METHOD FOR CLEANING ROBOT APPLYING FLUID AND CLEANING ROBOT

In embodiments of the present disclosure, the cleaning robot includes a main body, a driving part for driving the cleaning robot to move on a surface to be cleaned, a liquid storage tank storing a fluid, a cleaning part connected with the liquid storage tank and a controller. When the cleaning robot enters different working modes, the liquid storage tank is controlled to apply the fluid to the cleaning part in different liquid supply manners or the liquid storage tank is controlled to stop applying the fluid to the cleaning part. Using the present disclosure, a fluid quantity applied to the cleaning part can be effectively controlled, improving the cleaning effect, and enhancing the users' experience.

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Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present disclosure claims the priority to the Chinese Patent Application with the filing No. 201910749506.5, filed on Aug. 14, 2019 with the State Intellectual Property Office of China, entitled “Method for Cleaning Robot Applying Fluid and Cleaning Robot”, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in entirety.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to the field of intelligent robots, in particular to a method for a cleaning robot applying fluid and a cleaning robot.

BACKGROUND

Cleaning robots are mainly used for cleaning work in home environment to replace manual labor. The cleaning robots are integration of automatic cleaning technology and humanized intelligent design. In the current market, with the development of intelligent cleaning robots, in order to further meet users' cleaning requirements, and reduce users' burdensome labors of sweeping and mopping to a greater extent, the intelligent cleaning robots gradually realize multi-functional development from dust collection and sweeping to floor washing and mopping, mainly by providing a water tank inside the intelligent cleaning robot, and users only need to fill up the water tank with water, place the water tank inside the intelligent cleaning robot, and start a corresponding working mode, then the intelligent cleaning robot can realize the function of floor washing or mopping. It mainly involves the technology of water supply of waterways therein. A water supply mode of the existing cleaning robots is unitary, and after entering a water supply process, a water flow will flow out continuously, resulting in flow-out of too much water, and poor cleaning effect, thus being hardly to meet users' use requirements.

SUMMARY

An embodiment of the present disclosure adopts the following technical solutions:

In a first aspect, the present disclosure provides a cleaning robot, including:

a main body;

a driving part, configured to drive the cleaning robot to move on a surface to be cleaned;

a liquid storage tank, configured to store a fluid;

a cleaning part, configured to cooperate with the fluid in the liquid storage tank to clean the surface to be cleaned; and

a controller, mounted on the main body, wherein the controller is configured to:

control the cleaning robot to enter a first working mode, such that the liquid storage tank applies the fluid to the cleaning part in a first liquid supply manner; and

control the cleaning robot to enter a second working mode, such that the liquid storage tank applies the fluid to the cleaning part in a second liquid supply manner,

wherein a fluid quantity applied to the cleaning part in the first liquid supply manner is different from a fluid quantity applied to the cleaning part in the second liquid supply manner.

In a second aspect, the present disclosure provides a method for a cleaning robot applying fluid, comprising:

carrying out a first working mode, to apply a fluid to a cleaning part in a first liquid supply manner;

carrying out a second working mode, to apply the fluid to the cleaning part in a second liquid supply manner; and

carrying out a third working mode, to stop applying the fluid to the cleaning part, wherein

during the same period of time, a fluid quantity applied to the cleaning part in the first liquid supply manner is controlled to be greater than a fluid quantity applied to the cleaning part in the second liquid supply manner.

In a third aspect, the present disclosure provides a cleaning robot, including:

a main body;

a driving part, configured to drive the cleaning robot to move on a surface to be cleaned;

a liquid storage tank, configured to store a fluid;

a cleaning part, configured to cooperate with the fluid to clean the surface to be cleaned; and

a power unit, configured to provide power to control the fluid in the liquid storage tank to flow or stop of, such that the fluid is applied from the liquid storage tank in a first liquid supply manner, or the fluid is applied from the liquid storage tank in a second liquid supply manner.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to more clearly illustrate technical solutions in embodiments of the present disclosure or the prior art, accompanying drawings which are needed for description of the embodiments or the prior art will be introduced briefly below. Apparently, the accompanying drawings in the description below merely show some embodiments of the present disclosure. A person ordinarily skilled in the art still can obtain other variants in light of these accompanying drawings, without inventive effort.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cleaning robot in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the cleaning robot in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a liquid storage tank in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a disassembling schematic diagram of a cleaning part in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of method steps executed by a controller;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of applying a fluid to the cleaning part in a first liquid supply manner in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of applying the fluid to the cleaning part in a second liquid supply manner in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of conditions for the cleaning robot to enter a third working mode in an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a sensor system in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure will be described clearly below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present disclosure, apparently, some but not all embodiments of the present disclosure are described. Based on the embodiments of the present disclosure, all other embodiments, obtained by those ordinarily skilled in the art without inventive effort, shall fall into the scope of protection of the present disclosure.

In the text, all location terms such as “front”, “back”, “left”, and “right” take an advancing direction of the cleaning robot as a reference direction, and all of “top”, “bottom”, “upper”, “lower”, “horizontal”, and “perpendicular” in the text take a normal working state of the cleaning robot as reference.

The present disclosure is exemplarily described with the cleaning robot being mainly used for cleaning floor in a home environment, and in other environments, the cleaning robot further can clean other indoor or outdoor environments, for example, cleaning environments in restaurants, stations, airports and so on.

