Swimming pool cleaning robot control method and system, and medium

Abstract

A swimming pool cleaning robot control method. The swimming pool cleaning robot control method is applied to a swimming pool cleaning robot, wherein a hydrophone for detecting a recall signal is mounted on the swimming pool cleaning robot. The swimming pool cleaning robot control method comprises the following steps: when a swimming pool cleaning robot executes a cleaning task, detecting a recall signal in real time by means of a hydrophone (S10); and when the recall signal is detected by the hydrophone, interrupting the cleaning task, and executing a recall operation on the basis of a preset edge alignment strategy to advance towards a pool wall of a swimming pool (S20).

Description

A control method, system and medium for a swimming pool cleaning robot Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of robotics, and in particular to a control method, system, and medium for a swimming pool cleaning robot. Background Technology

[0002] Swimming pool robots are consumer-grade robots used to clean swimming pools. Their function is similar to that of a robotic vacuum cleaner. However, unlike robotic vacuum cleaners, swimming pool cleaning robots are used underwater and need to work in the swimming pool. Swimming pool cleaning has always had a pain point: manual cleaning is tedious and time-consuming. As a result, the industry has begun to widely use robots for swimming pool cleaning.

[0003] Most current swimming pool cleaning robots rely on hooks to lift them out of the pool after completing their cleaning task or when the cleaning process needs to be interrupted. However, often the hooked poles used by people standing on the edge of the pool are not long enough, or the poles are too long to provide sufficient force to lift the robot. Only a few models can move to the edge of the pool on their own after completing their cleaning task, but even then, the task is still forcibly interrupted by the hook.

[0004] Summary of the Invention

[0005] The main objective of this invention is to propose a control method, system, and medium for a swimming pool cleaning robot, which aims to enable the swimming pool cleaning robot to automatically move to the edge of the pool, thereby improving work efficiency and user experience.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides a control method for a swimming pool cleaning robot. The control method is applied to a swimming pool cleaning robot equipped with a hydrophone for listening for recall signals. The control method includes the following steps:

[0007] Step S10: When the swimming pool cleaning robot is performing a cleaning task, the hydrophone is used to listen for the recall signal in real time.

[0008] In step S20, when the hydrophone detects the recall signal, the cleaning task is interrupted, and a recall operation is performed according to the preset side-keeping strategy, moving towards the pool wall.

[0009] A further technical solution of the present invention is that step S20 includes:

[0010] Step S201: When the hydrophone detects the recall signal, the cleaning task is interrupted, and the direction of the signal source is determined based on the signal strength of the recall signal.

[0011] Step S202: Control the swimming pool cleaning robot to move towards the direction of the signal source and stop at the pool wall.

[0012] A further technical solution of the present invention is that step S201 includes:

[0013] The direction of the strongest recall signal is obtained by using the multipath effect and fading principle, the cleaning task is interrupted, and the direction of the signal source is obtained based on the direction of the strongest recall signal.

[0014] A further technical solution of the present invention is that step S202 includes:

[0015] Step S203: If the recall signal is lost while the swimming pool cleaning robot is moving toward the direction of the signal source, it will search for the recall signal in place.

[0016] If the recall signal is detected again within the first preset time period, then return to the execution of step S201;

[0017] If no recall signal is detected within the first preset time period, step S204 is executed to perform the cleaning task, and the recall signal is no longer listened for within the second preset time period.

[0018] A further technical solution of the present invention is that the method further includes:

[0019] Step S101: If the hydrophone does not detect a recall signal, the cleaning task continues.

[0020] A further technical solution of the present invention is that, after step S202, the following is included:

[0021] When the swimming pool cleaning robot reaches the pool wall, it is controlled to climb the pool wall and surface.

[0022] A further technical solution of the present invention is that step S20 includes:

[0023] When the hydrophone detects a recall signal, it controls the swimming pool cleaning robot to move forward in the current direction of motion until it reaches the pool wall.

[0024] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention also proposes a swimming pool cleaning robot control system. The swimming pool cleaning robot is equipped with a hydrophone for listening for recall signals. The system includes a memory, a processor, and a swimming pool cleaning robot control program stored on the processor. When the processor runs the swimming pool cleaning robot control program, it executes the following steps:

[0025] While the swimming pool cleaning robot is performing cleaning tasks, the hydrophone listens for recall signals in real time.

[0026] When the hydrophone detects a recall signal, the cleaning task is interrupted, and the device moves toward the pool wall according to a pre-set side-keeping strategy.

[0027] A further technical solution of the present invention is that, when the swimming pool cleaning robot control program is run by the processor, it also performs the following steps:

[0028] When the hydrophone detects a recall signal, the cleaning task is interrupted, and the direction of the signal source is determined based on the signal strength of the recall signal.

[0029] Control the swimming pool cleaning robot to move towards the direction of the signal source and stop at the pool wall.

