Mobile robot and control method therefor

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12204334-B2
Application number	US-202017427023-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 31, 2020
Priority date	Jan 31, 2019
Publication date	Jan 21, 2025
Grant date	Jan 21, 2025

Abstract

The present specification relates to a mobile robot and a control method therefor, and relates to a mobile robot and a control method therefor, whereby, on the basis of a result of comparing position information measured on the basis of information on the traveling of a main body, with position information measured on the basis of the result of receiving a signal, the mobile robot determines a specific position point, within a traveling area, where a speed limit occurs.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A mobile robot, comprising:
a main body;
a drive unit that moves the main body;
a sensing unit that senses at least one of posture information of the main body and driving information of the drive unit;
a receiver that receives signals transmitted from one or more transmitters disposed in a driving area; and
a controller that determines a current position of the main body based on at least one of a sensing result of the sensing unit and a reception result of the receiver to control the drive unit to be driven in the driving area so as to control the driving of the main body,
wherein the controller determines a specific point where driving is restricted within the driving area based on first position information measured based on the sensing result and second position information measured based on the reception result to control the driving of the main body according to the determination result,
wherein the specific point is a point where driving speed of the mobile robot is limited,
wherein the point comprises a slip occurrence point,
wherein the first position information and the second position information are information that measures the current position of the main body,
wherein the controller detects a placement position where one of the one or more transmitters is disposed based on the reception result, and measures the second position information based on the placement position,
wherein when determining the specific point, the controller analyzes information of the specific point based on the determination result, and determines whether to avoid the specific point according to the analysis result to control the driving of the main body according to the determination result,
wherein the controller analyzes a type of the specific point based on the determination result and history information on previous determination history to control the driving of the main body according to the type of the specific point, and
wherein as a result of analyzing the type of the specific point, when the type of the specific point corresponds to a preset second reference type, the controller determines whether it is possible to remove a driving restriction of the specific point, and controls the driving of the main body to be driven by bypassing or passing through the specific point according to the determination result.

2. The mobile robot of claim 1 , wherein the sensing unit comprises:
a tilt sensor that senses the posture information of the main body; and
a speed sensor that senses a driving speed of a driving wheel provided in the drive unit.

3. The mobile robot of claim 1 , wherein the controller calculates a driving distance that the main body has moved based on the sensing result, and measures the first position information based on the driving distance.

4. The mobile robot of claim 1 , wherein when determining the specific point, the controller reflects the determination result on map information of the driving area, which is a basis for driving control of the main body.

5. The mobile robot of claim 1 , wherein the controller compares the first position information with the second position information while driving to determine the specific point according to the comparison result.

6. The mobile robot of claim 5 , wherein as a result of comparing the first position information and the second position information, when a difference between the first position information and the second position information is above a preset reference, the controller determines a position corresponding to the second position information as the specific point.

7. The mobile robot of claim 1 , wherein the controller analyzes a terrain of the specific point based on the determination result and the posture information to control the driving of the main body according to the terrain of the specific point.

8. The mobile robot of claim 7 , wherein the controller analyzes the terrain of the specific point based on a result of comparing the posture information with a preset posture reference.

9. The mobile robot of claim 1 , wherein the controller analyzes the type of the specific point based on the determination result and at least one of an occurrence frequency and cause of the specific point included in the history information.

10. The mobile robot of claim 9 , wherein as a result of analyzing the type of the specific point, the controller controls the driving of the main body to be driven by avoiding the specific point when the type of the specific point corresponds to a preset first reference type.

11. The mobile robot of claim 10 , wherein the first reference type is a permanent driving restriction point.

12. The mobile robot of claim 8 , wherein as a result of analyzing the terrain of the specific point, the controller controls the driving of the main body to be driven by avoiding the specific point when the terrain of the specific point corresponds to a preset first reference terrain, and controls the driving of the main body to be driven by passing through or bypassing the specific point when the terrain of the specific point corresponds to a preset second reference terrain.

13. The mobile robot of claim 9 , wherein the second reference type is at least one of a time-limited driving restriction point and a temporary driving restriction point.

14. The mobile robot of claim 12 , wherein when the terrain of the specific point corresponds to the second reference terrain, the controller determines whether it is possible to remove the driving restriction of the specific point, and control the driving of the main body to be driven by passing through or bypassing the specific point according to the determination result.

15. A method of controlling a mobile robot, the mobile robot including:
a main body;
a drive unit that moves the main body;
a sensing unit that senses at least one of posture information of the main body and driving information of the drive unit;
a receiver that receives signals transmitted from one or more transmitters disposed in a driving area; and
a controller that determines a current position of the main body based on at least one of a sensing result of the sensing unit and a reception result of the receiver to control the drive unit to be driven within the driving area so as to control the driving of the main body,
the method comprising:
measuring first position information and second position information, respectively, based on a sensing result of the sensing unit and a reception result of the receiver, respectively, while driving;
comparing the first position information with the second position information;
determining whether it is a specific point where driving is restricted within the driving area at the current position according to the comparison result; and
controlling the driving of the main body according to the determination result,
wherein the specific point is a point where driving speed of the mobile robot is limited,
wherein the point comprises a slip occurrence point,
wherein the first position information and the second position information are information that measures the current position of the main body,
wherein the measuring comprises:
detecting a placement position where one of the one or more transmitters is disposed based on the reception result, and
measuring the second position information based on the placement position, and wherein the determining comprises:
analyzing a type of the specific point based on the determination result and history information on previous determination history, and
determining whether the mobile robot avoids the

Assignees

• Lg Electronics Inc

Inventors

• Ko Kyoungsuk
• Choi Koh
• Lee Hyungsub
• Lee Sungwook

Classifications

• G05D1/617

  Safety or protection, e.g. defining protection zones around obstacles or avoiding hazards (arrangements for controlling the position or course of two or more vehicles for avoiding collisions therebetween G05D1/693; arrangements for reacting to or preventing system or operator failure G05D1/80) · CPC title

• G05B15/02 Primary

  electric · CPC title

• G05B2219/45098

  Vacuum cleaning robot · CPC title

• B25J9/16

  Program controls (total factory control, i.e. centrally controlling a plurality of machines, G05B19/418) · CPC title

• B25J19/02

  Sensing devices · CPC title