Displacement detection assembly and cleaning robot

Abstract

The present application discloses a displacement detection assembly and a cleaning robot. The main technical solution of the present application is as follows: the displacement detection assembly comprises: at least one light-emitting assembly, wherein the light-emitting assembly is used for projecting detection light onto a target surface; and a detector, wherein the propagation area of specularly reflected light of the detection light from the target surface does not overlap the area where the detector is located, and the detector is used for receiving diffusely reflected light of the detection light from the target surface and generating image information. The present application is mainly used for acquiring the displacement of a cleaning robot.

Description

A displacement detection component and a cleaning robot

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202422757703.0, filed on November 12, 2024, entitled "A Displacement Detection Component and Cleaning Robot", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] This application relates to the field of smart home technology, and in particular to a displacement detection component and a cleaning robot. Background Technology

[0003] With the continuous development of smart home technology, cleaning robots are being used more and more frequently in daily home cleaning. To accurately determine the position of the cleaning robot, a motion detection device is installed on it. This device mainly consists of a light source and a sensor, which are placed adjacent to each other. The light source projects detection light onto the ground perpendicularly, and the sensor acquires an image of the light reflection from the ground. After the robot moves, the displacement information can be obtained by comparing the differences between the before and after images.

[0004] When using robots, scenarios involving cleaning smooth surfaces, such as tiled or steel plates, are encountered. These surfaces exhibit strong specular reflection and weak diffuse reflection. A large amount of specularly reflected light is projected onto the sensors, while diffuse reflection signals are obscured, resulting in unclear grayscale variations in the image and an inability to identify effective features. This leads to recognition failure, consequently causing inaccurate robot positioning and navigation, and ultimately affecting cleaning effectiveness. (Application Content)

[0005] In view of this, embodiments of this application provide a displacement detection component and a cleaning robot, which avoids the specular reflection light from the target face from being projected onto the detector by ensuring that the propagation area of ​​the specular reflection light is not overlapping with the area where the detector is located, thereby reducing the interference of the specular reflection light and ensuring recognition accuracy.

[0006] On the one hand, this application provides a displacement detection component, including:

[0007] At least one light-emitting component is provided, which is used to project detection light onto the target surface;

[0008] The detector is located in the area where the specular reflection of the target face is propagated by the detection light. The detector area does not overlap with the area where the detector is located. The detector is used to receive the diffuse reflection of the target face from the detection light and generate image information.

[0009] Among them, the projection of the detection light projected by the light-emitting component onto the target surface overlaps with the projection of the detector onto the target surface.

[0010] The light-emitting component includes a single light-emitting element;

[0011] Alternatively, the light-emitting component includes a light-emitting element and a lens. The lens is located on the side where the light-emitting element emits light. The light-emitting element is used to project initial light onto the lens, which is refracted by the lens to form detection light and projected onto the target surface.

[0012] The light-emitting component includes a light-emitting element, which includes at least one of a point light source, a surface light source, and a line light source.

[0013] The light-emitting component can be a single unit or multiple units located on different sides of the detector.

[0014] The displacement detection component also includes:

[0015] The housing, light-emitting components, and detector are all connected to the housing;

[0016] The height adjustment component is connected to the housing and is used to adjust the distance between the housing and the target surface so that the distance between the light-emitting component and the target surface remains consistent.

[0017] The height adjustment component includes an elastic element, which is used to apply a spring force to the housing to move towards the target surface.

[0018] The displacement detection component also includes:

[0019] A light-absorbing element is disposed in the projection area of ​​the specularly reflected light from the target surface. The light-absorbing element is used to absorb the specularly reflected light from the target surface of the detection light.

[0020] The light-absorbing component includes a light-absorbing veneer and / or a hollowed-out and / or recessed space.

[0021] On the other hand, this application also provides a cleaning robot, including at least one displacement detection component as described in any of the above, and a robot body;

[0022] The displacement detection component is connected to the robot body.

