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

Abstract

Provided are a control method for a cleaning robot, a control apparatus for a cleaning robot, and a computer-readable storage medium and an electronic device. The cleaning robot comprises a liftable cleaner (120), wherein the liftable cleaner (120) has a first state (121) and a second state (122), and the distance between the liftable cleaner (120) in the first state (121) and the ground is less than the distance between the liftable cleaner (120) in the second state (122) and the ground. The method comprises: in response to receiving a non-cleaning movement instruction and / or detecting that an operation environment comprises a preset target, controlling the cleaning robot to switch the liftable cleaner (120) from the first state (121) to the second state (122) (S310); and when the liftable cleaner (120) is in the second state (122), controlling the cleaning robot to move in the operation environment (S320). By means of the method, the cleaning robot can be accurately and flexibly controlled, thereby improving the cleaning efficiency of the cleaning robot.

Description

Control method and device of cleaning robot, medium and electronic equipment Cross-reference to Related Applications

[0001] The present disclosure claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202411246605.9, filed September 5, 2024, entitled “Control method and device of cleaning robot, medium and electronic equipment,” the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present disclosure relates to the field of smart home, in particular, to a control method of a cleaning robot, a control device of a cleaning robot, a computer readable storage medium and an electronic device. BACKGROUND

[0003] With the rapid development of computer technology and artificial intelligence science, intelligent robot technology has gradually become a hot spot in the field of modern robot research. Among them, the cleaning robot as a typical representative of intelligent robots can automatically complete the cleaning work of the ground and has a wide application in the field of smart home. SUMMARY

[0004] The purpose of the present disclosure is to provide a control method of a cleaning robot, a control device of a cleaning robot, a computer readable storage medium and an electronic device to improve the working efficiency of the cleaning robot. The specific solutions are as follows:

[0005] According to the specific embodiments of the present disclosure, in a first aspect, the present disclosure provides a control method of a cleaning robot, the cleaning robot comprising a liftable cleaner, the liftable cleaner having a first state and a second state, the distance between the liftable cleaner and the ground in the first state being less than the distance between the liftable cleaner and the ground in the second state; the method comprising: in response to receiving a non-cleaning movement instruction and / or detecting that the working environment includes a preset target, controlling the cleaning robot to switch the liftable cleaner from the first state to the second state; when the liftable cleaner is in the second state, controlling the cleaning robot to move in the working environment.

[0006] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the non-cleaning movement instruction comprises any one of the following: an instruction for controlling the cleaning robot to move from a first cleaning area to a second cleaning area; an instruction for controlling the cleaning robot to move to a charging device; an instruction for controlling the cleaning robot to move to a specified position according to user interaction operation; a movement instruction for controlling the cleaning robot to perform a charging operation; and a movement obstacle avoidance instruction for controlling the cleaning robot to move according to a detected obstacle.

[0007] In an example implementation of the present disclosure, the detecting that the working environment includes the preset target includes: detecting that a to-be-cleaned area in the working environment is a preset medium area.

[0008] In an example implementation of the present disclosure, the method further includes: if it is detected that the to-be-cleaned area is the preset medium area and the cleaning robot is already in the to-be-cleaned area, controlling the cleaning robot to exit the to-be-cleaned area; and the controlling the cleaning robot to switch the liftable cleaner from the first state to the second state includes: controlling the cleaning robot to switch the liftable cleaner from the first state to the second state during or after the controlling the cleaning robot to exit the to-be-cleaned area.

[0009] In an example implementation of the present disclosure, the controlling the cleaning robot to exit the to-be-cleaned area includes: controlling the cleaning robot to exit the to-be-cleaned area and controlling the cleaning robot to rotate in a preset direction.

[0010] In an example implementation of the present disclosure, the detecting that the working environment includes the preset target includes: detecting that a to-be-cleaned area in the working environment includes a preset obstacle object.

[0011] In an example implementation of the present disclosure, the method further includes: in response to detecting that the working mode of the cleaning robot is changed to a non-working mode, controlling the cleaning robot to switch the liftable cleaner from the first state to the second state.

[0012] In an example implementation of the present disclosure, the method further includes: if the controlling the cleaning robot to switch the liftable cleaner from the first state to the second state fails, controlling the cleaning robot to rotate and again controlling the liftable cleaner of the cleaning robot to switch from the first state to the second state.

[0013] In an example implementation of the present disclosure, the again controlling the liftable cleaner of the cleaning robot to switch from the first state to the second state includes: if a switching number of the controlling the cleaning robot to switch the liftable cleaner from the first state to the second state is greater than a preset threshold, acquiring a reference position and / or a reference time of the cleaning robot in the working environment; and in response to a distance between a current position of the cleaning robot and the reference position being greater than a preset distance threshold and / or a time interval between a current time and the reference time being greater than a preset time interval threshold, controlling the liftable cleaner of the cleaning robot to switch from the first state to the second state.

[0014] In a second aspect, the present disclosure provides a control device of a cleaning robot, the cleaning robot comprising a liftable cleaner, the liftable cleaner having a first state and a second state, a distance of the liftable cleaner from a ground surface in the first state being less than a distance of the liftable cleaner from the ground surface in the second state; the device comprising: a state switching module configured to control the cleaning robot to switch the liftable cleaner from the first state to the second state in response to receiving a non-cleaning movement instruction and / or detecting that a preset target is included in a working environment; and a movement control module configured to control the cleaning robot to move in the working environment when the liftable cleaner is in the second state.

