Control method and apparatus for cleaning device, and program product, medium and cleaning device

Abstract

Disclosed are a control method and apparatus for a cleaning device, and a program product, a medium and a cleaning device. The method comprises: acquiring current pose features of a cleaning device; on the basis of the current pose features of the cleaning device, determining a cliff determination threshold value, wherein the cliff determination threshold value is a critical height value for triggering the cleaning device to execute a cliff avoidance action; and on the basis of the cliff determination threshold value, determining whether to trigger the cleaning device to execute the cliff avoidance action.

Description

Cleaning device control method, apparatus, program product, medium, and cleaning device

[0001] Cross-reference to Related Applications

[0002] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202410851481.0, filed on June 27, 2024, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] The present application belongs to the technical field of cleaning device control, and particularly relates to a cleaning device control method, apparatus, program product, medium, and cleaning device. BACKGROUND

[0004] In some cleaning devices (such as a sweeping robot, a mopping robot), a sensor (such as a time of flight (TOF) sensor) for identifying low ground with a large height difference (referred to as a cliff by those skilled in the art, such as a step) is generally installed. In the process of the cleaning device performing a ground cleaning task, in the prior art, whether a cliff exists in the ground traveled by the cleaning device is generally pre-judged based on a comparison between ground height data collected by the sensor and a pre-set fixed threshold value, and if a cliff exists, the cleaning device will take a cliff avoidance action to avoid its body falling into the cliff and being trapped. However, in actual application, the prior art sometimes identifies a low ground that can actually be passed as a cliff and triggers a cliff avoidance action, thereby causing the cleaning device to miss a cleaning area and affecting user experience. Therefore, how to improve the accuracy of cliff identification by the cleaning device is a technical problem to be solved.

[0005] SUMMARY

[0006] Embodiments of the present application provide a cleaning device control method, apparatus, computer program product, computer readable storage medium, and cleaning device, thereby at least to some extent improving the accuracy of cliff identification by the cleaning device.

[0007] Other characteristics and advantages of the present application will become apparent from the following detailed description, or will be learned by practice of the present application.

[0008] According to a first aspect of embodiments of the present application, a cleaning device control method is provided, the method comprising: obtaining a current attitude feature of a cleaning device; determining a cliff determination threshold value according to the current attitude feature of the cleaning device, the cliff determination threshold value being a critical height value triggering a cliff avoidance action performed by the cleaning device; determining whether to trigger the cleaning device to perform a cliff avoidance action based on the cliff determination threshold value.

[0009] In some embodiments of the present application, based on the foregoing scheme, the determining the cliff determination threshold according to the current attitude feature of the cleaning device comprises: if the current attitude feature is a body attitude of the cleaning device in a lifted state, determining the cliff determination threshold as a first cliff determination threshold; and if the current attitude feature is a body attitude of the cleaning device in a non-lifted state with a lifted head, determining the cliff determination threshold as a second cliff determination threshold, wherein the second cliff determination threshold is lower than the first cliff determination threshold.

[0010] In some embodiments of the present application, based on the foregoing scheme, the determining the cliff determination threshold according to the current attitude feature of the cleaning device further comprises: if the current attitude feature is a body attitude of the cleaning device in a non-lifted state without a lifted head and without a lowered head, determining the cliff determination threshold as a third cliff determination threshold, wherein the third cliff determination threshold is lower than the second cliff determination threshold.

[0011] In some embodiments of the present application, based on the foregoing scheme, the determining the cliff determination threshold according to the current attitude feature of the cleaning device further comprises: if the current attitude feature is a body attitude of the cleaning device with a lowered head, determining the cliff determination threshold as a fourth cliff determination threshold, wherein the fourth cliff determination threshold is lower than the third cliff determination threshold.

[0012] In some embodiments of the present application, based on the foregoing scheme, the current attitude feature comprises a height value of a first reference position on the cleaning device to a reference plane, and the reference plane is a horizontal driving ground of the cleaning device, and the determining the cliff determination threshold according to the current attitude feature of the cleaning device comprises: determining the cliff determination threshold according to the height value of the first reference position to the reference plane, and the cliff determination threshold is positively correlated with the height value of the first reference position to the reference plane.

[0013] In some embodiments of the present application, based on the foregoing scheme, the current attitude feature comprises a body lifting height and / or a body pitch angle of the cleaning device, and the determining the cliff determination threshold according to the current attitude feature of the cleaning device comprises: determining the cliff determination threshold according to the body lifting height and / or the body pitch angle, and the cliff determination threshold is positively correlated with the body lifting height and / or the cliff determination threshold is positively correlated with the body pitch angle.

[0014] In some embodiments of the present application, based on the foregoing scheme, determining whether to trigger the cleaning device to perform a cliff avoidance action based on the cliff determination threshold value includes: obtaining a height value of a second reference position on the cleaning device to a target ground area, the target ground area being a preset ground area in front of the cleaning device during travel. If the height value of the second reference position to the target ground area is greater than or equal to the cliff determination threshold value, the cleaning device is triggered to perform a cliff avoidance action.

[0015] According to a second aspect of embodiments of the present application, a cleaning device control apparatus is provided, the apparatus comprising: an obtaining unit configured to obtain a current attitude feature of a cleaning device; a determining unit configured to determine a cliff determination threshold value based on the current attitude feature of the cleaning device, the cliff determination threshold value being a critical height value for triggering the cleaning device to perform a cliff avoidance action; and a determining unit configured to determine whether to trigger the cleaning device to perform a cliff avoidance action based on the cliff determination threshold value.

