Cleaning robot control method and apparatus, and medium and electronic device

Abstract

A cleaning robot control method, a cleaning robot control apparatus, a computer-readable storage medium, and an electronic device. The method comprises: in response to detecting that a cleaning robot enters a corner area, controlling the cleaning robot to extend a retractable cleaner, wherein the corner area is an area determined on the basis of an included angle formed by intersecting edges of two obstacles; and controlling the cleaning robot to move within the corner area, and using the retractable cleaner to clean the corner area during the movement process.

Description

Control method and device for cleaning robot, medium and electronic equipment

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This disclosure claims priority to Chinese patent application No. 202410025247.2 filed on January 5, 2024, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure relates to the field of smart homes, and in particular to a control method for a cleaning robot, a control device for the cleaning robot, a computer-readable storage medium, and an electronic device. Background Art

[0004] In recent years, with the rapid development of computer technology and artificial intelligence science, intelligent robot technology has gradually become a hot topic in the field of modern robotics research. Among them, cleaning robots, as the most practical type of intelligent robots, can automatically complete floor cleaning tasks with a certain degree of artificial intelligence.

[0005] Currently, during the cleaning process, cleaning robots are unable to effectively clean the angled areas formed by obstacles such as wall corners, resulting in poor cleaning effects of the cleaning robots.

[0006] How to clean the angle area accurately and effectively to improve the cleaning efficiency of the cleaning robot is a problem that needs to be solved urgently in the existing technology. Summary of the Invention

[0007] The purpose of the present disclosure is to provide a control method for a cleaning robot, a control device for the cleaning robot, a computer-readable storage medium, and an electronic device to solve the problem that the existing technology cannot effectively clean angled areas. The specific solution is as follows:

[0008] According to the specific embodiments of the present disclosure, in a first aspect, the present disclosure provides a control method for a cleaning robot, wherein the cleaning robot includes a retractable cleaner, and a first projection of the retractable cleaner on a horizontal plane when extended is at least partially located outside a second projection of the body of the cleaning robot on the horizontal plane; the method includes: in response to detecting that the cleaning robot enters an angle area, controlling the cleaning robot to extend the retractable cleaner; the angle area is an area determined based on an angle formed by the intersection of two obstacle edges; controlling the cleaning robot to move within the angle area, and cleaning the angle area by the retractable cleaner during the movement.

[0009] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, in response to detecting that the cleaning robot enters an angle area, controlling the cleaning robot to extend the retractable cleaner includes: in response to detecting that there is an angle formed by the intersection of two obstacle edges in the area to be cleaned, and the distance between the cleaning robot and the two obstacle edges is smaller than a reference size of the cleaning robot, controlling the cleaning robot to extend the retractable cleaner.

[0010] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the body of the cleaning robot is circular, and the reference dimension is the diameter of the body; or the body of the cleaning robot is polygonal, and the reference dimension is the length of a side of the body.

[0011] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the angle formed by the intersection of the two obstacle edges is within a preset angle range.

[0012] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, controlling the cleaning robot to move within the angle area includes: controlling the cleaning robot to move within the angle area at a first moving speed; the first moving speed is less than a second moving speed of the cleaning robot outside the angle area.

[0013] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the method further includes: in response to determining that the cleaning robot needs to rotate within the angle area, controlling the cleaning robot to rotate at a first rotation speed; the first rotation speed is less than a second rotation speed of the cleaning robot outside the angle area.

[0014] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the method further includes: obtaining a first electrical signal value for controlling the retractable cleaner before issuing a first control instruction; the first control instruction is used to control the cleaning robot to extend the retractable cleaner; monitoring a second electrical signal value for controlling the retractable cleaner during the process of extending the retractable cleaner; in response to determining that the difference between the second electrical signal value and the first electrical signal value reaches a preset threshold, determining that there is an extension abnormality of the retractable cleaner, and controlling the cleaning robot to retract the retractable cleaner and extend it again.

[0015] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the method further includes: in response to determining that there are extension anomalies in each of M consecutive extensions of the retractable cleaner, giving up extending the retractable cleaner.

[0016] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the method further includes: in response to a retraction condition being met, controlling the cleaning robot to retract the retractable cleaner.

[0017] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the method further includes: in response to determining that no reset signal is received within a first preset time period after issuing a second control instruction, determining that there is a retraction abnormality in the retractable cleaner, controlling the cleaning robot to extend the retractable cleaner and retract it again; the second control instruction is used to control the cleaning robot to retract the retractable cleaner; the reset signal is used to indicate that the retractable cleaner has been retracted to a specified position.

[0018] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the method further includes: controlling the cleaning robot to rotate at a preset angle.

[0019] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the retraction condition includes at least one of the following: the cleaning robot leaves the angle area; the time duration of the extension of the retractable cleaner reaches a second preset time duration.

[0020] In second aspect, the present disclosure provides a control device for a cleaning robot, wherein the cleaning robot includes a retractable cleaner, and a first projection of the retractable cleaner on a horizontal plane when extended is at least partially located outside a second projection of the body of the cleaning robot on the horizontal plane; the device includes: a cleaner control module, for controlling the cleaning robot to extend the retractable cleaner in response to detecting that the cleaning robot enters an angle area; the angle area is an area determined based on the angle formed by the intersection of two obstacle edges; a cleaner cleaning module, for controlling the cleaning robot to move within the angle area, and cleaning the angle area by the retractable cleaner during the movement.