[0015] In a third aspect, the present disclosure provides a computer readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program, wherein the computer program, when executed by a processor, implements the method described above.

[0016] In a fourth aspect, the present disclosure provides an electronic device comprising: a processor; and a memory storing executable instructions of the processor; wherein the processor is configured to execute the method described above via execution of the executable instructions.

[0017] It should be understood that the general description above and the following detailed description below are only exemplary and explanatory and are not restrictive of the present disclosure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0018] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with the present disclosure and serve to explain the principles of the present disclosure. It is readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the accompanying drawings only illustrate some embodiments of the present disclosure and other drawings can be obtained by one of ordinary skill in the art without any creative effort based on the accompanying drawings.

[0019] FIG. 1 schematically shows a top view of a cleaning robot in the present exemplary embodiment;

[0020] FIG. 2 schematically shows a front view of a cleaning robot in the present exemplary embodiment;

[0021] FIG. 3 schematically shows a flowchart of a control method of a cleaning robot in the present exemplary embodiment;

[0022] FIG. 4 schematically shows a diagram of a cleaning robot performing a back-off in the present exemplary embodiment;

[0023] FIG. 5 schematically shows a diagram of a cleaning robot performing a rotation in the present exemplary embodiment;

[0024] FIG. 6 schematically shows a structural block diagram of a control device of a cleaning robot in the present exemplary embodiment;

[0025] FIG. 7 schematically illustrates an electronic device for implementing the above-described method in the present exemplary embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present disclosure clearer, the following further describes the present disclosure in detail with reference to the drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present disclosure, and not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present disclosure, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative work fall within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0027] The terms used in the embodiments of the present disclosure are merely for the purpose of describing particular embodiments and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. The singular forms "a," "an," and "the" used in the embodiments of the present disclosure and the appended claims are intended to include plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. "Plural" generally includes at least two.

[0028] It should be understood that the term "and / or" used herein only describes an association relationship of associated objects, which means that there can be three relationships, for example, A and / or B can mean that A exists alone, A and B exist together, and B exists alone. In addition, the character " / " herein generally represents an "or" relationship between the front and rear associated objects.

[0029] It should be understood that although the terms first, second, third, etc. can be used in the embodiments of the present disclosure to describe …, these … should not be limited to these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish … from each other. For example, without departing from the scope of the embodiments of the present disclosure, the first … can also be referred to as the second …, and similarly, the second … can also be referred to as the first ….

[0030] Depending on the context, the word "if" as used herein can be interpreted as "when" or "upon" or "in response to determining" or "in response to detecting". Similarly, depending on the context, the phrase "if determined" or "if detecting (a stated condition or event)" can be interpreted as "when determined" or "in response to determining" or "when detecting (a stated condition or event)" or "in response to detecting (a stated condition or event)".

[0031] It is also to be understood that the terminology "include", "includes" or any other variation thereof is intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a product or process that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but can also include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such product or process. Without further limitation, an element defined by the statement "comprising a" does not exclude the presence of additional identical elements in the product or process that includes the stated element.

[0032] The cleaning robot belongs to a kind of intelligent household appliances, can rely on certain artificial intelligence, automatically complete floor cleaning work in room. Generally, by sweeping and vacuuming, the floor debris is first absorbed into the garbage storage box of itself, so as to complete the function of floor cleaning.

[0033] At present, in the cleaning process of the cleaning robot, the cleaner configured by the cleaning robot is easily affected by the structure of the working environment, which affects the cleaning effect and moving efficiency in some cases.

[0034] How to effectively improve the moving efficiency and cleaning effect of the cleaning robot in the cleaning process is a technical problem to be solved in the prior art.

[0035] However, in the related art, in order to ensure the cleaning efficiency of the cleaning robot, a fixed cleaner in contact with the ground, such as a fixed side brush, is often configured. In the cleaning process, the fixed cleaner often affects the passing efficiency of the cleaning robot in the working environment, or the cleaning effect, etc. For example, the side brush cleaner in contact with the ground may be entangled with the line, causing the robot to malfunction, stop reporting, etc., so that the cleaning work cannot continue. Or the side brush cleaner in contact with the ground may dirty the carpet after completing the cleaning of an area without self-cleaning before passing through the carpet, which may dirty the carpet due to the unclean side brush.

[0036] Based on this, the example embodiment of the present disclosure provides a control method of a cleaning robot, which can be applied to a cleaning robot that can implement the method through hardware and / or software. The above-mentioned cleaning robot includes a liftable cleaner, and the liftable cleaner has a first state and a second state, and the distance of the liftable cleaner from the ground in the first state is less than the distance of the liftable cleaner from the ground in the second state. The liftable cleaner is a movable cleaner capable of lift-up and drop-down control, and the first state and the second state refer to two states of the liftable cleaner in the lifting process, for example, the state of lowering to the lowest point can be the first state, and the state of raising to the highest point can be the second state. FIG. 1 shows a top view schematic diagram of a cleaning robot, including a cleaning robot body 110 and a liftable cleaner 120. FIG. 2 shows a front view schematic diagram of a cleaning robot, including a cleaning robot body 110 and a liftable cleaner 120, wherein the liftable cleaner includes a first state 121 and a second state 122, and the distance of the liftable cleaner from the ground in the first state is less than the distance of the liftable cleaner from the ground in the second state.