[0016] According to a third aspect of embodiments of the present application, a computer program product is provided, the computer program product comprising computer instructions stored in a computer readable storage medium and adapted to be read and executed by a processor, so that a computer device having the processor performs operations to achieve the operations performed by the method according to any one of the first aspect.

[0017] According to a fourth aspect of embodiments of the present application, a computer readable storage medium is provided, the computer readable storage medium storing at least one computer program instruction, the at least one computer program instruction being loaded and executed by a processor to achieve the operations performed by the method according to any one of the first aspect.

[0018] According to a fifth aspect of embodiments of the present application, a cleaning device is provided, the cleaning device comprising one or more processors and one or more memories, the one or more memories storing at least one computer program instruction, the at least one computer program instruction being loaded and executed by the one or more processors to achieve the operations performed by the method according to any one of the first aspect.

[0019] Based on the technical scheme provided in the present application, the cliff determination threshold is determined according to the current attitude feature of the cleaning device, and the current attitude feature of the cleaning device is different, that is, the determined cliff determination threshold is also different. Compared with setting the cliff determination threshold as a fixed value, the cliff determination threshold is adjusted by the current attitude feature of the cleaning device, the cleaning device in different body attitudes can determine the cliff determination threshold with different sensitivities, so that when determining whether to trigger the cleaning device to perform a cliff avoidance action based on the cliff determination threshold, the cleaning device can avoid identifying a low ground that cannot be passed as a non-cliff and not performing a cliff avoidance action to a certain extent, and can also avoid identifying a low ground that can be passed as a cliff and performing a cliff avoidance action, thereby improving the accuracy of cliff identification of the cleaning device.

[0020] It should be understood that the above general description and the following detailed description are only exemplary and explanatory, and cannot limit the present application. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0021] The drawings incorporated into the specification and forming part of the specification, show embodiments consistent with the present application, and together with the specification, serve to explain the principles of the present application. It is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present application, and other drawings can be obtained from these drawings without creative labor for those skilled in the art. In the drawings:

[0022] FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a cleaning device to which embodiments of the present application can be applied;

[0023] FIG. 2 shows a flowchart of a cleaning device control method in an embodiment of the present application;

[0024] FIG. 3 shows an attitude schematic diagram of a cleaning device to which embodiments of the present application can be applied;

[0025] FIG. 4 shows an attitude schematic diagram of a cleaning device to which embodiments of the present application can be applied;

[0026] FIG. 5 shows an attitude schematic diagram of a cleaning device to which embodiments of the present application can be applied;

[0027] FIG. 6 shows an attitude schematic diagram of a cleaning device to which embodiments of the present application can be applied;

[0028] FIG. 7 shows a flowchart of a control method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0029] FIG. 8 shows a block diagram of a cleaning device control apparatus in an embodiment of the present application;

[0030] FIG. 9 shows a structural schematic diagram of a cleaning device in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described in combination with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative work belong to the scope of protection of the present application.

[0032] In addition, the described features, structures or characteristics can be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. In the following description, many specific details are provided to give a full understanding of the embodiments of the present application. However, those skilled in the art will realize that the technical solutions of the present application can be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or other methods, components, devices, steps, etc. can be used. In other cases, well-known methods, devices, implementations or operations are not shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring the aspects of the present application.

[0033] The block diagrams shown in the drawings are only functional entities, which do not necessarily correspond to physically independent entities. That is, these functional entities can be implemented in the form of software, or in one or more hardware modules or integrated circuits, or in different networks and / or processor devices and / or microcontroller devices. It should be noted that in the drawings, in order to ensure the simplicity of the drawings, some components in the drawings are omitted, which do not affect the explanation of the technical solutions of the present application.

[0034] The flowcharts shown in the drawings are only exemplary illustrations, which do not necessarily include all contents and operations / steps, and are not necessarily executed in the order described. For example, some operations / steps can be further divided, and some operations / steps can be combined or partially combined, so that the actual execution order can be changed according to the actual situation.

[0035] In the description of the present application, it should be understood that the terms "first", "second" are only for the purpose of description, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features. Therefore, the features limited by "first", "second" can explicitly or implicitly include one or more features. In the description of the present application, unless otherwise specified, the meaning of "multiple" is two or more.

[0036] In order for those skilled in the art to better understand the cleaning device related to the present application, the cleaning device related to the present application will be briefly described in an embodiment in combination with FIG. 1.

[0037] Referring to FIG. 1, a schematic diagram of a cleaning device to which embodiments of the present application can be applied is shown.

[0038] In the present application, the cleaning device 101 as shown in FIG. 1 can be a sweeping machine, a mopping machine, or a sweeping and mopping integrated machine. In the process of performing a cleaning task, it generally cleans the ground according to a planned cleaning path. However, in some scenarios, the cleaning device may encounter a low ground similar to a step (i.e., the cliff defined in the present application). In order to avoid the cleaning device falling into the cliff and being trapped, if the cleaning device detects that the height of the low ground exceeds the cliff determination threshold, the cleaning device generally determines it as a cliff and performs a cliff avoidance action, such as choosing to detour. However, if a low ground with a small height difference is encountered, the cleaning device can pass through, and thus does not need to perform a cliff avoidance action. Therefore, accurately identifying a cliff is very important for the cleaning device.