[0021] In a third aspect, the present disclosure provides a computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, wherein the computer program implements the above method when executed by a processor.

[0022] In a fourth aspect, the present disclosure provides an electronic device, comprising: a processor; and a memory for storing executable instructions of the processor; wherein the processor is configured to perform the above method by executing the executable instructions.

[0023] The exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure have the following beneficial effects:

[0024] In response to detecting that the cleaning robot enters an angled area, the cleaning robot is controlled to extend a retractable cleaner; the angled area is an area determined based on the angle formed by the intersection of two obstacle edges; the cleaning robot is controlled to move within the angled area, and the retractable cleaner is used to clean the angled area during movement. On the one hand, this exemplary embodiment provides a new control method for a cleaning robot, which can control the cleaning robot to extend a retractable cleaner when the cleaning robot enters the angled area, so as to expand the cleaning range of the cleaning robot by extending the retractable cleaner beyond the projection of the cleaning robot body on the horizontal plane, and effectively clean the angled area, a special application scenario; on the other hand, this exemplary embodiment can control the cleaning robot to move within the angled area while extending the retractable cleaner, so that the retractable cleaner is coordinated with the movement state of the cleaning robot, thereby improving the cleaning efficiency of the cleaning robot in the angled area.

[0025] It is to be understood that the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the disclosure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] The accompanying drawings are incorporated into and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with the present disclosure, and together with the specification, are used to explain the principles of the present disclosure. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present disclosure, and those skilled in the art can derive other drawings based on these drawings without inventive effort. In the drawings:

[0027] FIG1 schematically shows a structural diagram of a cleaning robot in this exemplary embodiment;

[0028] FIG2 schematically shows a flow chart of a control method of a cleaning robot in this exemplary embodiment;

[0029] FIG3 schematically shows a schematic diagram of an angle region in this exemplary embodiment;

[0030] FIG4 schematically shows another schematic diagram of an angle region in this exemplary embodiment;

[0031] FIG5 schematically shows a sub-flowchart of a control method of a cleaning robot in this exemplary embodiment;

[0032] FIG6 schematically shows a structural block diagram of a control device of a cleaning robot in this exemplary embodiment;

[0033] FIG7 schematically shows an electronic device for implementing the above method in this exemplary embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the present disclosure more clear, the present disclosure will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It is apparent that the embodiments described are only a portion of the embodiments of the present disclosure, rather than all of them. All other embodiments derived by persons of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments of the present disclosure without creative effort are intended to fall within the scope of protection of the present disclosure.

[0035] The terms used in the embodiments of the present disclosure are for the purpose of describing specific embodiments only and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. The singular forms "a," "an," "the," and "the" used in the embodiments of the present disclosure and the appended claims are also intended to include plural forms, and unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, "a plurality" generally includes at least two.

[0036] It should be understood that the term "and / or" as used herein is merely a description of the relationship between associated objects, indicating that three possible relationships exist. For example, "A and / or B" can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, or B exists alone. Furthermore, the character " / " in this document generally indicates that the associated objects are in an "or" relationship.

[0037] It should be understood that although the terms "first," "second," "third," etc. may be used to describe "...," these "..." should not be limited to these terms. These terms are merely used to distinguish "...." For example, "first..." could also be referred to as "second...", and similarly, "second..." could also be referred to as "first..." without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0038] As used herein, the words "if" and "if" may be interpreted as "at the time of" or "when" or "in response to determining" or "in response to detecting," depending on the context. Similarly, the phrases "if it is determined" or "if (stated condition or event) is detected" may be interpreted as "when it is determined" or "in response to the determination" or "when detecting (stated condition or event)" or "in response to detecting (stated condition or event)," depending on the context.

[0039] It should also be noted that the terms "include," "comprises," or any other variations thereof are intended to encompass non-exclusive inclusion, such that a product or device comprising a series of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not explicitly listed, or elements inherent to such product or device. In the absence of further limitations, an element defined by the phrase "comprises a..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the product or device comprising the element.

[0040] Cleaning robots are smart home appliances that use artificial intelligence to automatically clean floors. They can sweep and / or vacuum, collecting debris into their own trash bins to complete the cleaning process.

[0041] However, when a cleaning robot encounters obstacles such as wall corners during cleaning, it often has difficulty cleaning effectively, resulting in missed areas and affecting the cleaning effect.

[0042] Therefore, when the cleaning robot cleans corners of obstacles such as wall corners during the cleaning process, it can use the side brush to clean. However, in the related technology, when using the side brush for cleaning, on the one hand, a fixed side brush is used, which has poor flexibility and is easily collided or squeezed by obstacles during use; on the other hand, when using the side brush, the cleaning robot needs to stop and move at a fixed position to clean, which causes the cleaning robot to move unsmoothly and have low cleaning efficiency.

