Robot Cleaner Path Switching for Start-Position Dust Removal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional robot cleaners are limited in their ability to adapt their cleaning patterns based on their starting position, often failing to effectively remove dust accumulated at their current location, leading to user inconvenience, as they can only perform cleaning along a predetermined pattern regardless of whether they start from a charger or outside it.
Innovation Solution
A robot cleaner equipped with sensors and a controller that recognizes its location relative to a charger and adjusts its cleaning pattern to perform a spot cleaning process if outside the charger, using patterns like square spiral or curved spiral, before potentially switching to an automatic cleaning process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the robot cleaner performs cleaning along a predetermined traveling pattern regardless of start position, then the cleaning process is simple to control, but the robot cannot effectively remove dust accumulated at its current location when starting outside the charger
Solution Approach 1:
The robot cleaner dynamically adjusts its traveling pattern based on its starting position. When starting outside the charger, it automatically switches to a spot cleaning pattern focused on the current location. When starting at the charger, it uses a comprehensive lattice pattern. This dynamic adaptation resolves the contradiction by making the system both simple to operate (automatic selection) and effective at the current location (context-aware pattern selection).
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the cleaning parameters (traveling pattern, coverage area, movement strategy) based on the detected starting position. The controller modifies the cleaning parameters automatically: using a localized spot cleaning pattern when outside the charger to concentrate on current dust accumulation, and a global lattice pattern when at the charger for comprehensive cleaning. This parameter adaptation enables both ease of operation and improved cleaning effectiveness.
2Productivity
If the robot cleaner uses a spot cleaning function to preferentially clean specific positions, then dust at current location can be removed effectively, but users may not know how to use or frequently use this function
Solution Approach 1:
The robot cleaner performs self-service by automatically determining whether to execute spot cleaning or lattice cleaning based on its own position relative to the charger. The system autonomously selects the appropriate cleaning mode without requiring user knowledge or manual intervention. This resolves the contradiction by making the effective spot cleaning function automatically accessible, eliminating the need for users to know how to activate it manually.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses feedback from position detection (determining whether the robot is at the charger or outside it) to automatically select the appropriate cleaning pattern. This feedback mechanism enables the robot to intelligently switch between spot cleaning and lattice cleaning modes, providing effective cleaning at the current location while maintaining ease of operation through automatic decision-making.
3Area of stationary object
If the robot cleaner moves from current position to other positions for comprehensive cleaning, then the entire cleaning region can be covered, but the robot is unable to first remove dust gathered in its current positions
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning process is segmented into two distinct modes: spot cleaning mode for localized dust removal at the current position, and lattice cleaning mode for comprehensive area coverage. The system automatically selects the appropriate segment based on starting position, enabling focused cleaning when outside the charger and comprehensive cleaning when at the charger, thus resolving the contradiction between coverage area and cleaning speed at current location.
Solution Approach 2:
When starting outside the charger, the robot performs preliminary spot cleaning at its current location before potentially transitioning to lattice cleaning. This preliminary action removes dust accumulated at the starting position first, addressing the urgency of current location cleaning while maintaining the option for comprehensive coverage, thereby resolving the contradiction between immediate cleaning effectiveness and overall coverage.
Data Source
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AI summary
A robot cleaner to perform a cleaning process by changing a traveling pattern according to a cleaning start position and a method for controlling the same are disclosed. The robot cleaner recognizes a current position of the robot cleaner upon receiving the automatic cleaning command. If the automatic cleaning process starts from the charger, the robot cleaner performs the automatic cleaning process using a conventional cleaning method. Otherwise, if the automatic cleaning process starts from the outside of the charger, the robot cleaner changes a traveling pattern, performs the spot cleaning process and then selectively performs the automatic cleaning process.