[0039] In the present application, a ranging sensor 102 such as a time of flight (TOF) sensor as shown in FIG. 1 can be installed in the cleaning device, which can detect the height data of the cleaning device relative to the low ground (if there is a low ground), so as to determine whether the low ground is a cliff according to the detected height data. It should be noted that the shape of the body of the cleaning device as shown in FIG. 1 is circular, but it is only exemplary. In other embodiments, the shape of the cleaning device can also be square, trapezoidal, or other shapes, which are not limited in the present application.

[0040] In the prior art, the presence of a cliff in the ground traveled by the cleaning device is generally pre-judged by comparing the ground height data collected by the sensor with a pre-set fixed threshold. However, in actual application, the prior art sometimes identifies a low ground that can pass as a cliff and triggers a cliff avoidance action, thereby causing the cleaning device to miss a cleaning area. It also identifies a low ground that cannot pass as a non-cliff and does not trigger a cliff avoidance action, thereby causing the cleaning device to be trapped in a cliff and affecting user experience. Based on this, the present application proposes a cleaning device control scheme to improve the accuracy of cliff identification by the cleaning device.

[0041] The cleaning device control scheme proposed in the present application is described in detail below.

[0042] Referring to FIG. 2, a flowchart of a cleaning device control method in an embodiment of the present application is shown, which can be executed by a device with computing processing function. Referring to FIG. 1, the cleaning device control method at least includes steps 210 to 230, which are described in detail as follows:

[0043] In step 210, the current attitude feature of the cleaning device is obtained.

[0044] In the present application, the cleaning device can detect its own attitude feature (i.e., the current attitude feature) in real time during the execution of the cleaning task, or can detect its own attitude feature at intervals. In some embodiments, the cleaning device can detect the current attitude feature through some sensors (such as angle sensors, distance measuring sensors) installed on itself, or can determine the current attitude feature of the cleaning device through program instructions for controlling the cleaning device to perform related actions. The present application does not make specific limitations on the way the cleaning device obtains the current attitude feature.

[0045] In an embodiment of the present application, the current attitude feature can be represented by the current state and / or action of the cleaning device.

[0046] In the present embodiment, the attitude feature of the cleaning device can be the body attitude of the cleaning device in the lifted state (which can include the body attitude of the cleaning device with the head lifted in the lifted state and the body attitude of the cleaning device without the head lifted in the lifted state).

[0047] In the present embodiment, the attitude feature of the cleaning device can be the body attitude of the cleaning device with the head lifted in the non-lifted state.

[0048] In the present embodiment, the attitude feature of the cleaning device can be the body attitude of the cleaning device without the head lifted and without the head lowered in the non-lifted state.

[0049] In the present embodiment, the attitude feature of the cleaning device can be the body attitude of the cleaning device with the head lowered (in the present application, the condition of the cleaning device with the head lowered exists in the non-lifted state of the cleaning device).

[0050] It should be noted that the lifted state described in the present application can refer to the state of the cleaning device when the steering gears of the walking wheels and the universal wheels of the cleaning device are simultaneously lifted to a certain height, so that the entire body of the cleaning device is lifted to a certain height.

[0051] In order for those skilled in the art to better understand the present application, the following will describe several attitude features in the above embodiments in conjunction with FIGS. 3 to 6.

[0052] Referring to FIG. 3, an attitude schematic diagram of a cleaning device to which the embodiments of the present application can be applied is shown.

[0053] As shown in FIG. 3, the body posture of the cleaning device 101 in the lifted state, in which the steering gears of the walking wheels 102 and the universal wheels 103 are simultaneously lifted to a certain height, can include two cases, such as the case shown in subgraph (a) of FIG. 3, which can occur in the obstacle-crossing scene of the cleaning device (such as crossing a high threshold). For example, as shown in subgraph (b) of FIG. 3, which can occur in the escape scene of the cleaning device (for example, when the cleaning device cannot normally cross the obstacle, it will try to rush up the obstacle, and in this process, the body of the cleaning device will be lifted due to inertia, that is, the head of the body will be suspended due to the upward movement of the head).

[0054] Referring to FIG. 4, a posture schematic diagram of a cleaning device to which embodiments of the present application can be applied is shown.

[0055] As shown in FIG. 4, the body posture of the cleaning device 101 in the lifted state, in which the steering gears of the walking wheels 102 and the universal wheels 103 are simultaneously lifted to a certain height, can include two cases, such as the case shown in subgraph (a) of FIG. 3, which can occur in the obstacle-crossing scene of the cleaning device (such as crossing a high threshold). For example, as shown in subgraph (b) of FIG. 3, which can occur in the escape scene of the cleaning device (for example, when the cleaning device cannot normally cross the obstacle, it will try to rush up the obstacle, and in this process, the body of the cleaning device will be lifted due to inertia, that is, the head of the body will be suspended due to the upward movement of the head).

[0056] Referring to FIG. 5, a posture schematic diagram of a cleaning device to which embodiments of the present application can be applied is shown.

[0057] As shown in FIG. 5, the body posture of the cleaning device 101 in the lifted state, in which the steering gears of the walking wheels 102 and the universal wheels 103 are simultaneously lifted to a certain height, can include two cases, such as the case shown in subgraph (a) of FIG. 3, which can occur in the obstacle-crossing scene of the cleaning device (such as crossing a high threshold). For example, as shown in subgraph (b) of FIG. 3, which can occur in the escape scene of the cleaning device (for example, when the cleaning device cannot normally cross the obstacle, it will try to rush up the obstacle, and in this process, the body of the cleaning device will be lifted due to inertia, that is, the head of the body will be suspended due to the upward movement of the head).