[0043] Based on this, an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure provides a control method for a cleaning robot, which can be applied to a cleaning robot, and the cleaning robot can implement the method through hardware and / or software. In this exemplary embodiment, the cleaning robot includes a retractable cleaner, and the first projection of the retractable cleaner on the horizontal plane when extended is at least partially located outside the second projection of the body of the cleaning robot on the horizontal plane, so as to ensure that when the cleaning robot extends the retractable cleaner, the cleaning range of the retractable cleaner can exceed the projection range of the body of the cleaning robot on the horizontal plane. Among them, the retractable cleaner refers to a cleaning device that can be telescopically changed, and the cleaning device can achieve cleaning of the environment by using cleaning media of different materials or forms including cleaning cloths or cleaning brushes. The telescopic method of the retractable cleaner can be rotational telescoping. For example, as shown in Figure 1, with a reference point a on the body of the cleaning robot P as the center of a circle and a robotic arm of a preset length as the radius, the other end b located at the center of the circle a of the robotic arm is rotated out from position S2 or S3 to position S1 outside the body of the cleaning robot, so that the cleaning task can be performed by the cleaning medium configured on the robotic arm, or it can be retracted to position S2 / S3 inside the body. The telescopic method can also be sliding telescopic. For example, based on the push-pull operation between the retractable inner rod and the pipe sleeve, the telescopic arm is extended or retracted. In addition, the above-mentioned cleaning robot can also include other devices, such as a cleaning roller configured at the bottom of the cleaning robot to clean the floor.

[0044] 2 , a flow chart of a method for controlling a cleaning robot according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. The method may include the following steps S210 to S220 :

[0045] Step S210 , in response to detecting that the cleaning robot enters an angle area, controlling the cleaning robot to extend a retractable cleaner; the angle area is an area determined based on an angle formed by the intersection of two obstacle edges.

[0046] The angled area refers to the area formed by the intersection of obstacle edges. The obstacle can be any object with an edge or that could form an obstacle edge, such as a wall, stairs, cabinet, or box. In this exemplary embodiment, the angled area can be defined by the angle formed by the intersection of the edges of obstacles of the same type, such as the corner of a wall, or by the angle formed by the intersection of the edges of obstacles of different types, such as the angle formed by the intersection of one side of a cabinet and one side of a wall.

[0047] When the cleaning robot is in working state, it can perform positioning tasks or target detection tasks through a variety of sensors or functional modules to determine the position of the cleaning robot or identify or detect objects in the environment, such as identifying angle areas such as wall corners or cabinet corners. When the cleaning robot is detected to enter the angle area, the cleaning robot can be controlled to extend the retractable cleaner.

[0048] In an exemplary embodiment, in response to detecting that the cleaning robot enters the angled area, controlling the cleaning robot to extend the retractable cleaning device may include:

[0049] In response to detecting that an angle formed by the intersection of two obstacle edges exists in the area to be cleaned, and that the distances between the cleaning robot and the two obstacle edges are both less than a reference size of the cleaning robot, the cleaning robot is controlled to extend the retractable cleaning member. In other words, when it is detected that an angle formed by the intersection of two obstacle edges exists in the area to be cleaned, and that the distances between the cleaning robot and the two obstacle edges are both less than a reference size of the cleaning robot, it can be determined that the cleaning robot has been detected entering the angled area.

[0050] The area to be cleaned refers to the area where the cleaning robot needs to perform cleaning tasks. It can be the entire area in the environment, the area in the environment that has not been cleaned, or a pre-set area. In this exemplary embodiment, the angle area can be defined as the angle formed by the intersection of two obstacle edges in the area to be cleaned, and the distance between the cleaning robot and the two obstacle edges is less than the reference size of the cleaning robot. When the cleaning robot is detected to enter an area that meets this requirement in the area to be cleaned, it is considered that the cleaning robot has entered the angle area. The reference size can be pre-set according to actual needs or scenario needs, such as customizing a reference size according to user preferences; it can also be determined based on the size of the robot itself, such as the diameter size of a circular robot.

[0051] In an exemplary embodiment, if the body of the cleaning robot is circular, the reference dimension is the diameter of the body; if the body of the cleaning robot is polygonal, the reference dimension is the length of a side of the body.

[0052] In this exemplary embodiment, a reference size can be used as a judgment condition to trigger whether the cleaning robot extends the retractable cleaner. When the body of the cleaning robot is circular, the reference size can be the diameter of the cleaning robot body. That is, when the cleaning robot is detected to enter an angled area, wherein the angle is formed by the intersection of two obstacle edges, and the distance between the cleaning robot and the two obstacle edges is less than the diameter of the cleaning robot, the retractable cleaner can be extended. When the body of the cleaning robot is polygonal, the reference size can be the length of a side of the cleaning robot body. The side length can be a randomly selected side length, one of the side lengths set by a custom setting, or the minimum side length of the polygon. For example, when the cleaning robot is detected to enter an angled area, wherein the angle is formed by the intersection of two obstacle edges, and the distance between the cleaning robot and the two obstacle edges is less than the minimum side length of the cleaning robot, the retractable cleaner can be extended.

[0053] In an exemplary embodiment, the angle formed by the intersection of two obstacle edges may be an angle within a preset angle range.

