Robot Cleaner Travel Pattern Switching for Spot Cleaning Starts
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional robot cleaners are unable to efficiently perform spot cleaning at their current position, as they can only follow a predetermined traveling pattern regardless of their starting location, leading to user inconvenience and underutilization of spot cleaning functions.
Innovation Solution
A method and system for a robot cleaner that recognizes its location relative to a charger and adjusts its traveling pattern to perform a spot cleaning process when starting outside the charger, using patterns like square spiral or curved spiral to clean the current position before switching to an automatic cleaning process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the robot cleaner follows a predetermined traveling pattern regardless of starting location, then the cleaning process can be automatically executed, but the robot cleaner cannot efficiently remove dust at its current position when starting outside the charger
Solution Approach 1:
The robot cleaner dynamically changes its traveling pattern based on its starting position. When starting outside the charger, it switches to a spot cleaning pattern to clean the current position first, then transitions to the automatic cleaning pattern. This dynamic adaptation resolves the contradiction between maintaining automatic cleaning execution and efficiently cleaning the current position.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the traveling pattern parameter based on the starting position condition. By detecting whether the robot is inside or outside the charger, it selects different cleaning patterns (spot cleaning pattern vs. automatic cleaning pattern), thereby optimizing cleaning efficiency for each scenario while maintaining automatic operation.
2Productivity
If the robot cleaner uses a spot cleaning function to clean the current position, then dust at the current position can be removed efficiently, but users may not know how to use or frequently use this function
Solution Approach 1:
The robot cleaner automatically determines whether to perform spot cleaning based on its own starting position without requiring user input or knowledge of the spot cleaning function. The system self-services by autonomously selecting the appropriate cleaning pattern, making the spot cleaning function easy to use while maintaining high cleaning efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The robot cleaner uses feedback from its position detection (whether it is inside or outside the charger) to automatically adjust its cleaning behavior. This feedback mechanism enables the system to autonomously decide when to apply spot cleaning, eliminating the need for users to understand or manually activate the spot cleaning function.
3Extent of automation
If the robot cleaner moves from current position to other positions following a predetermined pattern, then automatic cleaning can be performed, but the robot cleaner is unable to first remove dust gathered in its current positions
Solution Approach 1:
The robot cleaner performs preliminary spot cleaning at its current position before executing the automatic cleaning pattern. By detecting its starting position outside the charger, it first cleans the current position where dust has accumulated, then proceeds with the automatic cleaning process, ensuring both automation and effective dust removal at the starting location.
Data Source
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AI summary
A robot cleaner (10) 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 (20), the robot cleaner (10) performs the automatic cleaning process using a conventional cleaning method. Otherwise, if the automatic cleaning process starts from the outside of the charger (20), the robot cleaner changes a traveling pattern, performs the spot cleaning process and then selectively performs the automatic cleaning process.