A technical problem to be solved by the present disclosure is to provide a method for a cleaning robot applying fluid and a cleaning robot, wherein the cleaning robot, when in different working modes, intelligently controls a liquid storage tank to apply a fluid to a cleaning part in different liquid supply manners, or controls the liquid storage tank to stop applying the fluid to the cleaning part, moreover, the cleaning robot can effectively control a fluid quantity applied to the cleaning part, thus improving the cleaning effect, and enhancing users' experience.

In order to solve the above technical problems, an embodiment of the present disclosure adopts following technical solutions:

In a first aspect, the present disclosure provides a cleaning robot, including:

a main body;

a driving part, configured to drive the cleaning robot to move on a surface to be cleaned;

a liquid storage tank, configured to store a fluid;

a cleaning part, configured to cooperate with the fluid in the liquid storage tank to clean the surface to be cleaned; and
a controller, mounted on the main body, wherein the controller is configured to:
control the cleaning robot to enter a first working mode, such that the liquid storage tank applies the fluid to the cleaning part in a first liquid supply manner; and
control the cleaning robot to enter a second working mode, such that the liquid storage tank applies the fluid to the cleaning part in a second liquid supply manner,
wherein a fluid quantity applied to the cleaning part in the first liquid supply manner is different from a fluid quantity applied to the cleaning part in the second liquid supply manner.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the first liquid supply manner is that the liquid storage tank applies the fluid to the cleaning part repeatedly with a break of a first period of time therebetween, and the breaks during which the liquid storage tank does not apply the fluid to the cleaning part have a second period of time therebetween; and

the second liquid supply manner is that the liquid storage tank applies the fluid to the cleaning part repeatedly with a break of a third period of time therebetween, and the breaks during which the liquid storage tank does not apply the fluid to the cleaning part have a fourth period of time therebetween.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the first period of time is shorter than the third period of time, and the second period of time is longer than the fourth period of time.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the first period of time is shorter than the second period of time, and the third period of time is longer than the fourth period of time.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, in both the first liquid supply manner and the second liquid supply manner, the liquid storage tank is opened to apply the fluid to the cleaning part and closed, in a cyclical manner.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the cleaning robot entering the first working mode is performed in a way that the cleaning robot, when detecting the liquid storage tank being connected with the cleaning part, applies the fluid to the cleaning part in the first liquid supply manner for a predetermined period of time; and

the cleaning robot entering the second working mode is performed in a way that after the first working mode is ended, the fluid is applied to the cleaning part in the second liquid supply manner.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the controller is further configured to control the cleaning robot to enter the third working mode, such that the liquid storage tank stops applying the fluid to the cleaning part.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the cleaning robot enters the third working mode in at least one of following conditions of:

the cleaning robot walking onto a soft surface to be cleaned;

an electric quantity of the cleaning robot being less than a predetermined electric quantity or the cleaning robot being in a charging state; and

the cleaning robot being in an abnormal working state.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, during the same period of time, a fluid quantity applied to the cleaning part in the first liquid supply manner is greater than a fluid quantity applied to the cleaning part in the second liquid supply manner.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, a speed of applying the fluid in the first liquid supply manner is the same as a speed of applying the fluid in the second liquid supply manner.

In a second aspect, the present disclosure provides a method for a cleaning robot applying fluid, comprising:

carrying out a first working mode, to apply a fluid to a cleaning part in a first liquid supply manner;

carrying out a second working mode, to apply the fluid to the cleaning part in a second liquid supply manner; and

carrying out a third working mode, to stop applying the fluid to the cleaning part, wherein

during the same period of time, a fluid quantity applied to the cleaning part in the first liquid supply manner is controlled to be greater than a fluid quantity applied to the cleaning part in the second liquid supply manner.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the first liquid supply manner is that the liquid storage tank applies the fluid to the cleaning part repeatedly with a break of a first period of time therebetween and the breaks during which the liquid storage tank does not apply the fluid to the cleaning part have a second period of time therebetween; and

the second liquid supply manner is that the liquid storage tank applies the fluid to the cleaning part repeatedly with a break of a third period of time therebetween, and the breaks during which the liquid storage tank does not apply the fluid to the cleaning part have a fourth period of time therebetween.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the first period of time is shorter than the third period of time, and the second period of time is longer than the fourth period of time.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the first period of time is shorter than the second period of time, and the third period of time is longer than the fourth period of time.

In a third aspect, the present disclosure provides a cleaning robot, comprising:

a main body;

a driving part, configured to drive the cleaning robot to move on a surface to be cleaned;

a liquid storage tank, configured to store a fluid;

a cleaning part, configured to cooperate with the fluid to clean the surface to be cleaned; and

a controller, mounted on the main body, wherein the controller is configured to:

control the cleaning robot to enter a first working mode, such that the fluid is applied from the liquid storage tank in a first liquid supply manner; and

control the cleaning robot to enter a second working mode, such that the fluid is applied from the liquid storage tank in a second liquid supply manner.

In a fourth aspect, the present disclosure provides a cleaning robot, including:

a main body;

a driving part, configured to drive the cleaning robot to move on a surface to be cleaned;

a liquid storage tank, configured to store a fluid;

a cleaning part, configured to cooperate with the fluid to clean the surface to be cleaned; and

a power unit, configured to provide power to control the fluid in the liquid storage tank to flow or stop of, such that the fluid is applied from the liquid storage tank in a first liquid supply manner, or the fluid is applied from the liquid storage tank in a second liquid supply manner.