[0054] In this exemplary embodiment, the angle of the angle area can be limited so that when the cleaning robot identifies an angle area with a specific angle, it turns on the angle area cleaning mode and extends the retractable cleaner to clean the angle area, while performing the normal cleaning mode in the non-angle area where the specific angle is not identified. The preset angle range can be set to a lower limit of 0 and an upper limit of 180°. For example, angles of 9°, 120°, etc. can be considered as angle areas. In addition, the preset angle range can be set to [60°, 120°].

[0055] Figures 3 and 4 show schematic diagrams of angle regions corresponding to angles in different preset angle ranges, where P represents a cleaning robot. Figure 3 shows a schematic diagram of the angle region at a 120° angle, and Figure 4 shows a schematic diagram of the angle region at a 90° angle.

[0056] Step S220 , controlling the cleaning robot to move within the angle area, and cleaning the angle area by using the retractable cleaner during the movement.

[0057] Once the cleaning robot enters the angled area, it can move within the angled area. This movement can be linear, curvilinear, or rotational, or it can be transient or reciprocating. During this movement, the retractable cleaner extends, allowing the robot to clean the angled area. While cleaning the angled area, the robot can maintain continuous movement without stopping. This ensures that the extended retractable cleaner coordinates with the robot's movement, ensuring continuous cleaning of the angled area.

[0058] In an exemplary embodiment, the above-mentioned controlling the cleaning robot to move within the angle region includes:

[0059] The cleaning robot is controlled to move within the angle area at a first moving speed; the first moving speed is less than a second moving speed of the cleaning robot outside the angle area.

[0060] Considering that angled areas are typically narrow, cramped, and concave, making them difficult to clean, this exemplary embodiment can be configured to allow the cleaning robot to move within the angled area at a first movement speed, wherein the first movement speed is less than the second movement speed of the cleaning robot outside the angled area. The specific first movement speed can be customized as needed, or it can be set based on the second movement speed. For example, the first movement speed can be set to half or two-thirds of the second movement speed, etc., and this disclosure does not specifically limit this.

[0061] In an exemplary embodiment, the control method of the cleaning robot may further include:

[0062] When the cleaning robot needs to rotate within the angle area, the cleaning robot is controlled to rotate at a first rotation speed; the first rotation speed is lower than a second rotation speed of the cleaning robot outside the angle area.

[0063] When the cleaning robot moves within the angle area, it can also rotate and move. Considering that when the cleaning robot rotates in an area outside the angle area, most of the time it is to change direction, and in this exemplary embodiment, the angle area is small, when the cleaning robot rotates within the angle area, the purpose is not only to change direction, but also to effectively clean the area involved in the retractable cleaner during the rotation process. Therefore, in order to ensure cleaning efficiency, when the cleaning robot needs to rotate within the angle area, this exemplary embodiment can limit the rotation speed. Specifically, it can be to control the cleaning robot to rotate at a first rotation speed, and the first rotation speed is less than the second rotation speed of the cleaning robot outside the angle area. The settings of the first rotation speed and the second rotation speed can be set according to specific needs. The first rotation speed and the second rotation speed can have a correlation relationship, for example, the first rotation speed is half of the second rotation speed, and the first rotation speed and the second rotation speed may not have a corresponding relationship, etc. This disclosure does not make specific limitations on this.

[0064] In an exemplary embodiment, the control method of the cleaning robot may further include:

[0065] Acquiring a first electrical signal value for controlling the retractable cleaner before issuing a first control instruction; the first control instruction is used to control the cleaning robot to extend the retractable cleaner;

[0066] monitoring a value of a second electrical signal for controlling the retractable cleaning device during extension of the retractable cleaning device;

[0067] If the difference between the second electrical signal value and the first electrical signal value reaches a preset threshold, it is determined that the retractable cleaner has an extension abnormality, and the cleaning robot is controlled to retract the retractable cleaner and extend it again.

[0068] The first control instruction refers to an instruction for controlling the cleaning robot to extend the retractable cleaner. For example, the first control instruction is issued when the cleaning robot is detected entering an angled area. The electrical signal value refers to the current data of the retractable cleaner during the extension and retraction process. The first electrical signal value and the second electrical signal value can be current data corresponding to different timestamps. For example, before issuing the first control instruction, the current value A of the retractable cleaner is recorded, i.e., the first electrical signal value. The process of extending the retractable cleaner can be the entire extension process or a preset time period of the extension process, such as the extension process within 600ms (milliseconds). During this process, the second electrical signal value can be monitored. For example, the current value B is recorded every 20ms within 600ms, and this current value B can be used as the second electrical signal value. By comparing the difference between the second electrical signal value and the first electrical signal value to see if it reaches a threshold, it is determined whether the retractable cleaner has extended abnormally. For example, the formula: second electrical signal value B - first electrical signal value A ≥ k can be used to determine whether the retractable cleaner has extended abnormally. Here, k can be set according to specific circumstances or calculated according to a specific formula. In this exemplary embodiment, k can be set to k = preset parameter / A, where the preset parameter can be set to k = 0.4. When it is determined that the retractable cleaner has an abnormal extension, the cleaner can be controlled to retract the retractable cleaner and perform an operation of extending it again.

[0069] In an exemplary embodiment, the control method of the cleaning robot may further include:

[0070] If the extending of the retractable cleaner is abnormal for M consecutive times, the extending of the retractable cleaner is abandoned.