[0058] Referring to FIG. 6, a posture schematic diagram of a cleaning device to which embodiments of the present application can be applied is shown.

[0059] As shown in FIG. 6, the body posture of the cleaning device 101 in the lifted state, in which the steering gears of the walking wheels 102 and the universal wheels 103 are simultaneously lifted to a certain height, can include two cases, such as the case shown in subgraph (a) of FIG. 3, which can occur in the obstacle-crossing scene of the cleaning device (such as crossing a high threshold). For example, as shown in subgraph (b) of FIG. 3, which can occur in the escape scene of the cleaning device (for example, when the cleaning device cannot normally cross the obstacle, it will try to rush up the obstacle, and in this process, the body of the cleaning device will be lifted due to inertia, that is, the head of the body will be suspended due to the upward movement of the head).

[0060] In another embodiment of the present application, the current posture feature can also be characterized by the height value of the first reference position on the cleaning device to the reference plane, wherein the reference plane is the horizontal running ground of the cleaning device.

[0061] In embodiments, the first reference position can be any position defined on the cleaning device according to actual conditions, such as the first reference position 104 shown in FIG. 5. In combination with FIGS. 3-6, it can be understood that the first reference position of the cleaning device to the reference plane (horizontal driving ground) will also be different when the cleaning device is in different body postures, and thus the height of the first reference position of the cleaning device to the reference plane can be used to represent the current posture feature of the cleaning device.

[0062] In another embodiment of the present application, the current posture feature of the cleaning device can also be represented by the body lifting height and / or body pitch angle of the cleaning device.

[0063] In embodiments, in combination with subgraph (a) in FIG. 3 and FIG. 5, the body lifting height of the cleaning device is different. In combination with subgraph (b) in FIG. 3, if the cleaning device is looking up, the body pitch angle θ1 of the cleaning device can be a positive value, in combination with FIG. 5, if the cleaning device is neither looking up nor looking down, the body pitch angle θ2 of the cleaning device can be 0 degree, in combination with FIG. 6, if the cleaning device is looking down, the body pitch angle θ3 of the cleaning device can be a negative value. It can be understood that the body lifting height and / or body pitch angle of the cleaning device will also be different when the cleaning device is in different body postures, and thus the body lifting height and / or body pitch angle of the cleaning device can be used to represent the current posture feature of the cleaning device.

[0064] Continuing to refer to FIG. 1, in step 220, a cliff determination threshold is determined according to the current posture feature of the cleaning device, the cliff determination threshold being a critical height value for triggering the cleaning device to perform a cliff avoidance action.

[0065] In the present application, the cliff determination threshold is a critical height value for triggering the cleaning device to perform a cliff avoidance action. The smaller the cliff determination threshold, the higher the sensitivity of triggering the cleaning device to perform a cliff avoidance action, and the larger the cliff determination threshold, the lower the sensitivity of triggering the cleaning device to perform a cliff avoidance action. In the present application, the cliff determination threshold is determined according to the current posture feature of the cleaning device. It can be understood that the cliff determination threshold determined in the present application is not fixed, i.e., the current posture feature of the cleaning device is different, and the determined cliff determination threshold will also be different. The advantage of this is that by adjusting the cliff determination threshold according to the current posture feature of the cleaning device, different sensitivity of the cliff determination threshold can be determined for the cleaning device in different body postures, which can to some extent avoid the situation that the cleaning device cannot identify a low ground that cannot be passed as a non-cliff and does not perform a cliff avoidance action, and a low ground that can be passed is identified as a cliff and a cliff avoidance action is performed, thereby improving the accuracy of the cleaning device in identifying a cliff.

[0066] In one embodiment of the present application, if the current attitude feature of the cleaning device is represented by the current state and / or action of the cleaning device, the determination of the cliff determination threshold according to the current attitude feature of the cleaning device can be performed according to the following steps 221 to 222:

[0067] Step 221, if the current attitude feature is the body attitude of the cleaning device in the lifting state, the cliff determination threshold is determined as the first cliff determination threshold.

[0068] Step 222, if the current attitude feature is the body attitude of the cleaning device in the non-lifting state with the head raised, the cliff determination threshold is determined as the second cliff determination threshold, wherein the second cliff determination threshold is lower than the first cliff determination threshold.

[0069] In the present embodiment, please refer to subgraph (a) in FIG. 3 and subgraph (a) in FIG. 4. Generally speaking, for the cleaning device, if the current attitude feature of the cleaning device is the body attitude of the cleaning device in the lifting state, the height data D1 detected by the sensor installed on the cleaning device will also be larger, and if the current attitude feature of the cleaning device is the body attitude of the cleaning device in the non-lifting state with the head raised, the height data D3 detected by the sensor installed on the cleaning device will be smaller relative to the height data D1. Therefore, for the body attitude of the cleaning device in the lifting state, the cliff determination threshold is determined as the first cliff determination threshold (such as 9 cm, or such as 11 cm, which is not limited in the present application, and can be limited according to the model or structural features of the cleaning device in actual application), and for the body attitude of the cleaning device in the non-lifting state with the head raised, the cliff determination threshold is determined as the second cliff determination threshold (such as 7 cm, or such as 9 cm, which is not limited in the present application, and can be limited according to the model or structural features of the cleaning device in actual application) lower than the first cliff determination threshold.

[0070] It should be noted that in the present application, the height data D1 to D7 detected by the sensor of the cleaning device in different attitude features shown in FIGS. 3 to 6 are only illustrative, and therefore, the length size relationship of the height data D1 to D7 shown in FIGS. 3 to 6 in the graph cannot represent the size relationship of the height data detected by the sensor of the cleaning device in different attitude features in actual application.