[0030] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a swimming pool cleaning robot control program, which, when run by a processor, performs the steps of the method described above.

[0031] The beneficial effects of the swimming pool cleaning robot control method, system, and medium of this invention are:

[0032] The present invention, through the above technical solution, uses a hydrophone to listen for recall signals in real time; when the hydrophone detects a recall signal, it executes a recall operation according to a pre-set side-keeping strategy, moving towards the pool wall, which can realize the automatic side-keeping of the swimming pool cleaning robot, improving work efficiency and user experience. Attached Figure Description

[0033] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on the structures shown in these drawings without creative effort.

[0034] Figure 1 is a flowchart illustrating the first embodiment of the control method for a swimming pool cleaning robot of the present invention.

[0035] Figure 2 is a flowchart illustrating the second embodiment of the control method for the swimming pool cleaning robot of the present invention.

[0036] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the signal multipath fading effect;

[0037] Figure 4 is a flowchart illustrating the third embodiment of the control method for the swimming pool cleaning robot of the present invention.

[0038] Figure 5 is a flowchart illustrating the fourth embodiment of the control method for the swimming pool cleaning robot of the present invention.

[0039] The realization of the objective, functional features and advantages of the present invention will be further explained in conjunction with the embodiments and with reference to the accompanying drawings. Detailed Implementation

[0040] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, and not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0041] This invention proposes a control method for a swimming pool cleaning robot. The control method is applied to a swimming pool cleaning robot, which is equipped with a hydrophone for listening for recall signals. The hydrophone can be installed in the forward direction of the swimming pool cleaning robot.

[0042] The technical solution adopted in this invention mainly involves using a hydrophone to detect a call-back signal transmitted by the user at the edge of the swimming pool via a signal transmitter. When the hydrophone detects the call-back signal, it moves towards the pool wall according to a pre-set edge-keeping strategy. The call-back signal can be, for example, an LFM (linear frequency modulation) signal or a coded signal transmitted by the user via a signal transmitter.

[0043] Specifically, referring to Figure 1, the first embodiment of the swimming pool cleaning robot control method of the present invention includes the following steps:

[0044] Step S10: When the swimming pool cleaning robot is performing a cleaning task, the hydrophone is used to listen for the recall signal in real time.

[0045] The signal source of the recall signal can be an LFM linear frequency modulation signal or a coded signal transmitted by the user through a signal transmitter at the edge of the swimming pool.

[0046] In step S20, when the hydrophone detects the recall signal, the cleaning task is interrupted, and the device moves toward the pool wall according to a pre-set side-keeping strategy.

[0047] The strategy of moving to the side can be to control the swimming pool cleaning robot to move forward in the current direction of movement until it reaches the pool wall; or to determine the direction of the signal source based on the signal strength of the recall signal, and control the swimming pool cleaning robot to move in the direction of the signal source and stop at the pool wall.

[0048] This embodiment utilizes the above-described technical solution to monitor the recall signal in real time using the hydrophone. When the hydrophone detects the recall signal, the robot moves towards the pool wall according to a pre-set side-keeping strategy, enabling the swimming pool cleaning robot to automatically move to the side, thereby improving work efficiency and user experience.

[0049] Based on the first embodiment shown in Figure 1, a second embodiment of the control method for the swimming pool cleaning robot of the present invention is proposed.

[0050] Please refer to Figure 2. In this embodiment, step S20 includes:

[0051] Step S201: When the hydrophone detects the recall signal, the cleaning task is interrupted, and the direction of the signal source is determined based on the signal strength of the recall signal.

[0052] Specifically, this embodiment uses the multipath effect and fading principle to obtain the direction of the strongest recall signal, interrupts the cleaning task, and obtains the direction of the signal source based on the direction of the strongest recall signal.

[0053] In this embodiment, a hydrophone is installed in the forward direction of the swimming pool cleaning robot to listen for the recall signal. Due to the multipath effect, even if the swimming pool cleaning robot is facing a direction that is not the signal source, it can still detect the recall signal. The only difference is that its signal power is not as high as that of the hydrophone when it is facing the direction of the signal source.

[0054] As shown in Figure 3, A is the recall signal source, and B is a swimming pool cleaning robot equipped with a hydrophone. The signal propagation paths are simplified as four cases ①②③④ in the figure. Among them, path ① is the shortest distance, and path ④ is the longest distance. According to the fading principle of multipath propagation, the signal travels the shortest distance to the swimming pool cleaning robot through path ①, with the least fading and the most retained signal power, thus the signal power is the strongest. When the signal travels the longest distance to the swimming pool cleaning robot through path ④, the signal propagation distance is the greatest, with the greatest fading, thus the least retained power and the weakest signal power.

[0055] Step S202: Control the swimming pool cleaning robot to move towards the direction of the signal source and stop at the pool wall.