[0071] In this exemplary embodiment, during the process of extending the retractable cleaner, the second electrical signal value can be monitored to determine whether the retractable cleaner has been extended abnormally, and the retractable cleaner can be repeatedly retracted and extended. To avoid wasted power, if the retractable cleaner is extended abnormally multiple times, the retractable cleaner can be abandoned. For example, the retractable cleaner will not be extended and will be retracted to its original position or a specific position, and the retractable cleaner will be triggered to be extended the next time the retractable scene is entered.

[0072] In an exemplary embodiment, after the retractable cleaner cleans the angled area during movement, the control method of the cleaning robot may further include:

[0073] In response to the retraction condition being met, the cleaning robot is controlled to retract the retractable cleaner.

[0074] When the cleaning robot detects that the retractable cleaner's retraction condition has been met, it can be controlled to retract the retractable cleaner. The retraction condition can be a time condition, such as when the cumulative time since the retractable cleaner was extended reaches a preset time length. The retraction condition can also be a target detection condition, such as when the angled area cannot be detected. The specific retraction condition can be configured according to actual needs, and can be a combination of one or more conditions. The specific implementation can be achieved with the help of specific hardware devices, such as a timer or a laser range sensor.

[0075] In an exemplary embodiment, the control method of the cleaning robot may further include:

[0076] If no reset signal is received within the first preset time period after the second control instruction is issued, it is determined that there is an abnormal retraction of the retractable cleaner, and the cleaning robot is controlled to extend the retractable cleaner and retract it again; the second control instruction is used to control the cleaning robot to retract the retractable cleaner; the reset signal is used to indicate that the retractable cleaner has been retracted to the specified position.

[0077] Among them, the second control instruction refers to the instruction for controlling the retraction of the retractable cleaner, and whether the first preset time is used to judge whether the retractable cleaner is normally retracted. For example, the first preset time can be the longest time or average time of the retractable cleaner retraction process, such as the first preset time can be set to 2s. The reset signal refers to the sensing data used to reflect that the retractable cleaner has returned to the reference position. For example, in the cleaning robot shown in Figure 1, when the retractable cleaner is in position S2, it can be considered as the reset position, corresponding to the reset signal "1", position S1 can be considered as the extended target position, corresponding to the signal "0", and position S3 can be considered as the safety position, corresponding to the signal "0". When the retractable cleaner of the cleaning robot is squeezed or pushed by an obstacle, it can be forced to retract to the safety position. This exemplary embodiment can obtain sensing data by configuring a sensor, such as a Hall sensor, in the cleaning robot to determine the status signal of the retractable cleaner.

[0078] If no reset signal is received within the first preset time period after the second control instruction is issued, it can be considered that the retractable cleaner is currently encountering an obstacle or problem, and there is a retraction abnormality, which makes it unable to retract normally. At this time, the cleaning robot can be controlled to extend the retractable cleaner and perform the retraction operation again to try to solve the abnormal problem in the recovery process.

[0079] In an exemplary embodiment, before controlling the cleaning robot to extend the retractable cleaner and retract it again, the control method of the cleaning robot may further include:

[0080] Control the cleaning robot to rotate to a preset angle.

[0081] Considering that the retractable cleaner of the cleaning robot may be stuck by a certain obstacle, causing it to be unable to retract normally, adjusting the angle of the cleaning robot may be able to remove the obstacle from blocking the retractable cleaner. Therefore, in this exemplary embodiment, when the cleaning robot is unable to retract the retractable cleaner normally, before retracting the retractable cleaner again, the cleaning robot can be controlled to rotate so as to adjust the orientation of the cleaning robot in an attempt to resolve the situation where the retractable cleaner is stuck by an obstacle and cannot be retracted normally. The preset rotation angle and rotation direction can be random or pre-set. For example, when the retractable cleaner device shown in Figure 1 is set, it can be set to rotate to the left at a preset angle of 45° to facilitate the reverse release of the retractable cleaner from being stuck or entangled.

[0082] In an exemplary embodiment, the aforementioned reclaiming conditions may include at least one of the following:

[0083] The cleaning robot leaves the angle area; and the time duration for which the retractable cleaner is extended reaches a second preset time duration.

[0084] In actual applications, the cleaning robot can perform continuous or periodic detection of the surrounding environment through its configured device for target detection or sensor equipment. When it is detected that the cleaning robot has left the angle area, for example, when it is determined by laser ranging that the distance between the robot and the wall corner exceeds the size of the angle area, or when no obstacles such as walls are detected, it can be determined that the retraction condition is met and the retraction operation of the retractable cleaner is executed. In addition, it is also possible to set a retraction condition for the retractable cleaner to be retracted when the time the retractable cleaner is extended reaches a second preset time. The second preset time can be determined based on the historical cleaning time of the angle area, or it can be a pre-set custom time, or it can be the estimated time required to complete the cleaning determined based on the size of the angle area, etc. This disclosure does not make specific restrictions on this.