In a fifth aspect, the present disclosure provides a cleaning robot, including:

a main body;

a driving part, configured to drive the cleaning robot to move on a surface to be cleaned;

a liquid storage tank, configured to store a fluid;

a cleaning part, configured to cooperate with the fluid in the liquid storage tank to clean the surface to be cleaned; and

a controller, mounted on the main body, wherein the controller is configured to:

control the liquid storage tank to apply the fluid to the cleaning part in an intermittent liquid supply manner, wherein in the intermittent liquid supply manner, the liquid storage tank is opened to apply the fluid to the cleaning part and closed, cyclically.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the intermittent liquid supply manner includes a first liquid supply manner and a second liquid supply manner, and during the same period of time, a fluid quantity applied to the cleaning part in the first liquid supply manner is greater than a fluid quantity applied to the cleaning part in the second liquid supply manner.

Compared with the prior art, technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure at least have the following beneficial effects:

In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the cleaning robot includes the main body, the driving part for driving the cleaning robot to move on the surface to be cleaned, the liquid storage tank storing the fluid, the cleaning part connected with the liquid storage tank and the controller, when the cleaning robot enters different working modes, the liquid storage tank is controlled to apply the fluid to the cleaning part in different liquid supply manners or the liquid storage tank is controlled to stop applying the fluid to the cleaning part, moreover, the fluid quantity applied to the cleaning part can be effectively controlled, thus improving the cleaning effect, and enhancing the users' experience.

With reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cleaning robot in an embodiment of the present disclosure, and FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the cleaning robot in an embodiment of the present disclosure. The cleaning robot in the present disclosure includes: a main body 10, a driving part 20 driving the cleaning robot to move on a surface to be cleaned, a liquid storage tank 30 configured to store a fluid, a cleaning part 40 cooperating with the fluid in the liquid storage tank 30 to clean the surface to be cleaned and a controller 50 mounted inside the main body 10.

In the present embodiment, the main body has a profile substantially in a round shape, and in other embodiments, the profile of the main body 10 may be substantially in an elliptical shape, a triangular shape, a D shape or other shapes. The top portion of the main body 10 is provided with a concave portion 13, the liquid storage tank 30 is mounted in the concave portion 13, and the liquid storage tank 30 can be provided with a snap-fit assembly to lock the liquid storage tank 30 in the concave portion 13.

A driving wheel assembly 20 includes left and right driving wheels 21 and an omnidirectional wheel 22, wherein the left and right driving wheels 21 are mounted at both left and right sides of a bottom portion of the main body 10, the bottom portion is a face of the main body 10 facing towards the surface to be cleaned, and the driving wheel assembly 20 is configured to carry the cleaning robot and drive the cleaning robot to move on the surface to be cleaned. The surface to be cleaned may be a relatively smooth floor surface, a surface laid with a carpet and other surfaces that need to be cleaned. The left and right driving wheels 21 are configured to be capable of at least partially extending beyond and retracting into the bottom portion of the main body 10. The omnidirectional wheel 22 is mounted at a front position of the bottom portion of the main body 10, and the omnidirectional wheel 22 is a movable castor, and can rotate horizontally at 360 degrees, such that the cleaning robot can turn round flexibly. The omnidirectional wheel 22 further may be mounted at a rear position of the bottom portion of the main body 10, and the left and right driving wheels 21 and the omnidirectional wheel 22 are mounted in a triangular shape, so as to improve walking stability of the cleaning robot.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the controller 50 is mounted on the main body 10. There may be a plurality of controllers 50, respectively controlling various parts, and further only one controller may be provided to control all parts. For example, the controller 50 may include a main controller provided on the main body 10, for sensing speed information of the driving part 20 and controlling the driving part 20 so as to adjust the controller of the driving part driving the cleaning robot to move. A controller of each part transfers respective information to the main controller, and the main controller performs processing according to information of each part and respectively feeds back corresponding control instruction to each part. The various parts take the main controller as a center, to communicate and transfer signals with each other. The controller 50 may be a micro control unit such as single chip, FPGA, ASIC, and DSP.

The cleaning robot further may include a sweeping assembly 410. The sweeping assembly 410 includes a sweeping rolling brush 411, wherein the sweeping rolling brush 411 is provided inside an accommodation groove provided in the bottom portion of the main body 10, and the sweeping rolling brush 411 may be any one from a sweeping hair brush and a sweeping rubber brush or a combination of two therefrom. The sweeping assembly 410 further may include a side brush 412 driven by a motor, and the side brush 412 is provided in a left front portion and/or a right front portion of the main body 10. The side brush 412 can rotate around an axis substantially perpendicular to the ground. The side brush 412 has multiple bundles of long bristles arranged at intervals around the axis, and the long bristles extend outward and beyond an outer profile of the main body 10, for sweeping garbage on the ground outside a range covered by the outer profile of the main body 10 to the position of the accommodation groove in the bottom portion of the main body 10. One or two side brushes 412 may be provided in the bottom portion of the main body 10.

With reference to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a liquid storage tank in an embodiment of the present disclosure, and FIG. 4 is a disassembling schematic diagram of the cleaning part in an embodiment of the present disclosure. The liquid storage tank 30 is mounted in the concave portion 13, a top portion of the liquid storage tank 30 is provided with a liquid inlet 31 for a user to add a fluid to the liquid storage tank 30, and a side wall of the liquid storage tank 30 is provided with a communication contact 32 for communication with the controller 50. When the liquid storage tank 30 is mounted in the concave portion 13, the controller 50 transfers a control instruction to the liquid storage tank 30 via the communication contact 32, to control a liquid supply manner of the liquid storage tank 30. The fluid may be a cleaning solution for more efficiently removing dirt adhered to the surface to be cleaned, for example, for a ground to which oil is adhered, a fluid with a degreasing function can be added to the liquid storage tank 30, so as to more effectively remove oil stains. Of course, in most cases, the fluid stored in the liquid storage tank 30 is clean water, so as to mop and scrub the surface to be cleaned.