[0056] Once the direction of the signal source is determined, the swimming pool cleaning robot can be controlled to move in that direction and stop at the pool wall. When the swimming pool cleaning robot moves along the direction of the strongest signal and reaches the pool wall, it is considered that the swimming pool cleaning robot has reached the location of the recall signal source, at which point it can stop working and wait to be retrieved.

[0057] While the swimming pool cleaning robot is moving toward the direction of the signal source, it can continue to perform the swimming pool cleaning task or interrupt the task.

[0058] Furthermore, based on the second embodiment shown in Figure 2, a third embodiment of the swimming pool cleaning robot control method of the present invention is proposed, as shown in Figure 4. In this embodiment, step S202 includes:

[0059] Step S203: If the recall signal is lost while the swimming pool cleaning robot is moving in the direction of the signal source, it will search for the recall signal in place.

[0060] It is understood that in this embodiment, the signal transmitter can periodically transmit signals to the swimming pool cleaning robot, for example, by transmitting a recall signal every minute. The duration of this period can be set based on practical experience. In this embodiment, a lost recall signal means that the hydrophone does not receive the recall signal transmitted by the signal transmitter within the period or for a preset duration exceeding the period.

[0061] In this embodiment, if the swimming pool cleaning robot loses the recall signal while moving towards the direction of the signal source, it will search for the recall signal in place until the recall signal is found, or until the number of failed searches reaches N times, or until the duration of failed searches for the recall signal reaches a first preset duration, and then continue to perform the cleaning task. The first preset duration can also be set according to actual experience.

[0062] If the recall signal is detected again within the first preset time period, then return to the execution of step S201.

[0063] In this embodiment, if the hydrophone detects the recall signal again within the first preset time period, it returns to step S201 to determine the direction of the signal source based on the signal strength of the recall signal.

[0064] If no recall signal is detected within the first preset time period, step S204 is executed to perform the cleaning task, and the recall signal is no longer listened for within the second preset time period.

[0065] In this embodiment, if the hydrophone does not detect a recall signal within a second preset time period, it continues to perform the cleaning task and does not listen for the recall signal again within the second preset time period. This can reduce the energy consumption of the underwater robot. The second preset time period can be set according to actual experience, such as 1 minute. This embodiment does not limit this.

[0066] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the method further includes:

[0067] If the hydrophone does not detect a recall signal, the cleaning task continues.

[0068] Following step S202, the following is also included:

[0069] When the swimming pool cleaning robot reaches the pool wall, it is controlled to climb the pool wall and surface.

[0070] This embodiment uses a hydrophone to listen for the recall signal. When the recall signal is detected, the cleaning task is interrupted or not, and the signal power is calculated. The swimming pool cleaning robot is then directed to stop in the direction with the strongest signal power. Due to the multipath fading effect of the signal, we know that the signal power is strongest when the signal propagation path between the recall signal source and the swimming pool cleaning robot is shortest. Therefore, when the strongest signal power is detected in a certain direction, that direction is often the direction of the recall signal source (as shown in ① in Figure 3). Thus, the swimming pool cleaning robot can reach the location of the recall signal source by traveling in that direction. In this embodiment, if the swimming pool cleaning robot has functions such as climbing walls or surfacing, it can be made to climb walls or surface after reaching the target location, making it easier to lift.

[0071] This embodiment utilizes the above-described technical solution to monitor the recall signal in real time using the hydrophone. When the hydrophone detects the recall signal, it determines the direction of the signal source based on the signal strength. It then controls the swimming pool cleaning robot to move towards the direction of the signal source and stop at the pool wall. This allows the swimming pool cleaning robot to immediately find the nearest pool wall and automatically move to the edge based on the strength of the recall signal, improving work efficiency and user experience.

[0072] Based on the first embodiment shown in Figure 1, a fourth embodiment of the swimming pool cleaning robot control method of the present invention is proposed.

[0073] As shown in Figure 5, in this embodiment, step S20 of the swimming pool cleaning robot control method includes:

[0074] Step S205: When the hydrophone detects the recall signal, control the swimming pool cleaning robot to move forward in the current direction of movement until it reaches the pool wall.

[0075] In this embodiment, when the hydrophone detects a call-back signal, the power of the call-back signal can be disregarded according to actual needs, and the swimming pool cleaning robot can be controlled to move directly in the current direction of motion until it reaches the pool wall, thus enabling the swimming pool cleaning robot to automatically move to the side.

[0076] The beneficial effects of the swimming pool cleaning robot control method of the present invention are:

[0077] The present invention, through the above technical solution, uses a hydrophone to listen for recall signals in real time; when the hydrophone detects a recall signal, it executes a recall operation according to a pre-set side-keeping strategy, moving towards the pool wall, which can realize the automatic side-keeping of the swimming pool cleaning robot, improving work efficiency and user experience.