[0037] Referring to FIG. 3, a flowchart of a control method of a cleaning robot provided by the example embodiment of the present disclosure is shown, and the method can include the following steps S310-S320:

[0038] Step S310, in response to receiving a non-cleaning movement instruction and / or detecting that the working environment includes a preset target, the cleaning robot is controlled to switch the liftable cleaner from the first state to the second state.

[0039] The non-cleaning movement instruction can be an instruction for controlling the cleaning robot to move but not to clean with the liftable cleaner, such as an instruction to move the cleaning robot to a certain position only, or an instruction to move to a charging pile, or an instruction to charge the cleaning robot, etc. The preset target refers to an object in the working environment that can interfere with the liftable cleaner and thus affect the cleaning efficiency or the normal work of the cleaning robot, such as a data line, a foreign object, a carpet, a threshold, etc. in the working environment.

[0040] In the example embodiment, when the cleaning robot receives a non-cleaning movement instruction, or detects that the working environment includes a preset target, or receives a non-cleaning movement instruction and detects that the working environment includes a preset target, the cleaning robot can be controlled to change the state of the liftable cleaner and switch the liftable cleaner from the first state to the second state. The detection of the preset target can be obtained through data collection and analysis by devices such as infrared sensors, distance sensors, camera modules or image sensors configured by the cleaning robot, for example, the image of the working environment where the cleaning robot is located can be collected in real time, and object recognition is performed on the image to determine whether there is a preset target in the working environment, etc.

[0041] It should be noted that if the state of the elevatable cleaner is originally the second state, the state switching operation is not needed.

[0042] In an exemplary embodiment, in the first state, the elevatable cleaner is in contact with the ground, and in the second state, the elevatable cleaner is not in contact with the ground.

[0043] In order to ensure the cleaning sufficiency of the elevatable cleaner to the cleaning area, in the first state, the elevatable cleaner can be in contact with the ground to ensure the cleaning effectiveness to the contact area during the movement. In addition, in the second state, the elevatable cleaner can be not in contact with the ground, wherein the height of the non-contact can be any height not in contact with the ground, for example, the distance between the bottom of the cleaning robot and the ground is 8 cm, and the second state can be that the elevatable cleaner is spaced apart from the ground by 5 cm, 6 cm or 8 cm, etc. When the height interval between the elevatable cleaner and the ground is equal to the height interval between the bottom of the cleaning robot and the ground, it means that the elevatable cleaner is raised to the same level as the bottom of the cleaning robot, that is, the projection of the elevatable cleaner in the vertical direction is within the projection of the cleaning robot.

[0044] In step S320, when the elevatable cleaner is in the second state, the cleaning robot is controlled to move in the working environment.

[0045] Further, when the elevatable cleaner is controlled to be in the second state, the elevatable cleaner is in a lifted state, for example, a state of being away from the ground or being spaced apart from the ground by a preset distance. At this time, the state can be maintained, and the cleaning robot is controlled to move in the working environment, for example, to move to a charging pile for charging, or to a washing place, etc.

[0046] Based on the above description, in the present exemplary embodiment, in response to receiving a non-cleaning movement instruction and / or detecting that the working environment includes a preset target, the cleaning robot is controlled to switch the liftable cleaner from the first state to the second state; when the liftable cleaner is in the second state, the cleaning robot is controlled to move in the working environment. In one aspect, the cleaning robot in the present exemplary embodiment includes a liftable cleaner, which has a first state and a second state, and the distance to the ground is different in different states, so that the cleaning robot can switch states in the working environment. Compared with the fixed cleaner configured in the prior art cleaning robot, the cleaning robot in the present exemplary embodiment can timely adjust the state of the cleaner in the working environment, avoid the influence of the cleaner on unnecessary cleaning areas or cleaned areas, and the situation that the fixed cleaner is stuck in the environment and causes the cleaning robot to stop working, and ensure the normal movement of the cleaning robot in the working environment. On the other hand, the present exemplary embodiment provides multiple application scenarios. When the cleaning robot receives a non-cleaning movement instruction and / or detects that the working environment includes a preset target, the switching between the first state and the second state of the liftable cleaner can be realized, so that the cleaning robot can accurately and effectively control the liftable cleaner according to the specific scene requirements and targeted instructions.

[0047] In an exemplary embodiment, the non-cleaning movement instruction includes any one of the following:

[0048] an instruction for controlling the cleaning robot to move from a first cleaning area to a second cleaning area;

[0049] an instruction for controlling the cleaning robot to move to a charging device;

[0050] an instruction for controlling the cleaning robot to move to a specified position according to user interaction;

[0051] a movement instruction for controlling the cleaning robot to perform a charging operation;

[0052] a movement obstacle avoidance instruction for controlling the cleaning robot to move according to a detected obstacle.

[0053] The cleaning robot can move from one cleaning area to another cleaning area in a working environment, the first cleaning area and the second cleaning area can be adjacent or not adjacent, for example, after the cleaning robot finishes cleaning the first cleaning area, it needs to clean the adjacent second cleaning area, but the process of moving to the second cleaning area can pass through the first cleaning area, in order to ensure the cleaning integrity of the first cleaning area, the state of the liftable cleaner can be controlled to switch; or after the cleaning robot finishes cleaning the first cleaning area, it needs to pass through other areas before reaching the second cleaning area for cleaning, in order to ensure the cleanliness of the cleaner and avoid pollution of the cleaner when passing through other areas, the state of the liftable cleaner can be controlled to switch.