[0085] FIG5 shows a flow chart of a control method for a retractable cleaner, which may specifically include the following steps:

[0086] Step S502, when the cleaning robot is detected to enter the angle area, the cleaning robot enters the angle area cleaning mode and controls the cleaning robot to extend the retractable cleaning device;

[0087] Step S504, determining whether the retractable cleaner has an abnormal extension;

[0088] Step S506: If there is an extension abnormality, the cleaning robot is controlled to retract the retractable cleaner and extend it again;

[0089] Step S508, determining whether the extension of the retractable cleaner is abnormal for each of the M consecutive times of extension;

[0090] Step S510: If there are any extension anomalies, then the extension of the retractable cleaner is abandoned;

[0091] Step S512: If there is no extension abnormality, the control of the cleaning robot is normally operated;

[0092] Step S514, when the detection meets the retraction condition, the cleaning robot is controlled to retract the retractable cleaner;

[0093] Step S516, determining whether there is any abnormality in the retraction of the retractable cleaner;

[0094] Step S518: If there is a retraction abnormality, the cleaning robot is controlled to extend the retractable cleaner and retract it again;

[0095] Step S520, determining whether there is any abnormality in the retraction of the retractable cleaner;

[0096] Step S522: If the retractable cleaner is retracted again and there is still a retraction abnormality, the cleaning robot is controlled to rotate a preset angle and then retract the retractable cleaner;

[0097] Step S524: If there is no retraction abnormality, the control of the cleaning robot is operated normally.

[0098] Based on the above description, in this exemplary embodiment, in response to detecting that the cleaning robot enters an angled area, the cleaning robot is controlled to extend a retractable cleaner; the angled area is an area determined based on the angle formed by the intersection of two obstacle edges; the cleaning robot is controlled to move within the angled area, and the retractable cleaner is used to clean the angled area during movement. On the one hand, this exemplary embodiment provides a new control method for a cleaning robot, which can control the cleaning robot to extend a retractable cleaner when the cleaning robot enters the angled area, so as to expand the cleaning range of the cleaning robot by extending the retractable cleaner beyond the projection of the cleaning robot body on the horizontal plane, and effectively clean the angled area, which is a special application scenario; on the other hand, this exemplary embodiment can control the cleaning robot to move within the angled area while extending the retractable cleaner, so that the retractable cleaner is coordinated with the moving state of the cleaning robot, thereby improving the cleaning efficiency of the cleaning robot in the angled area.

[0099] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a control device for a cleaning robot is also provided. As shown in FIG6 , the control device 600 for the cleaning robot may include: a cleaner control module 610 for controlling the cleaning robot to extend a retractable cleaner in response to detecting that the cleaning robot enters an angled region; the angled region is determined based on the angle formed by the intersection of two obstacle edges; and a cleaner cleaning module 620 for controlling the cleaning robot to move within the angled region, cleaning the angled region with the retractable cleaner during movement.

[0100] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a cleaner control module includes: an angle detection unit for detecting whether there is an angle formed by the intersection of two obstacle edges in the area to be cleaned, and whether the distance between the cleaning robot and the two obstacle edges is less than the reference size of the cleaning robot.

[0101] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, if the body of the cleaning robot is circular, the reference dimension is the diameter of the body; if the body of the cleaning robot is polygonal, the reference dimension is the length of one side of the body.

[0102] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the angle detection unit is configured to detect whether there is an angle within a preset angle range formed by the intersection of two obstacle edges in the area to be cleaned.

[0103] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a cleaning module of a cleaner includes: a moving speed control unit for controlling the cleaning robot to move at a first moving speed within an angle area; the first moving speed is less than a second moving speed of the cleaning robot outside the angle area.

[0104] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the control device of the cleaning robot also includes: a rotation speed control unit, which is used to control the cleaning robot to rotate at a first rotation speed when the cleaning robot needs to rotate within the angle area; the first rotation speed is less than the second rotation speed of the cleaning robot outside the angle area.

[0105] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the control device of the cleaning robot also includes: a first signal value acquisition unit, used to acquire a first electrical signal value for controlling the retractable cleaner before issuing a first control instruction; the first control instruction is used to control the cleaning robot to extend the retractable cleaner; a second signal value monitoring unit, used to monitor the second electrical signal value for controlling the retractable cleaner during the process of extending the retractable cleaner; a signal value difference judgment unit, used to judge that there is an extension abnormality of the retractable cleaner if the difference between the second electrical signal value and the first electrical signal value reaches a preset threshold value, and control the cleaning robot to retract the retractable cleaner and extend it again.

[0106] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the control device of the cleaning robot further includes: an extension abnormality detection unit, configured to abandon extending the retractable cleaner if an extension abnormality occurs during M consecutive extensions of the retractable cleaner.

[0107] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, after the retractable cleaner cleans the angled area during movement, the control device of the cleaning robot further includes: a retraction condition judgment unit for controlling the cleaning robot to retract the retractable cleaner in response to the retraction condition being met.

[0108] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the control device of the cleaning robot also includes: a reset signal judgment unit, which is used to judge that there is a retraction abnormality in the retractable cleaner if no reset signal is received within a first preset time period after the second control instruction is issued, and control the cleaning robot to extend the retractable cleaner and retract it again; the second control instruction is used to control the cleaning robot to retract the retractable cleaner; the reset signal is used to indicate that the retractable cleaner has been retracted to a specified position.