[0071] Further, in the present embodiment, the determination of the cliff determination threshold according to the current attitude feature of the cleaning device can also be performed according to the following step 223:

[0072] Step 223, if the current attitude feature is the body attitude of the cleaning device in the non-lifting state without lifting the head and without lowering the head, it is determined that the cliff determination threshold is a third cliff determination threshold, wherein the third cliff determination threshold is lower than the second cliff determination threshold.

[0073] In the embodiment, referring to subgraph (a) in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, generally speaking, for the cleaning device, if the current attitude feature of the cleaning device is the body attitude of the cleaning device in the non-lifting state without lifting the head and without lowering the head, the height data D6 detected by the sensor installed on the cleaning device is smaller than the height data D3. Therefore, for the body attitude of the cleaning device in the non-lifting state without lifting the head and without lowering the head, the cliff determination threshold is determined to be a third cliff determination threshold (such as 5 cm, and such as 7 cm, which is not limited in the present application, and can be limited according to the model or structural features of the cleaning device in actual application) lower than the second cliff determination threshold.

[0074] Further, in the embodiment, the determination of the cliff determination threshold according to the current attitude feature of the cleaning device can also be performed according to the following step 224.

[0075] Step 224, if the current attitude feature is the body attitude of the cleaning device in the non-lifting state without lifting the head and without lowering the head, it is determined that the cliff determination threshold is a third cliff determination threshold, wherein the third cliff determination threshold is lower than the second cliff determination threshold.

[0076] In the embodiment, referring to FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, generally speaking, for the cleaning device, if the current attitude feature of the cleaning device is the body attitude of the cleaning device in the non-lifting state without lifting the head and without lowering the head, the height data D6 detected by the sensor installed on the cleaning device is smaller than the height data D3. Therefore, for the body attitude of the cleaning device in the non-lifting state without lifting the head and without lowering the head, the cliff determination threshold is determined to be a third cliff determination threshold (such as 5 cm, and such as 7 cm, which is not limited in the present application, and can be limited according to the model or structural features of the cleaning device in actual application) lower than the second cliff determination threshold.

[0077] In the present application, please continue to refer to FIG. 2 to FIG. 6, it can be understood that for the same low ground, the height data of the low ground detected by the sensor mounted on the cleaning device will be different when the current attitude feature of the cleaning device is different. In the prior art, the cliff determination threshold is set as a fixed value, and for the same height of the low ground, the height data of the low ground detected by the cleaning device in the lifting state is larger, and the low ground is easily determined as a cliff to execute the cliff avoidance action, while the height data of the low ground detected by the cleaning device in the non-lifting state is smaller, and the low ground is easily determined as a non-cliff to not execute the cliff avoidance action. Therefore, the present application determines the cliff determination threshold with different sensitivities for the cleaning device in different body attitudes, which can ensure that the cleaning device can make the same judgment on whether the low ground is a cliff when encountering the same height of the low ground in different body attitudes. Thus, when determining whether to trigger the cleaning device to execute the cliff avoidance action based on the cliff determination threshold, the situation that the cleaning device identifies the low ground that cannot be passed as a non-cliff to not execute the cliff avoidance action can be avoided to some extent, and the situation that the cleaning device identifies the low ground that can be passed as a cliff to execute the cliff avoidance action can also be avoided, thereby improving the accuracy of the cliff identification of the cleaning device and enhancing the reliability of the cleaning device in executing the cleaning task.

[0078] In an embodiment of the present application, if the current attitude feature of the cleaning device is represented by the height value of the first reference position to the reference plane on the cleaning device, the determination of the cliff determination threshold according to the current attitude feature of the cleaning device can be performed according to the following steps 225:

[0079] Step 225, determining the cliff determination threshold according to the height value of the first reference position to the reference plane, the cliff determination threshold is positively correlated with the height value of the first reference position to the reference plane.

[0080] In the embodiment, in combination with FIG. 3 to FIG. 6, the greater the height data of the low ground detected by the sensor mounted on the cleaning device, the greater the height value of the first reference position on the cleaning device to the reference plane will be. Conversely, the smaller the height data of the low ground detected by the sensor mounted on the cleaning device, the smaller the height value of the first reference position on the cleaning device to the reference plane will be. Therefore, the embodiment determines the cliff determination threshold value that matches the current attitude feature of the cleaning device according to the positive correlation between the cliff determination threshold value and the height value of the first reference position to the reference plane based on the current attitude feature of the cleaning device, that is, based on the height value of the first reference position on the cleaning device to the reference plane, which can ensure that the cleaning device can make the same judgment on whether the low ground is a cliff when encountering the low ground of the same height under different body attitudes. Therefore, when the cleaning device determines whether to trigger the cliff avoidance action of the cleaning device based on the cliff determination threshold value during the execution of the cleaning task, it can to some extent avoid the situation that the cleaning device cannot pass the low ground is identified as a non-cliff and does not execute the cliff avoidance action, and can also avoid the situation that the cleaning device can pass the low ground is identified as a cliff and executes the cliff avoidance action, thereby improving the accuracy of the cliff identification of the cleaning device and enhancing the reliability of the cleaning device in executing the cleaning task.