[0054] The cleaning robot can move to a charging device for charging or cleaning in a working environment, during the movement, it is not desired that the cleaning robot cleans the areas along the path, in order to avoid affecting the cleaned areas or non-cleaning areas, therefore, the state of the liftable cleaner can be controlled to switch.

[0055] The cleaning robot can move to a specific position according to the user's interactive operation in a working environment, for example, the user sets a target position for movement in the application program of the terminal device, the cleaning robot can move according to the set target position, and then start cleaning work after moving to the target position. Therefore, when receiving an instruction to control the cleaning robot to move to a specified position according to the user's interactive operation, the state of the liftable cleaner can be controlled to switch.

[0056] The cleaning robot moves after receiving a charging operation, for example, after receiving a charging instruction, it moves to the pile, during the process, the state of the liftable cleaner can be controlled to switch.

[0057] In the working environment of the cleaning robot, special obstacles can appear, when detecting the appearance of special obstacles, a moving instruction for avoiding obstacles is executed, at this time, the state of the liftable cleaner can be controlled to switch.

[0058] In an example embodiment, the above-mentioned detection of the working environment including a preset target can include:

[0059] It is detected that the area to be cleaned in the working environment is a preset medium area.

[0060] The to-be-cleaned area refers to an area that needs to be cleaned by the cleaning robot, which can be an environment scene where the cleaning robot is located, for example, multiple rooms in a residential home, and each room can be a to-be-cleaned area. The to-be-cleaned area can also be an area divided according to a preset rule, for example, x*y regular or irregular areas are divided in a room according to a preset standard, and each area can be a to-be-cleaned area. The to-be-cleaned area can also be a special to-be-cleaned area set by a user or detected by the environment, for example, a carpet area is a to-be-cleaned area, an L-shaped corner area is a to-be-cleaned area, and the like. The present disclosure does not make specific limitations on this.

[0061] The preset medium refers to a special medium that is different from the ground itself and on which the cleaning robot can move, for example, a carpet, a yoga mat, and the like. The preset medium area refers to a cleaning area that includes a preset medium. The preset medium area can include a preset medium, for example, a carpet is included in the preset medium area, and the carpet covers a part of the area. The preset medium area can also refer to an area that only includes a preset medium, for example, an area where a carpet is located. In the example embodiment, when it is detected that the to-be-cleaned area that needs to be cleaned in the working environment is a preset medium area, the liftable cleaner can be controlled to switch from the first state to the second state. Detecting the preset medium area can include detecting the preset medium area when the preset medium area is not reached, for example, the cleaning robot captures real-time images through a camera module, detects that the preset medium area is about to be entered, and at this time, the liftable cleaner can be controlled to switch states. Detecting the preset medium area can also include detecting the preset medium area when the preset medium area is reached, for example, the cleaning robot detects that the current area is a carpet area through a sensing device after entering the carpet area, and the liftable cleaner can be controlled to switch states.

[0062] In an example embodiment, the above method can further include:

[0063] If it is detected that the to-be-cleaned area is a preset medium area and the cleaning robot is already in the to-be-cleaned area, the cleaning robot is controlled to exit the to-be-cleaned area.

[0064] The cleaning robot is controlled to switch the liftable cleaner from the first state to the second state, including:

[0065] The cleaning robot is controlled to switch the liftable cleaner from the first state to the second state during or after the cleaning robot exits the to-be-cleaned area.

[0066] In consideration of the situation that the cleaning robot may enter the preset medium area for the first time and is not detected in time, the example embodiment can be configured to control the cleaning robot to exit the to-be-cleaned area and control the cleaning robot to rotate in a preset direction if it is detected that the to-be-cleaned area is the preset medium area and the cleaning robot has entered the to-be-cleaned area, for example, when the cleaning robot first encounters a carpet. It may take a certain amount of time to identify that the cleaning robot has entered the area where the carpet is located, but the side brush has not been raised. At this time, the cleaning robot can be controlled to exit the to-be-cleaned area, for example, to exit the area where the carpet is located.

[0067] Then, during the process of controlling the cleaning robot to exit the to-be-cleaned area or after the cleaning robot exits the to-be-cleaned area, the cleaning robot is controlled to switch the liftable cleaner from the first state to the second state, for example, the cleaning robot lifts the side brush while retreating during the process of exiting the carpet, or the cleaning robot lifts the side brush after exiting the carpet to a fixed position. As shown in FIG. 4(a), the cleaning robot 410 can perform a retreat operation after entering the carpet area 420. When the cleaning robot 410 retreats to the position shown in FIG. 4(b), the cleaning robot 410 has exited the carpet area 420. At this time, the liftable cleaner can be controlled to switch states.

[0068] In an example embodiment, the above-mentioned control of the cleaning robot to exit the to-be-cleaned area can include:

[0069] The cleaning robot is controlled to exit the to-be-cleaned area and rotate in a preset direction.