[0109] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, before controlling the cleaning robot to extend the retractable cleaner and retract it again, the control device of the cleaning robot further includes: an angle rotation control unit for controlling the cleaning robot to rotate a preset angle.

[0110] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the retraction condition includes at least one of the following: the cleaning robot leaves the angle area; the time duration of the extension of the retractable cleaner reaches a second preset time duration.

[0111] The specific details of the control device modules of each of the above-mentioned cleaning robots have been described in detail in the control method of the corresponding cleaning robot, so they will not be repeated here.

[0112] It should be noted that although several modules or units of the device for execution are mentioned in the detailed description above, this division is not mandatory. In fact, according to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the features and functions of two or more modules or units described above can be embodied in one module or unit. Conversely, the features and functions of one module or unit described above can be further divided into multiple modules or units to be embodied.

[0113] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, an electronic device capable of implementing the above method is further provided. For example, the electronic device may be a cleaning robot capable of implementing the above method.

[0114] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various aspects of the present disclosure may be implemented as systems, methods, or program products. Therefore, various aspects of the present disclosure may be implemented in the following forms: a complete hardware implementation, a complete software implementation (including firmware, microcode, etc.), or a combination of hardware and software implementations, which may be collectively referred to herein as "circuits," "modules," or "systems."

[0115] An electronic device 700 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is described below with reference to Figure 7. The electronic device 700 shown in Figure 7 is merely an example and should not limit the functions and scope of use of the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0116] As shown in FIG7 , electronic device 700 is implemented as a general-purpose computing device. Components of electronic device 700 may include, but are not limited to, the aforementioned at least one processing unit 710, the aforementioned at least one storage unit 720, a bus 730 connecting various system components (including storage unit 720 and processing unit 710), and a display unit 740.

[0117] The storage unit stores program code, which can be executed by the processing unit 710, so that the processing unit 710 performs the steps described in the "Exemplary Method" section above according to various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, the processing unit 710 can perform the steps shown in Figure 2, etc.

[0118] The storage unit 720 may include a readable medium in the form of a volatile storage unit, such as a random access memory unit (RAM) 721 and / or a cache memory unit 722 , and may further include a read-only memory unit (ROM) 723 .

[0119] The storage unit 720 may also include a program / utility 724 having a set (at least one) of program modules 725, such program modules 725 including but not limited to: an operating system, one or more application programs, other program modules, and program data, each of which or some combination may include an implementation of a network environment.

[0120] Bus 730 may represent one or more of several types of bus structures, including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, an accelerated graphics port, a processing unit, or a local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures.

[0121] The electronic device 700 can also communicate with one or more external devices 800 (e.g., a keyboard, a pointing device, a Bluetooth device, etc.), one or more devices that enable a user to interact with the electronic device 700, and / or any device that enables the electronic device 700 to communicate with one or more other computing devices (e.g., a router, a modem, etc.). Such communication can occur via an input / output (I / O) interface 750. Furthermore, the electronic device 700 can communicate with one or more networks (e.g., a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), and / or a public network such as the Internet) via a network adapter 760. As shown, the network adapter 760 communicates with other modules of the electronic device 700 via a bus 730. It should be understood that, although not shown in the figure, other hardware and / or software modules can be used in conjunction with the electronic device 700, including but not limited to microcode, device drivers, redundant processing units, external disk drive arrays, RAID systems, tape drives, and data backup storage systems.

[0122] Through the description of the above embodiments, it is easy for those skilled in the art to understand that the example embodiments described herein can be implemented by software or by combining software with necessary hardware. Therefore, the technical solution according to the embodiments of the present disclosure can be embodied in the form of a software product, which can be stored in a non-volatile storage medium (which can be a CD-ROM, a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, etc.) or on a network, and includes several instructions to enable a computing device (which can be a personal computer, a server, a terminal device, or a network device, etc.) to execute the method according to the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0123] In exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium is also provided, on which is stored a program product capable of implementing the aforementioned methods of this specification. In some possible implementations, various aspects of the present disclosure may also be implemented in the form of a program product comprising program code. When the program product is executed on a terminal device, the program code is configured to cause the terminal device to execute the steps described in the "Exemplary Methods" section of this specification according to various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0124] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a program product for implementing the above-mentioned method can be a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) and include program code, and can be run on a terminal device, such as a personal computer. However, the program product of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In this document, a readable storage medium can be any tangible medium containing or storing a program, which can be used by or in conjunction with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

[0125] The program product may be implemented in any combination of one or more readable media. The readable medium may be a readable signal medium or a readable storage medium. The readable storage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electrical, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, device, or component, or any combination thereof. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of readable storage media include: an electrical connection with one or more wires, a portable disk, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination thereof.

[0126] A computer-readable signal medium may include a data signal propagated in baseband or as part of a carrier wave, which carries readable program code. Such propagated data signals may take a variety of forms, including but not limited to electromagnetic signals, optical signals, or any suitable combination thereof. A readable signal medium may also be any readable medium other than a readable storage medium that can transmit, propagate, or transfer a program for use by or in conjunction with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

[0127] The program code embodied on the readable medium may be transmitted using any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless, wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0128] The program code for performing the operations of the present disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including object-oriented programming languages ​​such as Java, C++, and the like, as well as conventional procedural programming languages ​​such as "C" or similar programming languages. The program code may be executed entirely on the user computing device, partially on the user device, as a stand-alone software package, partially on the user computing device and partially on a remote computing device, or entirely on a remote computing device or server. In cases involving a remote computing device, the remote computing device may be connected to the user computing device via any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or may be connected to an external computing device (e.g., via the Internet using an Internet service provider).

