Method and system for controlling cleaning robot

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12168291-B2
Application number	US-202217703215-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 24, 2022
Priority date	May 3, 2021
Publication date	Dec 17, 2024
Grant date	Dec 17, 2024

Abstract

A method, performed by a server device, of controlling a cleaning robot includes: receiving a first user input related to the cleaning robot, through a first home appliance; identifying a first scenario corresponding to the received first user input, from a scenario list defining operations of the cleaning robot; identifying a control command including movement position information indicating a destination of the cleaning robot, based on the identified first scenario; and transmitting the identified control command to the cleaning robot.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method, performed by a server device, of controlling a cleaning robot, the method comprising:
receiving, by at least one processor of the server device, a first user input related to the cleaning robot, through a first home appliance, based on a user selecting an idle button associated with the cleaning robot on the first home appliance;
identifying, by the at least one processor of the server device, a first scenario corresponding to the received first user input, from a scenario list defining operations of the cleaning robot, wherein a first scenario relates to the first home appliance and the scenario list includes scenarios that match idle buttons of at least one home appliance with operations of the cleaning robot;
identifying, by the at least one processor of the server device, a control command including movement position information indicating a destination of the cleaning robot from the identified first scenario; and
transmitting, by the at least one processor of the server device, the identified control command to the cleaning robot.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the idle button is not matched to an original function provided by the first home appliance.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the first scenario comprises at least one operation of the cleaning robot, the at least one operation corresponding to the input related to the idle button of the first home appliance.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein
the identified control command comprises a command to clean a first area within a preset distance from the first home appliance, and
the method further comprises transmitting, to the first home appliance, a cleaning completion message with respect to the first area, according to a cleaning completion message of the cleaning robot.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
obtaining information about the idle buttons of at least one home appliance; and
providing the user with a plurality of recommended scenarios in which each idle button of the idle buttons is matched to an operation of the cleaning robot, through a display device.

6. The method of claim 5 , further comprising:
receiving an input of selecting a second scenario related to an idle button of a second home appliance from among the plurality of recommended scenarios, through the display device; and
adding the selected second scenario to the scenario list.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
providing a display device with a scenario setting window comprising a list of a plurality of home appliances, a list of idle buttons, and an operation list of the cleaning robot;
receiving an input of setting a second scenario related to an idle button of a second home appliance, through the scenario setting window; and
adding the second scenario to the scenario list.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the providing a display device with a scenario setting window further comprises:
obtaining, from the cleaning robot, idle button information of a third home appliance which is not connected to the server device; and
adding, to the scenario setting window, identification information of the third home appliance and the obtained idle button information of the third home appliance.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving, from the cleaning robot, a distributed processing request for at least one of image information or sensing information;
checking idle resource information of a plurality of home appliances according to the received distributed processing request;
selecting a second home appliance from among the plurality of home appliances, based on the checked idle resource information of the plurality of home appliances; and
requesting the selected second home appliance for distributed processing of the at least one of the image information or the sensing information.

10. The method of claim 9 , further comprising:
receiving, from the second home appliance, a result of the distributed processing of the at least one of the image information or the sensing information; and
transmitting, to the cleaning robot, the received result of the distributed processing of the at least one of the image information or the sensing information.

11. A server device comprising:
a communication interface configured to communicate with at least one home appliance and a cleaning robot;
a memory storing one or more instructions; and
at least one processor connected to the memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the one or more instructions to:
receive a first user input related to the cleaning robot, through a first home appliance of the at least one home appliance, based on a user selecting an idle button associated with the cleaning robot on the first home appliance;
identify a first scenario corresponding to the received first user input, from a scenario list defining operations of the cleaning robot, wherein a first scenario relates to the first home appliance and the scenario list includes scenarios that match idle buttons of at least one home appliance with operations of the cleaning robot;
identify a control command including movement position information indicating a destination of the cleaning robot from the identified first scenario; and
transmit the identified control command to the cleaning robot through the communication interface.

12. The server device of claim 11 , wherein the idle button is not matched to an original function provided by the first home appliance.

13. The server device of claim 11 , wherein
the identified control command comprises a command to clean a first area within a preset distance from the first home appliance, and
the at least one processor is further configured to execute the one or more instructions to transmit, to the first home appliance through the communication interface, a cleaning completion message with respect to the first area, according to a cleaning completion message of the cleaning robot.

14. The server device of claim 11 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the one or more instructions to:
obtain information about the idle buttons of the at least one home appliance; and
provide the user with a plurality of recommended scenarios in which each idle button of the idle buttons is matched to an operation of the cleaning robot, through a display device.

15. The server device of claim 14 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the one or more instructions to:
receive an input of selecting a second scenario related to an idle button of a second home appliance from among the plurality of recommended scenarios, through the display device; and
add the selected second scenario to the scenario list.

16. The server device of claim 11 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the one or more instructions to:
provide a display device with a scenario setting window comprising a list of a plurality of home appliances, a list of idle buttons, and an operation list of the cleaning robot;
receive an input of setting a second scenario related to an idle button of a second home appliance, through the scenario setting window; and
add the second scenario to the scenario list.

17. The server device of claim 16 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the one or more instructions to:
obtain, from the cleaning robot through the communication interface, idle button information of a third home appliance which is not connected to the server device; a

Assignees

• Samsung Electronics Co Ltd

Inventors

• Lee Kunyoung

Classifications

• G06F3/0482

  Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus · CPC title

• G06F3/04847

  Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials · CPC title

• B25J11/0085

  Cleaning · CPC title

• H04L12/282

  based on user interaction within the home (receiver circuitry for displaying additional information being controlled by a remote control apparatus H04N21/42204) · CPC title

• H04L12/2825

  Reporting to a device located outside the home and the home network (access arrangements H04L12/2856; for remote control or remote monitoring of applications H04L67/025; telephonic communication systems adapted for combination with telemetering systems H04M11/002) · CPC title