[0081] In an embodiment of the present application, if the current attitude feature of the cleaning device is represented by the body lifting height and / or the body pitch angle of the cleaning device, the determination of the cliff determination threshold value according to the current attitude feature of the cleaning device can be performed according to the following step 226:

[0082] Step 226, determining the cliff determination threshold value according to the body lifting height and / or the body pitch angle, the cliff determination threshold value being positively correlated with the body lifting height, and / or the cliff determination threshold value being positively correlated with the body pitch angle.

[0083] In the embodiment, in combination with FIG. 3 to FIG. 6, the greater the low ground height data detected by the sensor installed on the cleaning device, the greater the body lifting height of the cleaning device or the body pitch angle of the cleaning device. Conversely, the smaller the low ground height data detected by the sensor installed on the cleaning device, the smaller the body lifting height of the cleaning device or the body pitch angle of the cleaning device. Therefore, according to the positive correlation between the cliff determination threshold and the body lifting height of the cleaning device and / or the positive correlation between the cliff determination threshold and the body pitch angle of the cleaning device, the sensitivity of the cliff determination threshold matched with the current attitude feature of the cleaning device, i.e., the body lifting height of the cleaning device or the body pitch angle of the cleaning device, can be determined, which can ensure that the cleaning device can make the same judgment on whether the low ground is a cliff when encountering the low ground with the same height in different body attitudes. Therefore, when determining whether to trigger the cleaning device to perform the cliff avoidance action based on the cliff determination threshold during the execution of the cleaning task, the cleaning device can avoid the situation that the low ground which cannot be passed is identified as a non-cliff and the cliff avoidance action is not performed, and can also avoid the situation that the low ground which can be passed is identified as a cliff and the cliff avoidance action is performed, thereby improving the accuracy of the cliff identification of the cleaning device and enhancing the reliability of the cleaning device in performing the cleaning task.

[0084] With reference to FIG. 1, in step 230, it is determined whether to trigger the cleaning device to perform the cliff avoidance action based on the cliff determination threshold.

[0085] In the present application, the determination of whether to trigger the cleaning device to perform the cliff avoidance action based on the cliff determination threshold can be performed according to steps 231 to 232 as follows:

[0086] In step 231, the height value of the second reference position on the cleaning device to the target ground area is obtained, and the target ground area is a preset ground area in front of the cleaning device.

[0087] In step 232, if the height value of the second reference position to the target ground area is greater than or equal to the cliff determination threshold, the cleaning device is triggered to perform the cliff avoidance action.

[0088] In this application, the cleaning device may be equipped with a ranging sensor, such as a TOF sensor, to collect the height value from a second reference position on the cleaning device to a preset ground area in front of the cleaning device. It should be noted that the second reference position can be any position defined on the cleaning device according to actual conditions. In some embodiments, the second reference position and the first reference position can be the same position, such as reference position 104 shown in Figure 5. Furthermore, in this application, the ranging sensor can also be installed at the second reference position. For example, referring to Figure 5, the height value from the reference position to the preset ground area 105 in front of the cleaning device can be detected by the ranging sensor installed at reference position 104.

[0089] Furthermore, in this application, if the height value from the second reference position to the target ground area is greater than or equal to the cliff determination threshold, it indicates that the preset ground area in front of the cleaning equipment is a cliff area, and the cleaning equipment is triggered to perform a cliff avoidance action. If the height value from the second reference position to the target ground area is less than the cliff determination threshold, it indicates that the preset ground area in front of the cleaning equipment is a non-cliff area, and the cleaning equipment does not need to be triggered to perform a cliff avoidance action.

[0090] Based on the technical solution proposed in this application, the cliff determination threshold is determined according to the current posture characteristics of the cleaning equipment. That is, the cliff determination threshold will be different depending on the current posture characteristics of the cleaning equipment. Compared with setting the cliff determination threshold to a fixed value, by adjusting the cliff determination threshold according to the current posture characteristics of the cleaning equipment, different sensitivity cliff determination thresholds can be determined for the cleaning equipment in different body postures. Therefore, when determining whether to trigger the cleaning equipment to perform cliff avoidance actions based on the cliff determination threshold, it can, to a certain extent, avoid the cleaning equipment identifying low-lying ground that cannot be passed as not a cliff and not performing cliff avoidance actions, and also avoid the cleaning equipment identifying low-lying ground that can be passed as a cliff and performing cliff avoidance actions, thereby improving the accuracy of the cleaning equipment in cliff identification.

[0091] To enable those skilled in the art to better understand this application, this application also provides an embodiment of a control scheme for a certain type of cleaning equipment in practical application, as shown in FIG7. Please refer to FIG7, which shows a detailed flowchart of the cleaning equipment control method in the embodiment of this application.

[0092] Step 701, control process begins.

[0093] Step 702: The cleaning equipment performs the cleaning task in its initial position.

[0094] Step 703: Determine whether the cleaning equipment has detected a high threshold.

[0095] If the cleaning equipment does not detect a high threshold, proceed to step 704; otherwise, proceed to step 707.

[0096] Step 704: The cleaning equipment remains in its current position.

[0097] Step 705: Determine whether the cleaning equipment has triggered an obstacle avoidance action.

[0098] If the cleaning equipment does not trigger the obstacle avoidance action, proceed to step 706; otherwise, proceed to step 711.

[0099] Step 706: Set the cliff detection threshold to 7cm.

[0100] The control process ends after step 706, i.e., step 713.

[0101] Step 707: Raise the height of the cleaning equipment and set the cliff detection threshold to 11cm.

[0102] Step 708: Determine whether the obstacle avoidance action has been triggered.

[0103] If the obstacle avoidance action is not triggered, proceed to step 709; otherwise, proceed to step 710.