[0070] In consideration of the situation that the cleaning robot may not be able to perform a normal retreat operation in the preset medium area in some cases, for example, when it is detected that the cleaning brush rotates abnormally within a preset time, for example, within 5 seconds, before and after the cleaning robot enters the carpet, for example, when the cleaning brush rotates abnormally due to a short circuit, an open circuit, or a large current, etc., which causes the cleaning robot to be unable to normally control the cleaning robot to lift the cleaner. At this time, as shown in FIG. 5, the example embodiment can be configured to control the cleaning robot to exit the to-be-cleaned area and control the cleaning robot to rotate in a preset direction, for example, with the cleaning robot 410 and the carpet 420 shown in FIG. 4 as an example, the cleaning robot 410 can retreat, rotate clockwise by 45 degrees, and then lift the side brush cleaner. It should be noted that in the control of the cleaning robot to exit the to-be-cleaned area and control the cleaning robot to rotate in a preset direction, the exit of the to-be-cleaned area and the rotation can be performed simultaneously or sequentially, for example, the retreat and the rotation operation can be performed simultaneously, or the rotation operation can be performed after the retreat to a preset position, etc. The present disclosure does not make a specific limitation in this regard.

[0071] In an example embodiment, the above-mentioned detection that the working environment includes a preset target can include:

[0072] It is detected that the to-be-cleaned area in the working environment includes a preset obstacle object.

[0073] The preset obstacle can include an obstacle in the working environment that can affect the movement of the cleaning robot, such as pet feces, a data line or a power line of an electronic device, a threshold, etc. When the cleaning robot detects the preset obstacle object, the liftable cleaner can be switched from the first state to the second state.

[0074] In an example embodiment, the control method of the cleaning robot described above can further include:

[0075] In response to detecting that the working mode of the cleaning robot is changed to the non-working mode, the cleaning robot is controlled to switch the liftable cleaner from the first state to the second state.

[0076] The non-working mode can include a non-working mode of the liftable cleaner, for example, the cleaning robot can be configured with a mop, an edge brush, and other cleaning devices, and the liftable cleaner can be an edge brush. When the mop is used for mopping operation, the edge brush is in a non-working state, and at this time, the liftable cleaner can be switched from the first state to the second state. The non-working mode can also include a non-working state of the cleaning robot, for example, the cleaning robot is paused, stopped cleaning, or in a situation of reporting stop or alarm, etc. The liftable cleaner can also be switched from the first state to the second state.

[0077] In an example embodiment, the control method of the cleaning robot described above can further include:

[0078] If the cleaning robot fails to switch the liftable cleaner from the first state to the second state, the cleaning robot is controlled to rotate and again control the liftable cleaner of the cleaning robot to switch from the first state to the second state.

[0079] If the liftable cleaner of the cleaning robot fails when switching states, for example, overflows, or does not rise to a specific position within a preset time, etc., the cleaning robot can be controlled to rotate at this time. The rotation direction can be set according to actual needs, for example, the cleaning robot can be set to rotate clockwise. The rotation angle can be determined according to actual needs or the number of failures, for example, when the first state switching fails, the cleaning robot can be set to rotate clockwise by a first preset angle, such as 5 degrees, 15 degrees, etc. When the switching still fails, the cleaning robot can be set to rotate clockwise again by a second preset angle, such as 5-30 degrees, etc. The first preset angle can be the same as or different from the second preset angle. The first preset angle and the second preset angle can also be determined randomly, etc. The present disclosure does not make specific limitations on this.

[0080] In an example embodiment, the above-mentioned again controlling the liftable cleaner of the cleaning robot to switch from the first state to the second state can include:

[0081] If the number of times of switching the liftable cleaner from the first state to the second state by the control robot is greater than a preset threshold, a reference position and / or a reference time of the cleaning robot in a working environment are obtained;

[0082] In response to a distance between the current position of the cleaning robot and the reference position being greater than a preset distance threshold, and / or a time interval between the current time and the reference time being greater than a preset time interval threshold, the liftable cleaner of the cleaning robot is controlled to switch from the first state to the second state.

[0083] In the present exemplary embodiment, if the liftable cleaner still fails to switch after attempting multiple times of state switching, such as the number of times of switching being greater than the preset threshold, a reference position and / or a reference time of the cleaning robot in the current working environment can be obtained, wherein the reference position and the reference time refer to the position and the time for judging whether to perform state switching again. In the present exemplary embodiment, the reference position can be the position of the cleaning robot when the number of times of switching is equal to the preset threshold, and the reference time can be the current working time of the cleaning robot when the number of times of switching is equal to the preset threshold, or the current time, etc.

[0084] Then, it can be judged whether a distance between the current position of the cleaning robot and the reference position is greater than a preset distance threshold, and whether a time interval between the current time and the reference time is greater than a preset time interval threshold. If, in response to the distance between the current position of the cleaning robot and the reference position being greater than the preset distance threshold, the time interval between the current time and the reference time being greater than the preset time interval threshold, or in response to the distance between the current position of the cleaning robot and the reference position being greater than the preset distance threshold and the time interval between the current time and the reference time being greater than the preset time interval threshold, the liftable cleaner of the cleaning robot is controlled to switch from the first state to the second state. The current position and the current time can be the real-time position and the real-time time of the cleaning robot moving in the working environment. For example, after the reference position and the reference time are determined, the cleaning robot moves in the working environment, and its moving position changes over time, and the time changes over time. The current position and the current time of the cleaning robot in the working environment are obtained, that is, the judgment process can be performed. The preset distance threshold and the preset time interval threshold can be set according to actual needs, and the present disclosure does not make specific limitations thereto.

