Robot cleaner

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11019975-B2
Application number	US-201716333129-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 14, 2017
Priority date	Jul 14, 2016
Publication date	Jun 1, 2021
Grant date	Jun 1, 2021

Abstract

A robot cleaner includes a first cleaning module including left and right spin mops configured to rotate clockwise or counterclockwise when viewed from above while being in contact with a floor, and a second cleaning module including a rolling member configured to rotate clockwise or counterclockwise when viewed from a left side while being in contact with a floor, the rolling member being spaced apart from the left and right spin mops in an anteroposterior direction. A controller controls rotational motion of the left and right spin mops and rotational motion of the rolling member.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A robot cleaner comprising:
a first cleaning module including left and right spin mops configured to rotate clockwise or counterclockwise when viewed from above while being in contact with a floor;
a second cleaning module including a rolling member configured to rotate clockwise or counterclockwise when viewed from a left side while being in contact with a floor, the rolling member being spaced apart from the left and right spin mops in an anteroposterior direction; and
a controller for independently controlling rotational motion of the left and right spin mops and rotational motion of the rolling member, wherein the controller controls traveling motion of the robot cleaner by combining the independently controlled rotational motion of the left and right spin mops of the first cleaning module and the rotational motion of the rolling member of the second cleaning module.

2. The robot cleaner according to claim 1 , wherein the controller controls the rolling member to be accelerated or decelerated by changing a rotational direction and a rotational speed of the rolling member.

3. The robot cleaner according to claim 1 , wherein, upon performing a turning operation, the controller controls a rotational direction of the robot cleaner by rotating at least one of the left and right spin mops clockwise or counterclockwise, and controls a turning radius by rotating the rolling member forwards or backwards.

4. The robot cleaner according to claim 1 , wherein the controller controls the robot cleaner to perform a high-speed forward traveling operation by rotating the left and right spin mops outwards while rotating the rolling member forwards.

5. The robot cleaner according to claim 1 , wherein the controller controls the robot cleaner to stand in place by rotating the left and right spin mops outwards while rotating the rolling member backward at a first speed.

6. The robot cleaner according to claim 1 , wherein the controller controls the robot cleaner to perform a low-speed forward traveling operation by rotating the left and right spin mops outwards while rotating the rolling member backwards at a second speed.

7. The robot cleaner according to claim 1 , wherein the controller controls the robot cleaner to perform a high-speed backward traveling operation by rotating the left and right spin mops inwards while rotating the rolling member backwards.

8. The robot cleaner according to claim 1 , wherein the controller controls the robot cleaner to stand in place by rotating the left and right spin mops inward while rotating the rolling member forwards at a third speed.

9. The robot cleaner according to claim 1 , wherein the controller controls the robot cleaner to perform a low-speed backward traveling operation by rotating the left and right spin mops inwards while rotating the rolling member forwards at a fourth speed.

10. The robot cleaner according to claim 1 , further comprising a sensor unit including a plurality of sensors.

11. The robot cleaner according to claim 10 , wherein the sensor unit includes an inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensor, and
wherein the controller controls rotational speeds of the left and right spin mops and the rolling member according to variation of acceleration and angular speed detected by the inertial measurement unit sensor.

12. The robot cleaner according to claim 11 , wherein the inertial measurement unit sensor includes a gyro sensor, a geomagnetic sensor and an acceleration sensor.

13. The robot cleaner according to claim 10 , wherein the sensor unit includes an obstacle sensor, and
wherein, when the obstacle sensor detects an obstacle, the controller controls the robot cleaner to perform a skirting traveling operation by rotating the left and right spin mops clockwise or counterclockwise while rotating the rolling member forwards or backwards according to a distance to the obstacle detected by the obstacle sensor.

14. The robot cleaner according to claim 10 , wherein the sensor unit includes a position sensor for receiving an external recognition signal to detect a position of the robot cleaner, and
wherein the controller calculates speed information based on a receipt time of the recognition signal at the position sensor, and then controls rotation of the motor by estimating a target trajectory from calculation of a remaining distance and positional error with respect to the target trajectory and the current site, based on position information of the position sensor.

15. The robot cleaner according to claim 14 , wherein the position sensor is an ultra-wideband (UWB) sensor.

Assignees

• Lg Electronics Inc

Inventors

• Jang Jaewon
• Park Jeongseop
• Yoon Sungho

Classifications

• A47L2201/00

  Robotic cleaning machines, i.e. with automatic control of the travelling movement or the cleaning operation · CPC title

• A47L2201/06

  Control of the cleaning action for autonomous devices; Automatic detection of the surface condition before, during or after cleaning · CPC title

• A47L2201/04

  Automatic control of the travelling movement; Automatic obstacle detection · CPC title

• A47L2201/028

  Refurbishing floor engaging tools, e.g. cleaning of beating brushes · CPC title

• A47L11/4066

  Propulsion of the whole machine · CPC title