Robot Cleaner Sensor Sensitivity Switching for Precise Navigation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Robot cleaners face inaccuracies in distance measurement due to uneven floors, leading to errors in reaching exact target points, as they rely on indirect methods estimating distance based on traveling distance.
Innovation Solution
A robot cleaner equipped with a rotatable sensor unit that adjusts sensitivity between two modes to accurately sense obstacles and navigate to a target point by emitting and receiving light, allowing for precise obstacle detection and path adjustment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If the robot cleaner uses indirect distance measurement based on traveling distance, then the device complexity is reduced, but the measurement precision deteriorates due to floor unevenness errors
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical indirect measurement method (based on traveling distance and wheel rotation) with an optical sensing system. The sensor unit emits light and detects reflected light from obstacles or target points to directly measure distance, eliminating the accumulation errors caused by floor unevenness that affect mechanical measurement methods.
2Measurement precision
If the sensor unit uses high sensitivity to detect obstacles, then the measurement precision improves, but the robot cleaner takes longer to locate the recharging base due to increased sensitivity to ambient light
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic sensitivity adjustment in the sensor unit. The sensitivity is not fixed but is adaptively changed based on the current operational mode: high sensitivity is used for obstacle detection during cleaning, while low sensitivity is used for recharging base location to avoid false detections from ambient light. This dynamic adjustment resolves the contradiction between detection accuracy and search speed.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the sensitivity parameter of the sensor unit according to different operational requirements. By adjusting this key parameter, the system can optimize performance for different tasks: high sensitivity for precise obstacle avoidance and low sensitivity for rapid recharging base acquisition, thus resolving the time-accuracy tradeoff.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The adjustable sensor sensitivity enables accurate and quick navigation to target points, improving the robot cleaner's ability to avoid obstacles and locate a recharging base, enhancing its overall cleaning efficiency and accuracy.
Implementation Method 1
a sensor unit that is rotatable to sense an obstacle using light reflected or scattered by the obstacle
Data Source
AI summary
A robot cleaner includes a main body, a traveling unit, a cleaning unit, a sensor unit, and a controller. The traveling unit allows the main body to travel. The cleaning unit suctions foreign substances around the main body during the traveling. The sensor unit is rotatable and senses an obstacle using light reflected or scattered by the obstacle. The controller controls the traveling unit so as to travel along a traveling path and controls the cleaning unit so as to perform cleaning. Here, the sensor unit includes a first mode and a second mode that are set to differ from each other in sensitivity with respect to the reflected or scattered light, and the controller changes the sensitivity of the sensor unit according to a traveling mode.