[0078] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention also proposes a swimming pool cleaning robot control system. The swimming pool cleaning robot is equipped with a hydrophone for listening for recall signals. The system includes a memory, a processor, and a swimming pool cleaning robot control program stored on the processor. When the processor runs the swimming pool cleaning robot control program, it executes the following steps:

[0079] While the swimming pool cleaning robot is performing cleaning tasks, the hydrophone listens for recall signals in real time.

[0080] When the hydrophone detects a recall signal, the cleaning task is interrupted, and the device moves toward the pool wall according to a pre-set side-keeping strategy.

[0081] When the swimming pool cleaning robot control program is run by the processor, it also performs the following steps:

[0082] When the hydrophone detects a recall signal, the cleaning task is interrupted, and the direction of the signal source is determined based on the signal strength of the recall signal.

[0083] Control the swimming pool cleaning robot to move towards the direction of the signal source and stop at the pool wall.

[0084] The beneficial effects of the swimming pool cleaning robot control system of the present invention are:

[0085] The present invention, through the above technical solution, uses a hydrophone to listen for recall signals in real time; when the hydrophone detects a recall signal, it executes a recall operation according to a pre-set side-keeping strategy, moving towards the pool wall, which can realize the automatic side-keeping of the swimming pool cleaning robot, improving work efficiency and user experience.

[0086] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention also proposes a computer-readable storage medium storing a swimming pool cleaning robot control program, which, when run by a processor, executes the steps of the method described above, which will not be repeated here.

[0087] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention and does not limit the patent scope of the present invention. All equivalent structural transformations made under the concept of the present invention using the contents of the present invention specification and drawings, or direct / indirect applications in other related technical fields, are included within the patent protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A control method for a swimming pool cleaning robot, characterized in that, The swimming pool cleaning robot control method is applied to a swimming pool cleaning robot, which is equipped with a hydrophone for listening for recall signals. The swimming pool cleaning robot control method includes the following steps: Step S10: When the swimming pool cleaning robot is performing a cleaning task, the hydrophone is used to listen for the recall signal in real time. In step S20, when the hydrophone detects the recall signal, the cleaning task is interrupted, and a recall operation is performed according to the preset side-keeping strategy, moving towards the pool wall.

2. The swimming pool cleaning robot control method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Step S20 further includes: Step S201: When the hydrophone detects the recall signal, the cleaning task is interrupted, and the direction of the signal source is determined based on the signal strength of the recall signal. Step S202: Control the swimming pool cleaning robot to move towards the direction of the signal source and stop at the pool wall.

3. The swimming pool cleaning robot control method according to claim 2, characterized in that, Step S201 includes: The direction of the strongest recall signal is obtained by using the multipath effect and fading principle, the cleaning task is interrupted, and the direction of the signal source is obtained based on the direction of the strongest recall signal.

4. The swimming pool cleaning robot control method according to claim 3, characterized in that, Step S202 includes: Step S203: If the recall signal is lost while the swimming pool cleaning robot is moving toward the direction of the signal source, it will search for the recall signal in place. If the recall signal is detected again within the first preset time period, then return to the execution of step S201; If no recall signal is detected within the first preset time period, step S204 is executed to perform the cleaning task, and the recall signal is no longer listened for within the second preset time period.

5. The swimming pool cleaning robot control method according to claim 4, characterized in that, The method further includes: Step S101: If the hydrophone does not detect a recall signal, the cleaning task continues.

6. The swimming pool cleaning robot control method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Following step S202: When the swimming pool cleaning robot reaches the pool wall, it is controlled to climb the pool wall and surface.

7. The swimming pool cleaning robot control method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Step S20 includes: Step S205: When the hydrophone detects the recall signal, control the swimming pool cleaning robot to move forward in the current direction of movement until it reaches the pool wall.

8. A control system for a swimming pool cleaning robot, characterized in that, The swimming pool cleaning robot is equipped with a hydrophone for listening for recall signals. The system includes a memory, a processor, and a swimming pool cleaning robot control program stored on the processor. The swimming pool cleaning robot control program is executed by the processor to perform the following steps: While the swimming pool cleaning robot is performing cleaning tasks, the hydrophone listens for recall signals in real time. When the hydrophone detects a recall signal, the cleaning task is interrupted, and the device moves toward the pool wall according to a pre-set side-keeping strategy.

9. The swimming pool cleaning robot control system according to claim 8, characterized in that, When the swimming pool cleaning robot control program is run by the processor, it also performs the following steps: When the hydrophone detects a recall signal, the cleaning task is interrupted, and the direction of the signal source is determined based on the signal strength of the recall signal. Control the swimming pool cleaning robot to move towards the direction of the signal source and stop at the pool wall.

10. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium stores a swimming pool cleaning robot control program, which, when executed by a processor, performs the steps of the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 7.

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