[0023] The displacement detection component and cleaning robot proposed in this application adjust the relative positions of the light-emitting component and the detection component to ensure that the specular reflection light projected by the light-emitting component onto the target surface is entirely projected outside the detection component and is not received by the detection component, while a portion of the diffuse reflection light is received by the detection component. This improves the signal-to-noise ratio of the light received by the detection component, allowing for more accurate determination of the robot's movement and ensuring detection accuracy. Attached Figure Description

[0024] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the first displacement detection component provided in the embodiment of this application;

[0025] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the second displacement detection component provided in the embodiment of this application;

[0026] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the third displacement detection component provided in the embodiment of this application;

[0027] Figure 4 is a structural schematic diagram of the fourth displacement detection component provided in the embodiment of this application;

[0028] Figure 5 is a structural schematic diagram of a cleaning robot provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0029] Figure 6 is a cross-sectional structural diagram of a cleaning robot provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0030] Among them, the displacement detection component-10, robot body-20, light-emitting component-100, light-emitting element-110, lens-120, detector-200, target surface-300, shell-400, height adjustment component-500, and light-absorbing component-600 are included. Detailed Implementation To further illustrate the technical means and effects adopted by this application to achieve the intended purpose, the following detailed description, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and preferred embodiments, describes in detail the specific implementation, structure, features, and effects of a displacement detection component proposed in this application. This application provides a displacement detection component 10, which can be used on various devices requiring displacement monitoring, such as intelligent moving bodies like mobile cleaning devices, or cleaning robots. Cleaning robots can also be called intelligent cleaning devices, sweeping machines, mopping machines, etc., and can perform autonomous cleaning without user control. The cleaning robot includes a robot body 20, on which functional mechanisms such as a moving mechanism, a cleaning mechanism, and a sensing mechanism are installed, along with a controller for controlling these functional mechanisms and a power supply. The robot body 20 can have various shapes. To make the robot body 20 move more stably and to allow it to enter lower spaces, such as under a bed for cleaning, the outer contour of the robot body 20 can be flat, such as a flat circle or square. The sensing mechanism includes the displacement detection component 10 provided in this application, and may also include sensing devices such as position sensors and attitude sensors, used to provide the controller with position and attitude information of the robot body 20 to guide the operation of the moving mechanism. In a more specific embodiment, the robot body 20 includes a base plate and a surrounding wall extending to one side of the base plate. The base plate is positioned opposite the surface to be cleaned, such as the ground. The displacement detection component 10 can be a single unit, as shown in Figure 5, which can be mounted on the base plate to acquire the robot's movement information based on the feedback of light from the ground. Alternatively, there can be multiple displacement detection components 10, with one or more components mounted on the base plate and the surrounding wall respectively. This allows for the acquisition of the robot's movement information under different conditions using different displacement detection components 10. For example, when the robot rotates in a confined space, the rotation information can be accurately obtained using the displacement detection component 10 located on the surrounding wall. When the robot walks along a wall, integrating the different displacement detection components 10 located on the base plate and the surrounding wall allows for more accurate determination of the robot's position. In one embodiment, as shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3, the displacement detection component 10 includes at least one light-emitting component 100, which is used to project detection light onto the target surface 300. The detector 200 is located in an area where the specular reflection of the detection light from the target surface 300 does not overlap with the area where the detector 200 is located. The detector 200 is used to receive the diffuse reflection of the detection light from the target surface 300 and generate image information. The target surface 300 can be various surfaces depending on the location of the displacement detection component 10. For example, when the displacement detection component 10 is set on the bottom plate of the robot body 20, the target surface 300 is the ground; when the displacement detection component 10 is set on the wall of the robot body 20, the target surface 300 can be the wall or the facade of furniture, etc. In the following embodiments, the principle of the displacement detection component 10 will be explained in detail with the example of the displacement detection component 10 being set on the bottom plate of the robot body 20 and the target surface 300 being the ground. The light-emitting component 100 can be of various types, such as a light-emitting diode (LED) as the light source, which is low-cost and easy to install. Alternatively, a laser light source (LD) can be used, which has advantages such as high power, long lifespan, and small size. The detector 200 receives the reflected light from the target surface 300 and forms image information. Specifically, the detector 200 consists of an objective lens and a detector. The objective lens focuses the reflected light, and the detector is mainly used for imaging. The detector can be a charge-coupled device (CCD), CMOS, a low-light solid-state imaging device, or a short-wave detector. The main controller of the cleaning robot is connected to the detector 200. The detector 200 acquires images at a high frequency, such as tens of thousands of images per second. The main controller performs feature analysis based on the brightness and darkness of the images to identify the texture of the target surface 300. Textures at higher elevations are brighter, while those at lower elevations are dimmer. By comparing images taken at different times, the positional changes of the texture are determined, thereby accurately acquiring the movement position of the displacement detection component 10, i.e., the robot body 20. Taking the target surface 300 as a horizontal ground as an example, the direction of light and the type of