The cleaning part 40 is mounted in a rear position of the bottom portion of the main body 10, and an outer edge of the cleaning part 40 has the same shape as an outer edge of the main body 10. The cleaning part 40 includes a pad support 41 and a cleaning pad 42 mounted on a face of the pad support 41 facing towards the surface to be cleaned, a rear end of the pad support 41 is provided with a pressing portion 45, a face of the pad support 41 facing towards the bottom portion of the main body 10 is provided with a hook 44, wherein pressing the pressing portion 45 can control the hook 44 to retract, and releasing the pressing portion 45 can control the hook 44 to extend out. Corresponding to the hook 44, the bottom portion of the main body 10 is provided with a projection, and the pad support 41 can be mounted to the main body 10 or the pad support 41 can be removed from the main body 10 by pressing or releasing the pressing portion 45. The cleaning pad 42 is mounted to the pad support 41, and fixed through a velcro tape.

A bottom portion of the liquid storage tank 30 is provided with a liquid outlet, the pad support 41 and the concave portion 13 are each provided with a fluid guide hole 43, at a position corresponding to the liquid outlet, to guide a fluid flowing out from the liquid storage tank 30 to the cleaning pad 42. In other embodiments, the fluid flowing out from the liquid storage tank 30 also can be guided to the cleaning pad 42 through an external water guide pipe. In a normal operation process of the cleaning robot, the cleaning pad 42 is attached to the surface to be cleaned, so as to clean the surface to be cleaned.

In order to intelligently control the liquid storage tank 30 to apply the fluid to the cleaning part 40, reference is made to FIG. 5, FIG. 5 is a flowchart of method steps executed by the controller.

S10, determining connection between the liquid storage tank 30 and the cleaning part 40.

The cleaning robot is started, the controller 50 starts to operate, and when the liquid storage tank 30 is mounted in the concave portion 13, the communication contact 32 is connected with the controller 50 via a first circuit. When mounted to the main body 10, the cleaning part 40 is connected with the controller 50 via a second circuit, and when the controller 50 detects the liquid storage tank 30 and the cleaning part 40 being both mounted to the main body 10, step S20 is executed such that the cleaning robot enters a first working mode to control the liquid storage tank 30 to apply the fluid to the cleaning part in a first liquid supply manner.

S20, controlling the cleaning robot to enter the first working mode, such that the liquid storage tank 30 applies the fluid to the cleaning part in the first liquid supply manner.

The cleaning robot entering the first working mode is performed in a way that the cleaning robot, when detecting the liquid storage tank 30 being connected with the cleaning part 40, applies the fluid to the cleaning part in the first liquid supply manner for a predetermined period of time. Please specifically referring to FIG. 6, FIG. 6 is a flowchart of applying the fluid to the cleaning part in the first liquid supply manner in an embodiment of the present disclosure. The cleaning robot entering the first working mode is a process that the controller 50 controls initialization of the liquid storage tank 30, including that the liquid storage tank 30 starts to apply the fluid to the cleaning part 40, step 201 that the liquid storage tank applies the fluid to the cleaning part repeatedly with a break of a first period of time therebetween, and step 202 that the breaks during which the liquid storage tank does not apply the fluid to the cleaning part have a second period of time therebetween. The bottom portion of the liquid storage tank 30 is provided with a liquid outlet, a fluid guide hole 43 provided corresponding to the pad support 41 and the concave portion 13 guides the fluid flowing out from the liquid storage tank 30 to the cleaning pad 42. When the liquid storage tank 30 is mounted in the concave portion 13, and the cleaning part 40 is connected with the liquid storage tank 30, the liquid storage tank 30 starts to apply the fluid to the cleaning part 40. After the fluid is applied for the second period of time, the liquid storage tank 30 stops applying the fluid to the cleaning part 40, and after the liquid storage tank 30 stops applying the fluid to the cleaning part 40 for the first period of time, the liquid storage tank 30 again applies the fluid to the cleaning part 40. Step 203 of judging whether a predetermined period of time is reached is carried out. In a process of controlling to cyclically carry out the step 201 that the liquid storage tank applies the fluid to the cleaning part repeatedly with a break of a first period of time therebetween and step 202 that the breaks during which the liquid storage tank does not apply the fluid to the cleaning part have a second period of time therebetween, the controller 50 measures time, and judges in real time whether cumulative period of time of the first period of time and the second period of time reaches a predetermined period of time, and if the cumulative period of time reaches the predetermined period of time, step S30 is carried out, and if not, step 201 and step 202 are continued to be carried out cyclically. The first liquid supply manner is opening and closing the liquid storage tank 30 to apply the fluid to the cleaning part 40 in a cyclical manner. The manner of opening or closing the liquid storage tank 30 may be providing other parts to open or close the liquid outlet, and it is also feasible to control the fluid to flow out or not by changing an air pressure inside the liquid storage tank 30. When the cleaning robot enters the first working mode, the predetermined period of time for the liquid storage tank 30 to apply the fluid to the cleaning part 40 in the first liquid supply manner is controlled, and the first period of time for the liquid storage tank 30 to stop applying the fluid to the cleaning part 40 is shorter than the second period of time for the liquid storage tank 30 to apply the fluid to the cleaning part 40.