[0129] Furthermore, the figures above are merely illustrative of the processes included in the methods according to exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure and are not intended to be limiting. It is readily understood that the processes illustrated in the figures above do not indicate or limit the temporal order of these processes. Furthermore, it is readily understood that these processes may be executed synchronously or asynchronously, for example, in multiple modules.

[0130] Other embodiments of the present disclosure will readily occur to those skilled in the art after considering the specification and practicing the invention disclosed herein. This application is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the present disclosure that follow from the general principles of the present disclosure and include common knowledge or customary techniques in the art not disclosed herein. The description and examples are to be considered as exemplary only, with the true scope and spirit of the present disclosure being indicated by the claims.

[0131] It should be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the exact structures that have been described above and shown in the drawings, and that various modifications and changes may be made without departing from the scope thereof. The scope of the present disclosure is limited only by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A control method for a cleaning robot, wherein the cleaning robot includes a retractable cleaner, and a first projection of the retractable cleaner on a horizontal plane when extended is at least partially outside a second projection of the body of the cleaning robot on the horizontal plane; the method includes: Controlling the cleaning robot to extend the retractable cleaner in response to detecting that the cleaning robot enters an included angle area; The included angle area is an area determined based on an included angle formed by the intersection of two obstacle edges; Controlling the cleaning robot to move within the included angle area, and cleaning the included angle area with the retractable cleaner during the movement.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein, Controlling the cleaning robot to extend the retractable cleaner in response to detecting that the cleaning robot enters an included angle area, includes: Controlling the cleaning robot to extend the retractable cleaner in response to detecting that there is an included angle formed by the intersection of two obstacle edges in the area to be cleaned, and the distances between the cleaning robot and the two obstacle edges are both less than the reference size of the cleaning robot.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein The body of the cleaning robot is circular, and the reference size is the diameter of the body; or the body of the cleaning robot is polygonal, and the reference size is the length of one side of the body.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein The included angle formed by the intersection of the two obstacle edges is an included angle within a preset angle range.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The controlling the cleaning robot to move within the included angle area includes: Controlling the cleaning robot to move within the included angle area at a first moving speed; the first moving speed is less than a second moving speed of the cleaning robot outside the included angle area.

6. The method according to claim 1, further includes: Controlling the cleaning robot to rotate at a first rotation speed in response to determining that the cleaning robot needs to rotate within the included angle area; The first rotation speed is less than a second rotation speed of the cleaning robot outside the included angle area.

7. The method according to claim 1, further includes: Obtaining a first electrical signal value for controlling the retractable cleaner before sending a first control instruction; The first control instruction is used to control the cleaning robot to extend the retractable cleaner; Monitoring a second electrical signal value for controlling the retractable cleaner during the process of extending the retractable cleaner; In response to determining that the difference between the second electrical signal value and the first electrical signal value reaches a preset threshold, determining that there is an abnormal extension of the retractable cleaner, and controlling the cleaning robot to retract the retractable cleaner and extend it again.

8. The method according to claim 7, further includes: Giving up extending the retractable cleaner in response to determining that there is an abnormal extension of the retractable cleaner for M consecutive times.

9. The method according to claim 1, further includes: Controlling the cleaning robot to retract the retractable cleaner in response to meeting a retraction condition.

10. The method according to claim 9, further includes: In response to determining that a reset signal has not been received within a first preset duration after the second control instruction is issued, it is determined that there is an abnormal retraction of the retractable cleaner, and the cleaning robot is controlled to extend and then retract the retractable cleaner again; the second control instruction is used to control the cleaning robot to retract the retractable cleaner; the reset signal is used to indicate that the retractable cleaner has been retracted to a specified position.

11. The method according to claim 10, further comprising: Controlling the cleaning robot to rotate a preset angle.

12. The method according to claim 10, wherein, The retraction condition includes at least one of the following: the cleaning robot leaves the included angle area; the duration for which the retractable cleaner extends reaches a second preset duration.

13. A control device for a cleaning robot, wherein, The cleaning robot includes a retractable cleaner, and a first projection of the retractable cleaner on a horizontal plane when extended is at least partially outside a second projection of the body of the cleaning robot on the horizontal plane; the device includes: A cleaner control module, configured to control the cleaning robot to extend the retractable cleaner in response to detecting that the cleaning robot enters an included angle area; the included angle area is an area determined based on an included angle formed by the intersection of two obstacle edges; A cleaner cleaning module, configured to control the cleaning robot to move within the included angle area and clean the included angle area through the retractable cleaner during the movement.

14. A computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, wherein, When the computer program is executed by a processor, it implements the control method of the cleaning robot according to any one of claims 1 to 12.

15. An electronic device, comprising: A processor; And A memory for storing executable instructions of the processor; Wherein, the processor is configured to execute the control method of the cleaning robot according to any one of claims 1 to 12 by executing the executable instructions.

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