light acquired by the detector 200 are described in detail. As shown in Figure 1, the detection light of the light-emitting component 100 is projected onto the ground at an angle relative to the horizontal surface, i.e., the ground. The reflected light of the ground on the detection light includes specular reflection light a, which is symmetrical with respect to the normal of the incident light, and diffuse reflection light b, which is generated by the texture formed by the unevenness of the ground. The fact that the propagation area of ​​the specular reflection light from the target surface 300 does not overlap with the area where the detector 200 is located means that no specular reflection light a will be projected onto the detector 200, or that the propagation path of the specular reflection light a will not pass through the detector 200. Alternatively, it can be said that all the specular reflection light a forms a projection within the plane where the detector 200 is set. Here, the projection refers to a theoretical projection. The detector 200 is set outside the projection, thereby ensuring that the detector 200 will not receive light generated by the specular reflection from the ground, but only diffuse reflection generated by the uneven texture. This ensures that the received light has a high signal-to-noise ratio and clear uneven texture information, thereby enabling accurate identification of texture changes and accurate determination of the cleaning robot's movement information. The light-emitting component 100 and the detector 200 may not be at the same height. As shown in Figure 1, the light-emitting component 100 can be positioned lower than the detector 200, thereby increasing the utilization rate of light. Alternatively, as shown in Figure 2, the light-emitting component 100 and the detector 200 can be at the same height, which can reduce the space occupied in terms of height. The relative positions of the light-emitting component 100 and the detector 200, as well as the height and angle of the light-emitting component 100 and the detector 200 relative to the target surface 300, can all be set as needed, such as based on the light type of the light-emitting component 100, the installation position of the light-emitting component 100 on the robot body 20, and the type of the target surface 300. In one embodiment provided in this application, as shown in Figure 2, the light-emitting component 100 and the detector 200 are located at the same height, and the vertical distance H between them and the target surface 300 is greater than or equal to 6 cm and less than or equal to 12 cm. In the light beam emitted by the light-emitting component 100, the angle α between the outermost ray farthest from the detector 200 and the vertical direction is greater than or equal to 7 degrees and less than or equal to 10 degrees. The horizontal distance L between the center point of the light-emitting component 100 and the center point of the detector 200 is greater than or equal to 2 cm and less than or equal to 4 cm. In a more specific embodiment, the vertical distance is 10 cm, the angle α is 8.5 degrees, and the horizontal distance L is 3 cm. The displacement detection component and cleaning robot proposed in this application adjust the relative positions of the light-emitting component and the detection component to ensure that the specular reflection light projected by the light-emitting component onto the target surface is entirely projected outside the detection component and is not received by the detection component, while a portion of the diffuse reflection light is received by the detection component. This improves the signal-to-noise ratio of the light received by the detection component, allowing for more accurate determination of the robot's movement and ensuring detection accuracy. The detector 200 can be located at any position outside the propagation area of ​​the specular reflected light a, or, in one embodiment, the projection of the detection light projected by the light-emitting component 100 onto the target surface 300 on the target surface 300 has an overlapping area with the projection of the detector 200 onto the target surface 300. If possible, the center of the projection of the detector 200 onto the target surface 300 is located at the same point as the center of the projection of the detection light onto the target surface 300. When the target surface 300 is the ground, the detector 200 is located directly above the projection of the detection light onto the target surface 300. This maximizes the distance between the detector 200 and the target surface 300, thereby maximizing the acquisition of diffuse reflected light b and increasing the acquired light intensity. This avoids the problem of insufficient incident light due to the detector 200 being too far from the projection of the detection light onto the target surface 300, making it difficult to extract the texture features of the unevenness of the target surface 300. On the other hand, acquiring image information from directly above the target surface 300 in a direction perpendicular to the target surface 300 results in more accurate acquisition of the texture features of the target surface 300, avoiding the problem of overlapping and occlusion of texture features in tilted image acquisition. In one embodiment, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, the light-emitting component 100 includes a single light-emitting element, which can be the aforementioned LED light source or LD light source. Alternatively, as shown in Figure 3, the light-emitting component 100 includes a light-emitting element 110 and a lens 120. The lens 120 is located on the side from which the light is emitted by the light-emitting element 110. The light-emitting element 110 is used to project initial light into the lens 120, which is refracted by the lens 120 to form detection light and projected onto the target surface 300. The lens 120 allows for flexibility in the placement and angle of the light-emitting element 110. Under the condition that the incident angle of the detection light relative to the target surface 300 is within a preset range, and the projection of the detection light onto the target surface 300 is directly below the detector 200, the lens 120 can be used to raise the height of the light-emitting element 110 to the same height as the detector 200. This closer proximity of the light-emitting element 110 to the detector 200 allows for a reduction in the overall size of the displacement detection assembly 10, thus minimizing its footprint on the cleaning robot. The lens 120 can be a combination lens or a cemented lens, depending on actual needs. Furthermore, the lens 120 can also be used for light focusing, such as directing the detection light to be emitted as parallel light. In one embodiment, the light-emitting component 100 includes a light-emitting element 110, which includes at least one of a point light source, a surface light source, and a line light source. The light-emitting element 110 can be a single point light source, such as a single LED bead or a single laser emitter. Alternatively, the light-emitting element 110 can be a combination of