It is feasible to allow a relatively large quantity of fluid to be applied to the cleaning part 40, and to quickly wet the cleaning part 40, in which process, the cleaning robot is in an on state and stays in situ. When the cumulative period of time of the first period of time and the second period of time satisfies the predetermined period of time, step S30 that the cleaning robot enters the second working mode is executed.

S30, controlling the cleaning robot to enter the second working mode, such that the liquid storage tank applies the fluid to the cleaning part in the second liquid supply manner.

The cleaning robot entering the second working mode is performed in a way that after the first working mode is ended, the fluid is applied to the cleaning part 40 in the second liquid supply manner. Specifically referring to FIG. 7, FIG. 7 is a flowchart of applying the fluid to the cleaning part in the second liquid supply manner in an embodiment of the present disclosure. The applying the fluid to the cleaning part in the second liquid supply manner includes step 301 that the liquid storage tank 30 applies the fluid to the cleaning part 40 repeatedly with a break of a third period of time therebetween and step 302 that the breaks during which the liquid storage tank 30 does not apply the fluid to the cleaning part 40 have a fourth period of time therebetween. When the cleaning robot enters the second working mode, the liquid storage tank 30 applies the fluid to the cleaning part 40 in the second liquid supply manner. After the period of time of applying the fluid to the cleaning part 40 reaches the fourth period of time, the liquid storage tank 30 stops applying the fluid to the cleaning part 40, and after the period of time of stopping applying the fluid to the cleaning part 40 reaches the third period of time, the liquid storage tank 30 again applies the fluid to the cleaning part 40.

The second liquid supply manner is opening and closing the liquid storage tank 30 to apply the fluid to the cleaning part 40 in a cyclical manner. The manner of opening or closing the liquid storage tank 30 may be providing other parts to open or close the liquid outlet, and it is also feasible to control the fluid to flow out or not by changing an air pressure inside the liquid storage tank 30.

The cleaning robot starts to carry out cleaning work after entering the second working mode. In the first working mode, the liquid storage tank 30 applies the fluid to the cleaning part 40 such that the cleaning part 40 has been wet. A speed of applying the fluid in the first liquid supply manner is the same as a speed of applying the fluid in the second liquid supply manner, and in a process of applying the fluid to the cleaning part 40 in the second liquid supply manner, the third period of time of closing the liquid storage tank 30 to apply the fluid to the cleaning part 40 is longer than the fourth period of time of opening the liquid storage tank 30 to apply the fluid to the cleaning part 40. Compared with that, in the first liquid supply manner, the first period of time for the liquid storage tank 30 to stop applying the fluid to the cleaning part 40 is shorter than the second period of time for the liquid storage tank 30 to apply the fluid to the cleaning part 40, the quantity of fluid applied by the liquid storage tank 30 to the cleaning part 40 is reduced in the second liquid supply manner, such that during the same period of time, the fluid quantity applied to the cleaning part in the first liquid supply manner is greater than the fluid quantity applied to the cleaning part in the second liquid supply manner. In the process of carrying out the cleaning work by the cleaning robot, the cleaning part 40 is prevented from being too wet (if the cleaning part is too wet, after the surface to be cleaned is mopped and scrubbed, the liquid will drop onto the cleaned surface, causing secondary pollution), thus effectively improving the cleaning effect, and enhancing the users' experience.

In some embodiments, to allow the fluid quantity applied to the cleaning part 40 in the first liquid supply manner to be greater than the fluid quantity applied to the cleaning part 40 in the second liquid supply manner also can be realized in a following manner: the second period of time for opening the liquid storage tank 30 to apply the fluid to the cleaning part 40 in the first liquid supply manner is longer than the fourth period of time for opening the liquid storage tank 30 to apply the fluid to the cleaning part 40 in the second liquid supply manner, and the first period of time for closing the liquid storage tank 30 to apply the fluid to the cleaning part 40 in the first liquid supply manner is less than the third period of time for closing the liquid storage tank 30 to apply the fluid to the cleaning part 40 in the second liquid supply manner, such that during the same period of time, the fluid quantity applied to the cleaning part in the first liquid supply manner is greater than the fluid quantity applied to the cleaning part in the second liquid supply manner. In the process of carrying out the cleaning work by the cleaning robot, the cleaning part 40 is prevented from being too wet (if the cleaning part is too wet, after the surface to be cleaned is mopped and scrubbed, the liquid will drop onto the cleaned surface, causing secondary pollution), thus effectively improving the cleaning effect, and enhancing the users' experience.

In a process that the cleaning robot enters the second working mode to carry out the cleaning work, the controller 50 monitors whether an operation state of the cleaning robot meets a condition of entering the third working mode. If meeting, the cleaning robot is controlled to enter the third working mode, and if not, the fluid is continued to be applied to the cleaning part 40 in the second liquid supply manner, and in this process, the liquid storage tank 30 is controlled, in a cyclical manner, to apply the fluid to the cleaning part repeatedly with a break of a third period of time therebetween, and to stop applying the fluid to the cleaning part 40 repeatedly with a break of a fourth period of time therebetween, until step S40 is carried out.