[0104] Step 709: Keep the cliff detection threshold at 11cm.

[0105] Step 710: During the escape, the cleaning equipment tilts upwards, maintaining the cliff detection threshold at 11cm.

[0106] Step 711: The cleaning equipment did not raise its body height, resulting in a tilting issue. The cliff detection threshold is set to 9cm.

[0107] Step 712: Once the high threshold is crossed or the escape is complete, the cleaning equipment returns to its initial position and continues with step 706.

[0108] Step 713, control process ends.

[0109] It is evident that in practical applications, cleaning equipment needs to avoid cliffs during cleaning tasks. By using TOF-based ranging to detect the height data of the cleaning equipment above the ground, when the height data exceeds a certain threshold, it is considered a cliff, and the machine stops moving forward. In normal cleaning, it is desirable for the cleaning equipment to avoid obstacles such as steps. However, in the scenario of escaping a predicament, the cleaning equipment's nose may tilt up. If a lower cliff detection threshold is still used to determine the cliff, the cleaning equipment may be mistakenly triggered to perform cliff avoidance actions, affecting the cleaning equipment's passage through passable areas. Furthermore, when the cleaning equipment has a lifting function, the cliff detection threshold can be further increased when it is known that the cleaning equipment is in a lifted state. This allows for different thresholds to be used for different usage scenarios, ensuring safety without affecting the cleaning equipment's passage through passable low ground.

[0110] The following describes an embodiment of the apparatus described in this application, which can be used to execute the cleaning equipment control method described in the above embodiments of this application. For details not disclosed in the apparatus embodiments of this application, please refer to the embodiments of the cleaning equipment control method described above.

[0111] Referring to Figure 8, a block diagram of a cleaning equipment control device according to an embodiment of this application is shown.

[0112] As shown in FIG8, the cleaning equipment control device 800 according to an embodiment of the present application includes: an acquisition unit 801, a determination unit 802 and a judgment unit 803.

[0113] The system includes an acquisition unit for acquiring the current posture characteristics of the cleaning equipment; a determination unit for determining a cliff judgment threshold based on the current posture characteristics of the cleaning equipment, wherein the cliff judgment threshold is a critical height value that triggers the cleaning equipment to perform a cliff avoidance action; and a determination unit for determining whether to trigger the cleaning equipment to perform a cliff avoidance action based on the cliff judgment threshold.

[0114] In some embodiments of this application, based on the foregoing scheme, the determining unit 802 is configured to: if the current posture feature is the body posture of the cleaning equipment in a raised state, then determine the cliff determination threshold as a first cliff determination threshold. If the current posture feature is the body posture of the cleaning equipment in a non-raised state with its head tilted up, then determine the cliff determination threshold as a second cliff determination threshold, wherein the second cliff determination threshold is lower than the first cliff determination threshold.

[0115] In some embodiments of this application, based on the foregoing scheme, the determining unit 802 is further configured to: if the current posture feature is the body posture of the cleaning equipment in a non-lifted state where it neither raises nor lowers its head, then determine the cliff determination threshold as a third cliff determination threshold, wherein the third cliff determination threshold is lower than the second cliff determination threshold.

[0116] In some embodiments of this application, based on the foregoing scheme, the determining unit 802 is further configured to: if the current posture feature is the body posture of the cleaning equipment with its head down, then determine the cliff determination threshold as the fourth cliff determination threshold, wherein the fourth cliff determination threshold is lower than the third cliff determination threshold.

[0117] In some embodiments of this application, based on the foregoing scheme, the current posture feature includes the height value from a first reference position on the cleaning device to a reference plane, the reference plane being the horizontal driving ground of the cleaning device, and the determining unit 802 is further configured to: determine a cliff determination threshold based on the height value from the first reference position to the reference plane, the cliff determination threshold being positively correlated with the height value from the first reference position to the reference plane.

[0118] In some embodiments of this application, based on the foregoing scheme, the current attitude characteristics include the lifting height of the cleaning equipment and / or the pitch angle of the equipment. The determining unit 802 is further configured to: determine a cliff determination threshold based on the lifting height of the equipment and / or the pitch angle of the equipment, wherein the cliff determination threshold is positively correlated with the lifting height of the equipment and / or the pitch angle of the equipment.

[0119] In some embodiments of this application, based on the foregoing scheme, the determination unit 803 is configured to: obtain the height value from a second reference position on the cleaning device to a target ground area, wherein the target ground area is a preset ground area in front of the cleaning device. If the height value from the second reference position to the target ground area is greater than or equal to the cliff determination threshold, the cleaning device is triggered to perform a cliff avoidance action.

[0120] Based on the same inventive concept, embodiments of this application provide a computer program product, the computer program product including computer instructions stored in a computer-readable storage medium and adapted to be read and executed by a processor to cause a computer device having the processor to perform the operations performed by the cleaning equipment control method as described above.

[0121] Based on the same inventive concept, embodiments of this application provide a computer-readable storage medium storing at least one computer program instruction, which is loaded and executed by a processor to implement the operations performed by the cleaning equipment control method as described above.

[0122] Based on the same inventive concept, this application also provides a cleaning device. Referring to FIG9, a schematic diagram of the structure of the cleaning device in this application is shown. The cleaning device includes one or more memories 904, one or more processors 902, and at least one computer program (computer program instruction) stored in the memory 904 and executable on the processor 902. When the processor 902 executes the computer program, it implements the cleaning device control method as described above.