multiple point light sources, such as an array of multiple LED beads to form a surface light source, which can increase light intensity and brightness, so that the detector 200 can obtain sufficient light for feature recognition. In one embodiment, the light-emitting component 100 is a single unit, or the number of light-emitting components 100 is multiple units, with the multiple light-emitting components 100 located on different sides of the detector 200. As shown in Figures 1-3, a single light-emitting component 100 can be disposed on either side of the detector 200. Alternatively, as shown in Figure 4, there can be two light-emitting components 100, disposed on different sides of the detector 200, thereby illuminating the target surface 300 from different sides of the detector 200. This provides the detector 200 with diffuse reflected light with a higher signal-to-noise ratio, increasing the accuracy of the detector 200's recognition. There can also be three or more light-emitting components 100. In one embodiment, the displacement detection assembly 10 further includes: a housing 400, with the light-emitting assembly 100 and the detector 200 all connected to the housing 400. A height adjustment member 500 is also connected to the housing 400 and is used to adjust the distance between the housing 400 and the target surface 300, so that the distance between the light-emitting assembly 100 and the target surface 300 remains consistent. As shown in Figure 6, the outer shell 400 supports and fixes the light-emitting component 100 and the detector 200. The height adjustment component 500 ensures that the distance between the light-emitting component 100 and the detector 200 and the target surface 300 is always a preset distance, such as ensuring that the detector 200 is always 6 cm from the ground. An opening can be made on the bottom plate of the robot body 20 to allow the outer shell 400 to move in the vertical direction, and the outer shell 400 is slidably connected to the edge of the opening. The outer contour of the outer shell 400 includes an upper cylindrical area and a lower arc-shaped conical area. The bottom end of the outer shell 400 has a light-transmitting port for detecting and reflecting light. The height adjustment component 500 can be a spring, located between the outer shell 400 and the robot body 20, to provide elastic force for the outer shell 400 to move towards the ground. In actual use, the bottom of the outer casing 400 contacts the ground and slides on the ground as the cleaning robot moves. In cases where the cleaning robot encounters obstacles, causing the bottom plate of the robot body 20 to rise, or the moving wheels of the cleaning robot deform due to prolonged use or accumulate dust, resulting in an increase in wheel diameter and thus causing the bottom plate to rise, or the bottom plate of the cleaning robot sinks due to prolonged use, the displacement detection component 10 is prevented from changing its position relative to the ground due to the movable connection between the displacement detection component 10 and the outer casing 400, and the setting of the height adjustment component 500. This prevents the position of the displacement detection component 10 from changing relative to the ground, thereby preventing the position of the light-emitting component 100 and the detector 200 from changing relative to the ground, preventing changes in the light path caused by changes in the reflective surface, and preventing specular reflection light from entering the detector 200. This ensures that the cleaning robot can still effectively perform displacement detection even after prolonged use. The arc-shaped conical area of ​​the outer shell 400 can be used for obstacle avoidance. When the outer shell 400 encounters an obstacle, it can convert the horizontal force into a vertical force through the arc-shaped outer wall, and then move upward through the elastic force of the spring to avoid the obstacle. In one embodiment, as shown in FIG5, the displacement detection component further includes a light-absorbing element 600, which is disposed in the projection area of ​​the specularly reflected light from the target surface 300. The light-absorbing element 600 is used to absorb the light of the detection light reflected by the specular surface of the target surface 300. The light-absorbing component 600 absorbs specularly reflected light, preventing interference from the detector 200 caused by the light being reflected again after passing through the surface of the robot body 20. The light-absorbing component 600 can be a light-absorbing patch or coating, such as a graphene coating applied to the base plate of the robot body 20. Alternatively, a hollow or recessed space can be created on the base plate of the robot body 20 corresponding to the projection position of the specularly reflected light, allowing the specularly reflected light to enter the interior of the robot body 20 or a separately designed space, where it is released through multiple reflections. Alternatively, a graphene coating can be applied to the recessed space. On the other hand, this application also provides a cleaning robot, including at least one displacement detection component 10 as described in any of the above embodiments, and a robot body 20. The displacement detection component 10 is connected to the robot body 20. For example, the displacement detection component 10 can be installed on the base plate and / or surrounding surface of the robot body 20, thereby accurately acquiring the movement information of the robot body 20. The displacement detection component 10 can be fixed to the robot body 20, or, as in the aforementioned embodiments, can be movably connected to the robot body 20 via a height adjustment component 500. The displacement detection component 10 may include a housing 400, which is fixedly or movably connected to the robot body 20. Both the light-emitting component 100 and the detector 200 are fixed by the housing 400. Alternatively, the displacement detection component 10 may not have a separate housing, and both the light-emitting component 100 and the detector 200 may be fixed by the housing of the robot body 20. The cleaning robot includes the displacement detection component 10 of any of the above embodiments, and the advantages of including the displacement detection component 10 of any of the above embodiments will not be repeated here. The above description is merely a specific embodiment of this application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technology disclosed in this application should be included within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A displacement detection assembly, wherein, include: At least one light-emitting component (100) is provided for projecting detection light onto the target surface (300); The detector (200) is located in the area where the specular reflection of the target surface (300) propagates the detection light, and the detector (200) does not overlap with the area where the detector (200) is located. The detector (200) is used to receive the diffuse reflection of the target surface (300) on the detection light and generate image information.