[0085] It should be noted that the present disclosure can also set a stop switching number. When the number of times of state switching reaches the stop switching number, the state switching is no longer attempted, or the preset distance threshold and the preset time interval threshold are set to be infinite, and the cleaning robot is controlled to no longer attempt state switching of the cleaner, etc.

[0086] In an example embodiment of the present disclosure, a control device 600 of a cleaning robot is also provided, as shown in FIG. 6, the cleaning robot comprising a liftable cleaner, the liftable cleaner having a first state and a second state, the liftable cleaner having a distance to the ground in the first state smaller than a distance to the ground in the second state; the control device 600 of the cleaning robot can comprise: a state switching module 610, configured to control the cleaning robot to switch the liftable cleaner from the first state to the second state in response to receiving a non-cleaning movement instruction and / or detecting that the working environment comprises a preset target; a movement control module 620, configured to control the cleaning robot to move in the working environment when the liftable cleaner is in the second state.

[0087] In an example embodiment of the present disclosure, the non-cleaning movement instruction comprises any one of: an instruction to control the cleaning robot to move from a first cleaning area to a second cleaning area; an instruction to control the cleaning robot to move to a charging device; an instruction to control the cleaning robot to move to a specified position according to user interaction operation; a movement instruction to control the cleaning robot to perform a charging operation; and a movement obstacle avoidance instruction to control the cleaning robot to move according to a detected obstacle.

[0088] In an example embodiment of the present disclosure, the state switching module comprises: a preset medium area detection unit, configured to detect that the to-be-cleaned area in the working environment is a preset medium area.

[0089] In an example embodiment of the present disclosure, the control device of the cleaning robot further comprises: an area exit control unit, configured to control the cleaning robot to exit the to-be-cleaned area if it is detected that the to-be-cleaned area is a preset medium area and the cleaning robot has been in the to-be-cleaned area; and the state switching module comprises: a state switching unit, configured to control the cleaning robot to switch the liftable cleaner from the first state to the second state during or after controlling the cleaning robot to exit the to-be-cleaned area.

[0090] In an example embodiment of the present disclosure, the area exit control unit comprises: a first rotating unit, configured to control the cleaning robot to exit the to-be-cleaned area and control the cleaning robot to rotate in a preset direction.

[0091] In an example embodiment of the present disclosure, the state switching module comprises: an obstacle object detection unit, configured to detect that the to-be-cleaned area in the working environment comprises a preset obstacle object.

[0092] In an example embodiment of the present disclosure, the obstacle object detection unit comprises: a mode detection sub-unit, configured to control the cleaning robot to switch the liftable cleaner from the first state to the second state in response to detecting that the working mode of the cleaning robot is changed to a non-working mode.

[0093] In an example embodiment of the present disclosure, the control device of the cleaning robot further comprises a second rotating unit configured to control the cleaning robot to rotate and control the cleaning robot to switch the liftable cleaner from the first state to the second state again if the control of the cleaning robot to switch the liftable cleaner from the first state to the second state fails.

[0094] In an example embodiment of the present disclosure, the control device of the cleaning robot further comprises a reference information obtaining unit configured to obtain a reference position and / or a reference time of the cleaning robot in a working environment if a switching number of the control of the cleaning robot to switch the liftable cleaner from the first state to the second state is greater than a preset threshold; and a reference information judging unit configured to control the cleaning robot to switch the liftable cleaner from the first state to the second state in response to a distance between a current position of the cleaning robot and the reference position being greater than a preset distance threshold and / or a time interval between a current time and the reference time being greater than a preset time interval threshold.

[0095] The specific details of the modules of the control device of the cleaning robot in the above description have been described in detail in the corresponding method, and thus will not be described here.

[0096] It should be noted that although several modules or units of the device for performing are mentioned in the above detailed description, such 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 several modules or units embodied.

[0097] In an example embodiment of the present disclosure, an electronic device capable of implementing the above method is also provided, for example, the electronic device can be a cleaning robot capable of implementing the above method.

[0098] Those skilled in the art can understand that each aspect of the present disclosure can be implemented as a system, a method or a program product. Therefore, each aspect of the present disclosure can be embodied as a whole hardware embodiment, a whole software embodiment (including firmware, microcode, etc.), or an embodiment combining hardware and software aspects, which can be collectively referred to as "circuitry", "module" or "system" here.

[0099] The electronic device 700 according to such an example embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to FIG. 7. FIG. 7 shows the electronic device 700 only as an example, and should not bring any limitation to the functions and use range of the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0100] As shown in FIG. 7, electronic device 700, in its example form, can include a general purpose computing device in the form of a computer. The components of electronic device 700 can include, but are not limited to, at least one processing unit 710, at least one memory 720, a bus 730 that can connect the various system components, including the memory 720 and the processing unit 710, and a display unit 740.

[0101] The memory 720 stores, and the processing unit 710 executes, instructions. The instructions can comprise a program code that can be executed by the processing unit 710 to cause the processing unit 710 to perform the steps described in the above “Example Method” section according to various example embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, the processing unit 710 can perform the steps S-S shown in the figures, can perform the steps S-S shown in the figures, and so on.

[0102] The memory 720 can include a read-only memory (ROM) 723 in the form of a non- volatile memory unit, e.g., a ROM 723, and / or a random access memory (RAM) 721 in the form of a volatile memory unit.

