between these entities or operations. Furthermore, the terms “comprise,”“include” or any other variants thereof are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article or device including a series of elements not only includes those elements, but also includes other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such a process, method, article or device. Without further restrictions, an element defined by the phrase “comprising a . . . ” does not exclude the presence of additional identical elements in the process, method, article or device that includes the element.

[0096] The above descriptions are merely specific implementations of the present disclosure, enabling those skilled in the art to understand or implement the present disclosure. Various modifications to these embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein can be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the present disclosure will not be limited to the embodiments shown in this document, but should conform to the broadest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

[0097] The method for controlling the cleaning device provided in the present disclosure includes determining that the base station solution container of the cleaning device is not in the solution discharge state, and controlling supply of solution into the base station solution container, wherein the base station solution container is used to supply solution to the mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device and / or the base station cleaning component of the cleaning device. Thereby, in order to enable the base station of the cleaning device to timely supply solution to the mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device and the base station cleaning component of the cleaning device, when the base station solution container is not in the solution discharge state, i.e., there is no need to supply solution to the outside, the method may control the addition of solution to the base station solution container to prepare solution in advance, thereby avoiding the problem that the mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device and / or the base station cleaning component of the cleaning device have to wait for solution injection due to insufficient solution in the base station solution container. The present disclosure may timely replenish solution to the base station solution container when the base station solution container is not in the solution discharge state, preventing the cleaning device from waiting for solution injection due to no solution or insufficient solution in the base station solution container. Therefore, it may improve the working efficiency of the cleaning device and provide users with a better cleaning experience, thus having strong industrial applicability.

Examples

Embodiment Construction

[0036]To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of the present disclosure clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present disclosure, rather than all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present disclosure, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without making creative efforts shall fall within the protection scope of the present disclosure.

[0037]When using the cleaning device, for example, a floor sweeper, for cleaning work, users usually start the cleaning function of the floor sweeper and then do other work. During the cleaning process of the floor sweeper, if the floor sweeper has been cleaning the floor for a period of time, the water volume in the water tank of the floor sweeper is low and cannot meet the subsequent cleaning work of the floor sweeper, it is needed to...

Claims

1. A control method comprising:determining that a base station solution container of a cleaning device is not in a solution discharge state, and controlling supply of solution into the base station solution container;wherein the base station solution container is configured to supply solution to a mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device and / or a base station cleaning component of the cleaning device.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein determining that the base station solution container is not in the solution discharge state includes:determining that the base station solution container is not in the solution discharge state based on the mobile cleaning component being performing a floor cleaning operation or a cleaning piece drying operation.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein determining that the base station solution container is not in the solution discharge state includes:determining that the base station solution container is not in the solution discharge state based on the mobile cleaning component being in a charging state or a standby state in the base station.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein controlling supply of solution into the base station solution container includes:determining that the solution stored in the base station solution container is lower than a preset water volume threshold, and controlling supply of solution into the base station solution container.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein controlling supply of solution into the base station solution container includes:controlling supply of water into the base station solution container.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein controlling supply of solution into the base station solution container includes:controlling dispensing of detergent and supply of water into the base station solution container.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein controlling dispensing of detergent and supply of water into the base station solution container includes:determining amount of the detergent to be dispensed and volume of water awaiting intake according to a preset solution concentration; andcontrolling dispensing of detergent and supply of water into the base station solution container based on the amount of the detergent to be dispensed and the volume of water awaiting intake.

8. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program or instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to:determine that a base station solution container of a cleaning device is not in a solution discharge state, and control supply of solution into the base station solution container;wherein the base station solution container is configured to supply solution to a mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device and / or a base station cleaning component of the cleaning device.

9. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 8, wherein the program or instructions further cause the processor to:determine that the base station solution container is not in the solution discharge state based on the mobile cleaning component being performing a floor cleaning operation or a cleaning piece drying operation.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 8, wherein the program or instructions further cause the processor to:determine that the base station solution container is not in the solution discharge state based on the mobile cleaning component being in a charging state or a standby state in the base station.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 8, wherein the program or instructions further cause the processor to:determine that the solution stored in the base station solution container is lower than a preset water volume threshold, and control supply of solution into the base station solution container.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 8, wherein the program or instructions further cause the processor to:control supply of water into the base station solution container; orcontrol dispensing of detergent and supply of water into the base station solution container.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 12, wherein the program or instructions further cause the processor to:determine amount of detergent to be dispensed and volume of water awaiting intake according to a preset solution concentration; andcontrol dispensing of detergent and supply of water into the base station solution container based on the amount of the detergent to be dispensed and the volume of water awaiting intake.

14. A cleaning device comprising:a memory storing a program or instructions; anda processor configured to execute the program or instructions to:determine that a base station solution container of the cleaning device is not in a solution discharge state, and control supply of solution into the base station solution container;wherein the base station solution container is configured to supply solution to a mobile cleaning component of the cleaning device and / or a base station cleaning component of the cleaning device.

15. The cleaning device according to claim 14, wherein the processor is further configured to execute the program or instructions to:determine that the base station solution container is not in the solution discharge state based on the mobile cleaning component being performing a floor cleaning operation or a cleaning piece drying operation.

16. The cleaning device according to claim 14, wherein the processor is further configured to execute the program or instructions to:determine that the base station solution container is not in the solution discharge state based on the mobile cleaning component being in a charging state or a standby state in the base station.

17. The cleaning device according to claim 14, wherein the processor is further configured to execute the program or instructions to:determine that the solution stored in the base station solution container is lower than a preset water volume threshold, and control supply of solution into the base station solution container.

18. The cleaning device according to claim 14, wherein the processor is further configured to execute the program or instructions to:control supply of water into the base station solution container.

19. The cleaning device according to claim 14, wherein the processor is further configured to execute the program or instructions to:control dispensing of detergent and supply of water into the base station solution container.

20. The cleaning device according to claim 19, wherein the processor is further configured to execute the program or instructions to:determine amount of detergent to be dispensed and volume of water awaiting intake according to a preset solution concentration;control dispensing of detergent and supply of water into the base station solution container based on the amount of the detergent to be dispensed and the volume of water awaiting intake.

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