2. The displacement detection component according to claim 1, wherein, The projection of the detection light projected by the light-emitting component (100) onto the target surface (300) on the target surface (300) has an overlapping area with the projection of the detector (200) onto the target surface (300).

3. The displacement detection component according to claim 1, wherein, The light-emitting component (100) includes a single light-emitting element; Alternatively, the light-emitting component (100) includes a light-emitting element (110) and a lens (120), the lens (120) being located on the side from which the light-emitting element (110) emits light, the light-emitting element (110) being used to project initial light onto the lens (120), the initial light being refracted by the lens (120) to form the detection light and projected onto the target surface (300).

4. The displacement detection component according to claim 1, wherein, The light-emitting component (100) includes a light-emitting element (110), which includes at least one of a point light source, a surface light source, and a line light source.

5. The displacement detection component according to claim 1, wherein, The light-emitting component (100) is a single unit, or the number of light-emitting components (100) is multiple units, and the multiple light-emitting components (100) are located on different sides of the detector (200).

6. The displacement detection assembly of claim 1, wherein, The displacement detection component further includes: The housing (400) is connected to both the light-emitting component (100) and the detector (200). A height adjustment component (500) is connected to the housing (400) and is used to adjust the distance between the housing (400) and the target surface (300) so that the distance between the light-emitting component (100) and the target surface (300) remains consistent.

7. The displacement detection component according to claim 6, wherein, The height adjustment member (500) includes an elastic element for applying a spring force to the housing (400) to move toward the target surface (300).

8. The displacement detection assembly of claim 1, wherein, The displacement detection component further includes: A light-absorbing element (600) is disposed in the projection area of ​​the specularly reflected light of the target surface (300), and the light-absorbing element (600) is used to absorb the specularly reflected light of the detection light of the target surface (300).

9. The displacement detection component according to claim 8, wherein, The light-absorbing component (600) includes a light-absorbing surface and / or a hollow and / or recessed space.

10. A cleaning robot, wherein, A robot (1) comprising at least one displacement detection assembly (10) according to any one of claims 1-9, and a robot body (20); The displacement detection assembly (10) is connected to the robot body (20).

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