[0103] The memory 720 can further include a program / utility 724 having a set (at least one) of 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 can give the electronic device 700 its functionality, at least in part. The program modules 725 can include the program modules described in the above “Example Method” section.

[0104] The bus 730 can represent one or more of several types of bus structures, including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, a graphics acceleration bus, a processor or local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures, and so on.

[0105] The electronic device 700 can also communicate with one or more external devices 800, such as a keyboard or pointing device, a Bluetooth device, and / or other devices that enable a user to interact with the electronic device 700. Additionally, the electronic device 700 can communicate with one or more devices that enable a user to interact with the electronic device 700, and / or one or more devices that enable the electronic device 700 to communicate with one or more other computing devices. Such communication can be via an input / output (I / O) interface 750. Further, the electronic device 700 can communicate with one or more networks, such as a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), and / or the Internet, through a network adapter 760. As depicted, the network adapter 760 can communicate with the other components of the electronic device 700 through the bus 730. It should be appreciated that, although not shown explicitly, other hardware and / or software elements 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 archival storage systems, and so on.

[0106] Through the description of the above embodiments, those skilled in the art can easily understand that the example embodiments described herein can be implemented by software, or by software in combination with necessary hardware. Therefore, the technical solutions 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 disk, a mobile hard disk, etc.) or a network, and includes a number of instructions to make a computing device (which can be a personal computer, a server, a terminal device, or a network device, etc.) execute the methods according to the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0107] In the example embodiments of the present disclosure, a computer readable storage medium is also provided, which stores a program product capable of implementing the above-mentioned methods of the present disclosure. In some possible embodiments, various aspects of the present disclosure can also be implemented in the form of a program product, which includes program codes for causing a terminal device to perform the steps according to various example embodiments of the present disclosure described in the above-mentioned “example method” section of the present specification when the program product is run on the terminal device.

[0108] The program product for implementing the above-mentioned methods according to the embodiments of the present disclosure can adopt a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) and include program codes, and can be run on a terminal device, such as a personal computer. However, the program product of the present disclosure is not limited to this, and in this document, the readable storage medium can be any tangible medium containing or storing a program, which can be used by or in combination with an instruction execution system, device or apparatus.

[0109] The program product can adopt any combination of one or more readable media. The readable medium can be a readable signal medium or a readable storage medium. The readable storage medium may, for example, be but is not limited to an electrical, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, device or apparatus, or any combination of the above. More specific examples (non-exhaustive list) of readable storage media include an electrical connection having 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 disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the above.

[0110] A computer readable signal medium can include a propagated data signal with computer executable code embodied therein. For example, a propagated signal can be an electromagnetic signal, an optical signal, and / or any other suitable type of signal. Such a propagated signal can be in the form of electrical magnetic waves, optical waves, and / or any other suitable type of waves upon which computer executable code is embodied. A suitable medium for storing and / or transmitting computer readable code includes one or more types of random access memory (RAM), magnetic storage, optical storage, and / or any other suitable type of storage.

[0111] Program code embodied on a computer readable medium can be transmitted using any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless, wired, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0112] Computer readable program code for carrying out operations of the present disclosure can be written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including an object oriented programming language such as Java, C++, or the like, and conventional procedural programming languages, such as the "C" programming language or similar programming languages. The program code can execute entirely on the user's computing device, partly on the user's computing device, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user's computing device and partly on a remote computing device or entirely on the remote computing device or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computing device can be connected to the user's computing device through any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection can be made to an external computing device, such as through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider.

[0113] In addition, the above-described flowcharts are merely illustrative of the processes contained in the method according to the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, and are not intended to limit the purpose. It is easily understood that the processes shown in the above-described flowcharts do not indicate or limit the time sequence of the processes. In addition, it is easily understood that the processes can be executed synchronously or asynchronously, for example, in a plurality of modules.

[0114] Other embodiments of the present disclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art upon considering the specification and practice of the disclosed application. The present application is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the present disclosure following the general principles thereof and including such departures from the present disclosure that come within known use or custom in the art to which the present disclosure pertains. The specification and examples are to be regarded as illustrative only, and the true scope and spirit of the present disclosure are indicated by the appended claims.

[0115] It should be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the precise structures herein described and illustrated in the drawings and that various modifications and changes can be made therein without departing from the scope thereof. The scope of the present disclosure is indicated by the appended claims rather than by the description and examples.

Claims

1. A method for controlling a cleaning robot, the cleaning robot comprising a liftable cleaner, the liftable cleaner having a first state and a second state, the liftable cleaner having a distance to a ground smaller in the first state than in the second state; the method comprising: in response to receiving a non-cleaning movement instruction and / or detecting that a preset target is included in a working environment, controlling the cleaning robot to switch the liftable cleaner from the first state to the second state; controlling the cleaning robot to move in the working environment while the liftable cleaner is in the second state.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The non-cleaning movement instruction comprises any one of: an instruction for controlling the cleaning robot to move from a first cleaning area to a second cleaning area; an instruction for controlling the cleaning robot to move to a charging device; an instruction for controlling the cleaning robot to move to a specified position according to a user interaction operation; a movement instruction for controlling the cleaning robot to perform a charging operation; an obstacle avoidance instruction for controlling the cleaning robot to move according to a detected obstacle.