[0123] In Figure 9, the bus architecture (represented by bus 900) includes any number of interconnected buses and bridges, linking various circuits including one or more processors represented by processor 902 and memory represented by memory 904. Bus 900 can also link various other circuits such as peripherals, voltage regulators, and power management circuits, which are well known in the art and therefore will not be described further herein. Bus interface 905 provides an interface between bus 900 and receiver 901 and transmitter 903. Receiver 901 and transmitter 903 can be the same element, a transceiver, providing a unit for communicating with various other devices over a transmission medium. Processor 902 is responsible for managing bus 900 and general processing, while memory 904 can be used to store data used by processor 902 during operation.

[0124] The functions described herein may be implemented in hardware, software executed by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software executed by a processor, the functions may be stored as one or more instructions or codes on or transmitted via a computer-readable medium. Other examples and embodiments are within the scope and spirit of this application and the appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software, the functions described above may be implemented using software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hardwired, or any combination thereof. Furthermore, the functional units may be integrated into a single processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into a single unit.

[0125] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed technical content can be implemented in other ways. The device embodiments described above are merely illustrative; for example, the division of units can be a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For instance, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Furthermore, the displayed or discussed mutual coupling, direct coupling, or communication connection may be through some interfaces; the indirect coupling or communication connection between units or modules may be electrical or other forms.

[0126] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate. Similarly, the components of the control device may or may not be physical units; they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple units. Some or all of the units can be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment, depending on actual needs.

[0127] If the integrated unit is implemented as a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of this application, in essence, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or all or part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of this application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media capable of storing computer program instructions, such as USB flash drives, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), portable hard drives, magnetic disks, or optical disks.

[0128] The above description is merely an embodiment of this application and is not intended to limit this application. Various modifications and variations can be made to this application by those skilled in the art. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of this application should be included within the scope of the claims of this application.

Claims

1. A method for controlling cleaning equipment, characterized in that, The method includes: Obtain the current attitude characteristics of the cleaning equipment; Based on the current posture characteristics of the cleaning equipment, a cliff determination threshold is determined, which is the critical height value that triggers the cleaning equipment to perform a cliff avoidance action; Based on the cliff determination threshold, it is determined whether the cleaning equipment should be triggered to perform a cliff avoidance action.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The step of determining the cliff judgment threshold based on the current posture characteristics of the cleaning equipment includes: If the current posture feature is the body posture of the cleaning equipment in the raised state, then the cliff determination threshold is determined to be the first cliff determination threshold. If the current posture feature is the body posture of the cleaning equipment with its head raised in a non-lifted state, then the cliff determination threshold is determined to be the second cliff determination threshold, wherein the second cliff determination threshold is lower than the first cliff determination threshold.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The step of determining the cliff determination threshold based on the current posture characteristics of the cleaning equipment further includes: If the current posture feature is the body posture of the cleaning equipment in a non-lifted state where it is neither raised nor lowered, then the cliff determination threshold is determined to be the third cliff determination threshold, wherein the third cliff determination threshold is lower than the second cliff determination threshold.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that, The step of determining the cliff determination threshold based on the current posture characteristics of the cleaning equipment further includes: If the current posture feature is the body posture of the cleaning equipment with its head down, then the cliff determination threshold is determined to be the fourth cliff determination threshold, wherein the fourth cliff determination threshold is lower than the third cliff determination threshold.

5. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The current attitude features include the height value from the first reference position on the cleaning equipment to the reference plane, where the reference plane is the horizontal ground on which the cleaning equipment travels. Determining the cliff judgment threshold based on the current attitude features of the cleaning equipment includes: The cliff determination threshold is determined based on the height value from the first reference position to the reference plane, and the cliff determination threshold is positively correlated with the height value from the first reference position to the reference plane.

6. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The current attitude characteristics include the lifting height of the cleaning equipment and / or the pitch angle of the cleaning equipment. Determining the cliff judgment threshold based on the current attitude characteristics of the cleaning equipment includes: The cliff determination threshold is determined based on the fuselage lift height and / or the fuselage pitch angle, wherein the cliff determination threshold is positively correlated with the fuselage lift height and / or the cliff determination threshold is positively correlated with the fuselage pitch angle.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, The step of determining whether to trigger the cleaning equipment to perform cliff avoidance actions based on the cliff determination threshold includes: Obtain the height value from the second reference position on the cleaning equipment to the target ground area, wherein the target ground area is a preset ground area in front of the cleaning equipment; If the height value from the second reference position to the target ground area is greater than or equal to the cliff determination threshold, the cleaning equipment is triggered to perform a cliff avoidance action.

8. A cleaning equipment control device, characterized in that, The device includes: The acquisition unit is used to acquire the current attitude characteristics of the cleaning equipment; The determining unit is used to determine a cliff determination threshold based on the current posture characteristics of the cleaning equipment, wherein the cliff determination threshold is a critical height value that triggers the cleaning equipment to perform a cliff avoidance action; The determination unit is used to determine whether to trigger the cleaning equipment to perform cliff avoidance actions based on the cliff determination threshold.

9. A computer program product, characterized in that, The computer program product includes computer instructions stored in a computer-readable storage medium and adapted to be read and executed by a processor to cause a computer device having the processor to perform the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7.

10. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium stores at least one piece of program code, which is loaded and executed by a processor to perform the operations performed by the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 7.

11. A cleaning device, characterized in that, The cleaning device includes one or more processors and one or more memories, wherein at least one piece of program code is stored in the one or more memories, and the at least one piece of program code is loaded and executed by the one or more processors to implement the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7.

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