In some embodiments, the cleaning robot further may include a power unit, wherein the power unit is configured to provide power to control the fluid in the liquid storage tank to flow or stop of, such that the liquid storage tank applies the fluid outward in a first liquid supply manner. In other embodiments, the liquid storage tank may apply the fluid outward in a second liquid supply manner. In some embodiments, the power unit is configured to provide power to control the fluid in the liquid storage tank to flow or stop of, such that the liquid storage tank applies the fluid outward in a first liquid supply manner, or the liquid storage tank may applies the fluid outward in a second liquid supply manner.

The power unit may be a water pump, and the controller 50 can control the liquid storage tank 30 to apply the fluid to the cleaning part 40 by controlling the water pump to start pumping water or to stop pumping water. Specifically, a rate of pumping water can be changed by controlling a power of the water pump, realizing that the fluid quantity applied to the cleaning part in the first liquid supply manner is different from the fluid quantity applied to the cleaning part in the second liquid supply manner. For example, when the cleaning robot enters the first working mode, the water pump operates at a first power, to control the liquid storage tank 30 to apply the fluid to the cleaning part in the first liquid supply manner, and when the cleaning robot enters the second working mode, the water pump operates at a second power, to control the liquid storage tank 30 to apply the fluid to the cleaning part 40 in the second liquid supply manner, wherein the first power is greater than the second power, such that a flowing rate of the fluid in the first liquid supply manner is greater than a flowing rate of the fluid in the second liquid supply manner, and the liquid storage tank 30 applies the fluid to the cleaning part with the same period of time of enabling liquid supply and the same period of time of disenabling liquid supply in the first liquid supply manner and in the second liquid supply manner, such that the fluid quantity applied to the cleaning part in the first liquid supply manner is greater than the fluid quantity applied to the cleaning part in the second liquid supply manner.

The power unit further may be a movable part, and movement of the movable part can control opening or closing of the liquid outlet so as to control the liquid storage tank 30 to apply the fluid to the cleaning part 40. For example, the movable part is driven by a motor to move. In an original state, the movable part closes the liquid outlet. When the motor rotates forward, the movable part moves to open the liquid outlet, the fluid in the liquid storage tank 30 flows out. When the period of time of applying the fluid to the cleaning part reaches the second period of time or the fourth period of time, the controller 50 controls the motor to rotate reversely, and the movable part closes the liquid outlet, to stop the liquid storage tank 30 from applying the fluid to the cleaning part. After the period of time of stopping the application of the fluid reaches the first period of time or the third period of time, the motor rotates forward again to open the liquid outlet, until the cleaning robot enters other working modes.

In another embodiment, the controller may be configured to control the cleaning robot to enter the first working mode, such that the fluid is applied from the liquid storage tank in the first liquid supply manner, and to control the cleaning robot to enter the second working mode, such that the fluid is applied from the liquid storage tank in the second liquid supply manner. The applying the fluid outward may be directed to any direction other than a body of the cleaning robot. For example, when the cleaning robot is an air humidifier, the cleaning robot can apply the fluid towards a top portion or surrounding of the cleaning robot. At this time, the first working mode of the cleaning robot may be a working mode with a relatively slow walking speed, and the cleaning robot needs to detect a surrounding environment while walking, to determine an area that can be humidified and an area that cannot be humidified, and after the area that can be humidified is determined, the cleaning robot enters the second working mode, wherein the second working mode is a working mode with a relatively slow walking speed. In other embodiments, the cleaning robot applying a fluid outward further may be applying a fluid to a surface to be cleaned. The cleaning robot enters the first working mode, such that the fluid is applied from the liquid storage tank 30 in the first liquid supply manner, and the cleaning robot is controlled to enter the second working mode, such that the fluid is applied from the liquid storage tank in the second liquid supply manner. The first liquid supply manner and the second liquid supply manner are the same as those in the preceding embodiments, and are not repeated redundantly herein.

In another embodiment, the controller further may be configured to control the liquid storage tank 30 to apply the fluid to the cleaning part 40 in an intermittent liquid supply manner, wherein in the intermittent liquid supply manner, the liquid storage tank is opened to apply the fluid to the cleaning part and closed, cyclically. The intermittent liquid supply manner includes a first liquid supply manner and a second liquid supply manner, and during the same period of time, the fluid quantity applied to the cleaning part in the first liquid supply manner is greater than the fluid quantity applied to the cleaning part in the second liquid supply manner.

S40, controlling the cleaning robot to enter the third working mode, such that the liquid storage tank stops applying the fluid to the cleaning part.

Specifically referring to FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of conditions for the cleaning robot to enter the third working mode in an embodiment of the present disclosure, and FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a sensor system in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

At least one of the following conditions is met for the cleaning robot to enter the third working mode:

Condition 1, 401, the cleaning robot walking onto a soft surface to be cleaned. In a process that the cleaning robot carries out the cleaning work in the second working mode, when it is detected that the cleaning robot walks onto the soft surface to be cleaned, the cleaning robot is controlled to enter the third working mode. The soft surface to be cleaned is a surface laid with a carpet or a blanket and so on, unsuitable to wet mopping. The sensor system 60 further may include a surface-to-be-cleaned type detecting sensor 61, wherein the surface-to-be-cleaned type detecting sensor 61 may be an infrared sensor. Different types of the surfaces to be cleaned reflect an infrared sensor signal differently. A cement or ceramic or smooth floor surface strongly reflects the infrared sensor signal, and when the cleaning robot moves onto a carpet or blanket surface, the infrared sensor signal is reflected relatively weakly, thereby the type of the surface to be cleaned, cleaned by the cleaning robot, can be determined. In other embodiments, the surface-to-be-cleaned type detecting sensor 61 may be a vision sensor, recognizing the type of the surface to be cleaned by comparing different pixels of different surfaces to be cleaned on a visual image. In another embodiment, the cleaning robot includes a sweeping rolling brush 411, the surface-to-be-cleaned type detecting sensor 61 may be a sensor detecting current changes of a driving motor of the sweeping rolling brush 411. When the cleaning robot moves onto a surface to be cleaned laid with a carpet or a blanket, an increased sweeping resistance will cause an increased current of the driving motor of the sweeping rolling brush, such that it is determined that the cleaning robot moves onto a soft surface to be cleaned. When the cleaning robot is detected to move onto a soft surface to be cleaned, the cleaning robot is controlled to enter the third working mode, to control the liquid storage tank 30 to stop applying the fluid to the cleaning part 40.

Condition 2, 402, an electric quantity of the cleaning robot being less than a predetermined electric quantity. In a process of carrying out the cleaning work in the second working mode, the cleaning robot will continuously consume the electric quantity of a battery. The sensor system 60 may include an electric quantity monitoring sensor 62 configured to detect the electric quantity of the battery, and when the electric quantity of the battery is less than a predetermined electric quantity, the cleaning robot needs to look for a recharging seat and returns back to the recharging seat to be charged. In a process that the cleaning robot looks for the recharging seat, the cleaning robot enters the third working mode, to control the liquid storage tank to stop applying the fluid to the cleaning part, so as to reduce consumption of the battery electric quantity, and prevent the cleaning robot from running out of electric quantity to cause crash in the process of looking for a charging seat. The electric quantity monitoring sensor 62 may obtain a current battery electric quantity by detecting information such as current or voltage.

Condition 3, 403, the cleaning robot being in a charging state. The cleaning robot looks for the charging seat as the electric quantity is lower than the predetermined electric quantity. When the cleaning robot is in the charging state, the cleaning robot enters the third working mode, to control the liquid storage tank to stop applying the fluid to the cleaning part. The sensor system 60 may include a working state sensor 63 configured to detect a working state of the cleaning robot, wherein the working state sensor 63 may be a charging seat docking sensor, which can control, after detecting successful docking between the cleaning robot and a charging contact of the charging seat, the liquid storage tank 30 to stop applying the fluid to the cleaning part 40, preventing the fluid from flowing out to contact the charging contact of the charging seat, which causes short-circuit of a charging circuit or brings about other potential safety hazards.

Condition 4, 404, the cleaning robot being in an abnormal working state. The cleaning robot being in an abnormal working state is also detected by the working state sensor 63. The working state sensor 63 further includes a collision sensor or an obstacle detecting sensor provided in the front portion of the main body 10, wherein the collision sensor is configured to detect collision information of the cleaning robot with objects in the environment in a moving process, and the obstacle detecting sensor is configured to detect operating environment information of the robot, to reduce collision of the main body 10 with objects as much as possible. When the cleaning robot triggers the collision sensor when moving or turning towards any direction, the cleaning robot may be considered as being trapped, for example, the cleaning robot moves to be within legs of a stool and can hardly move out, the cleaning robot is judged as being in an abnormal working state, and the cleaning robot enters the third working mode, to control the liquid storage tank 30 to stop applying the fluid to the cleaning part 40. The working state sensor 63 further includes a driving part sensor, wherein the driving part sensor may detect operation status of the left and right driving wheels and a front wheel, and can thereby judge whether the cleaning robot is in a normal working state. An omnidirectional wheel sensor is provided at a position of the main body 10 where the omnidirectional wheel 22 is mounted. The omnidirectional wheel 22 is provided thereon with color blocks of alternating black and white wheels. The driving part sensor is an infrared sensor, when reflected by a black block, no signal is output, and when reflected by a white block, a signal is output. When the cleaning robot is in a normal working state, the omnidirectional wheel 22 rotates, the black block and the white block alternately reflect light emitted by the omnidirectional wheel sensor, and signals will be generated and output alternately. If signals detected by the omnidirectional wheel sensor are not output or output continuously as the same signal within a predetermined period of time, the cleaning robot can be judged as being in an abnormal working state. The driving part sensor further may be a sensor detecting a driving motor of the left and right driving wheels, and when the cleaning robot is trapped, it is judged, by detecting by the driving part sensor that the current or voltage of the driving motor of the left and right driving wheels is in an abnormal state, that the cleaning robot is in an abnormal working state, and the cleaning robot enters a third working mode, to control the liquid storage tank 30 to stop applying the fluid to the cleaning part 40. By judging that the cleaning robot is in an abnormal working state, and timely controlling the liquid storage tank 30 to stop applying the fluid to the cleaning part 40, it prevents application of too much fluid to the cleaning part 40, when the cleaning robot is trapped in a same place or moves within a small area, which causes the fluid to permeate to the cleaned surface, and leads to secondary pollution to the cleaned surface.

Condition 5, the user sending to the cleaning robot an instruction of stopping applying the fluid to the cleaning part. When the user needs to mop the floor by the cleaning robot in a dry manner rather than a wet manner, the user can send to the cleaning robot an instruction of stopping applying the fluid to the cleaning part 40. The instruction may be sent by a peripheral device of the cleaning robot, for example, a remote control or a cellphone APP. Of course, a corresponding switch may be provided on the cleaning robot to control, wherein the switch may be of a press type or a touch type. In other embodiments, the cleaning robot further may be provided with a voice interaction module, and the user can control the cleaning robot by voice and send the instruction of stopping applying the fluid to the cleaning part.