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein, The detection that the working environment includes a preset target comprises: detecting that a to-be-cleaned area in the working environment is a preset medium area. 4.The method of claim 3, further comprising: if it is detected that the to-be-cleaned area is the preset medium area and the cleaning robot is already in the to-be-cleaned area, controlling the cleaning robot to exit the to-be-cleaned area; The control of the cleaning robot to switch the liftable cleaner from the first state to the second state comprises: controlling the cleaning robot to switch the liftable cleaner from the first state to the second state during or after the control of the cleaning robot to exit the to-be-cleaned area.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein, The control of the cleaning robot to exit the to-be-cleaned area comprises: controlling the cleaning robot to exit the to-be-cleaned area and controlling the cleaning robot to rotate in a preset direction.

6. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein, The detection that the working environment includes a preset target comprises: detecting that a to-be-cleaned area in the working environment includes a preset obstacle object. 7.The method of any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising: in response to detecting that a working mode of the cleaning robot is changed to a non-working mode, controlling the cleaning robot to switch the liftable cleaner from the first state to the second state. 8.The method of any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising: if the control of the cleaning robot to switch the liftable cleaner from the first state to the second state fails, controlling the cleaning robot to rotate and again controlling the liftable cleaner of the cleaning robot to switch from the first state to the second state.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein, The again control of the liftable cleaner of the cleaning robot to switch from the first state to the second state comprises: if a switching number of the control of the cleaning robot to switch the liftable cleaner from the first state to the second state is greater than a preset threshold, acquiring a reference position and / or a reference time of the cleaning robot in the working environment. In response to a distance between the current position of the cleaning robot and the reference position being greater than a preset distance threshold, and / or a time interval between the current time and the reference time being greater than a preset time interval threshold, the state switching module controls the elevatable cleaner of the cleaning robot to switch from the first state to the second state. 10.A control device of a cleaning robot, the cleaning robot comprising an elevatable cleaner, the elevatable cleaner having a first state and a second state, a distance of the elevatable cleaner from a ground surface in the first state being less than a distance of the elevatable cleaner from the ground surface in the second state; the device comprising: a state switching module configured to control the cleaning robot to switch the elevatable cleaner from the first state to the second state in response to receiving a non-cleaning movement instruction and / or detecting that a preset target is included in a working environment; a movement control module configured to control the cleaning robot to move in the working environment when the elevatable cleaner is in the second state. 11.The control device of the cleaning robot according to claim 10, wherein The non-cleaning movement instruction comprises any one of: an instruction to control the cleaning robot to move from a first cleaning area to a second cleaning area; an instruction to control the cleaning robot to move to a charging device; an instruction to control the cleaning robot to move to a specified position according to a user interaction operation; a movement instruction to control the cleaning robot to perform a charging operation; an obstacle avoidance instruction to control the cleaning robot to move according to a detected obstacle. 12.The control device of the cleaning robot according to claim 10 or 11, wherein The state switching module comprises: a preset medium area detection unit configured to detect that a to-be-cleaned area in the working environment is a preset medium area. 13.The control device of the cleaning robot according to claim 12, further comprising: a region exit control unit configured to, if it is detected that the to-be-cleaned area is the preset medium area and the cleaning robot has been in the to-be-cleaned area, control the cleaning robot to exit the to-be-cleaned area; The state switching module comprises a state switching unit, the state switching unit being configured to control the cleaning robot to switch the elevatable cleaner from the first state to the second state in a process of controlling the cleaning robot to exit the to-be-cleaned area or after the cleaning robot exits the to-be-cleaned area. 14.The control device of the cleaning robot according to claim 13, wherein The region exit control unit comprises: a first rotation unit configured to control the cleaning robot to exit the to-be-cleaned area and control the cleaning robot to rotate in a preset direction. 15.The control device of the cleaning robot according to claim 10 or 11, wherein The state switching module comprises: an obstacle object detection unit configured to detect that a to-be-cleaned area in the working environment includes a preset obstacle object. 16.The control device of the cleaning robot according to any one of claims 10 to 15, the obstacle object detection unit comprising: a mode detection sub-unit configured to, in response to detecting that a working mode of the cleaning robot is changed to a non-working mode, control the cleaning robot to switch the elevatable cleaner from the first state to the second state. 17.The control device of the cleaning robot according to any one of claims 10 to 16, further comprising: A second rotating unit is configured to control the cleaning robot to rotate and control the cleaning robot to switch the elevatable cleaner from the first state to the second state again if the cleaning robot fails to switch the elevatable cleaner from the first state to the second state. 18.The control device of the cleaning robot according to claim 17, further comprising: a reference information obtaining unit configured to obtain a reference position and / or a reference time of the cleaning robot in the working environment if a number of times of switching the cleaning robot to switch the elevatable cleaner from the first state to the second state is greater than a preset threshold value; a reference information judging unit configured to control the cleaning robot to switch the elevatable cleaner from the first state to the second state in response to a distance between a current position of the cleaning robot and the reference position being greater than a preset distance threshold value and / or a time interval between a current time and the reference time being greater than a preset time interval threshold value. 19.A computer readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program, the computer program being executed by a processor to implement the control method of the cleaning robot according to any one of claims 1-9. 20.An electronic device comprising: a processor; and a memory configured to store executable instructions of the processor; wherein the processor is configured to implement the control method of the cleaning robot according to any one of claims 1-9 via execution of the executable instructions.

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