In the embodiments of the present disclosure, by controlling, when the cleaning robot enters different working modes, the liquid storage tank to apply the fluid to the cleaning part in different liquid supply manners or controlling the liquid storage tank to stop applying the fluid to the cleaning part, on one hand, intelligently controlling the liquid storage tank to apply the fluid to the cleaning part can be realized, and on the other hand, the fluid quantity applied to the cleaning part also can be further effectively controlled, improving the cleaning effect, and enhancing the users' experience.

In the description of the present description, description with reference terms such as “an embodiment”, “some embodiments”, “example”, “specific example” or “an optional embodiment” means that a specific feature, structure, material or characteristic described in connection with this embodiment or example is contained in at least one embodiment or example of the present disclosure. In the present description, exemplary expressions of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Moreover, the specific feature, structure, material or characteristic described can be combined in any one or more embodiments or examples in a suitable manner.

The above-mentioned embodiments do not constitute limitation on the scope of protection of the technical solutions. Any amendments, equivalent replacements, improvements and so on, within the spirit and principle of the above embodiments, should be covered within the scope of protection of the technical solutions.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments, workers skilled in the art will recognize that changes may be made in form and detail without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A cleaning robot, comprising:

a main body;
a driving part, configured to drive the cleaning robot to move on a surface to be cleaned;
a liquid storage tank, configured to store a fluid;
a cleaning part, configured to cooperate with the fluid in the liquid storage tank to clean the surface to be cleaned; and
a controller, mounted on the main body, wherein the controller is configured to: control the cleaning robot to enter a first working mode, such that the liquid storage tank applies the fluid to the cleaning part in a first liquid supply manner; and control the cleaning robot to enter a second working mode, such that the liquid storage tank applies the fluid to the cleaning part in a second liquid supply manner, wherein a fluid quantity applied to the cleaning part in the first liquid supply manner is different from a fluid quantity applied to the cleaning part in the second liquid supply manner.

2. The cleaning robot according to claim 1, wherein the first liquid supply manner is that the liquid storage tank applies the fluid to the cleaning part repeatedly with a break of a first period of time therebetween, and the breaks during which the liquid storage tank does not apply the fluid to the cleaning part have a second period of time therebetween; and

the second liquid supply manner is that the liquid storage tank applies the fluid to the cleaning part repeatedly with a break of a third period of time therebetween, and the breaks during which the liquid storage tank does not apply the fluid to the cleaning part have a fourth period of time therebetween.

3. The cleaning robot according to claim 2, wherein the first period of time is shorter than the third period of time, and the second period of time is longer than the fourth period of time.

4. The cleaning robot according to claim 2, wherein the first period of time is shorter than the second period of time, and the third period of time is longer than the fourth period of time.

5. The cleaning robot according to claim 1, wherein in both the first liquid supply manner and the second liquid supply manner, the liquid storage tank is opened to apply the fluid to the cleaning part and closed, in a cyclical manner.

6. The cleaning robot according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning robot entering the first working mode is performed in a way that the cleaning robot, when detecting that the liquid storage tank is connected with the cleaning part, applies the fluid to the cleaning part in the first liquid supply manner for a predetermined period of time; and

the cleaning robot entering the second working mode is performed in a way that after the first working mode is ended, the fluid is applied to the cleaning part in the second liquid supply manner.

7. The cleaning robot according to claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to control the cleaning robot to enter a third working mode, such that the liquid storage tank stops applying the fluid to the cleaning part.

8. The cleaning robot according to claim 7, wherein the cleaning robot enters the third working mode in at least one of following conditions of:

the cleaning robot walking onto a soft surface to be cleaned;
an electric quantity of the cleaning robot being less than a predetermined electric quantity or the cleaning robot being in a charging state; and
the cleaning robot being in an abnormal working state; and
a user sending to the cleaning robot an instruction of stopping applying the fluid to the cleaning part.

9. The cleaning robot according to claim 1, wherein during a same period of time, the fluid quantity that is applied to the cleaning part in the first liquid supply manner is greater than the fluid quantity that is applied to the cleaning part in the second liquid supply manner.

10. The cleaning robot according to claim 1, wherein a speed of applying the fluid in the first liquid supply manner is same as a speed of applying the fluid in the second liquid supply manner.

11. A method for a cleaning robot applying fluid, comprising:

carrying out a first working mode, to apply a fluid to a cleaning part in a first liquid supply manner;
carrying out a second working mode, to apply the fluid to the cleaning part in a second liquid supply manner; and
carrying out a third working mode, to stop applying the fluid to the cleaning part,
wherein during a same period of time, a fluid quantity that is applied to the cleaning part in the first liquid supply manner is controlled to be greater than a fluid quantity that is applied to the cleaning part in the second liquid supply manner.

12. The method for a cleaning robot applying fluid according to claim 11, wherein the first liquid supply manner is that a liquid storage tank applies the fluid to the cleaning part repeatedly with a break of a first period of time therebetween, and the breaks during which the liquid storage tank does not apply the fluid to the cleaning part has a second period of time therebetween; and

the second liquid supply manner is that the liquid storage tank applies the fluid to the cleaning part repeatedly with a break of a third period of time therebetween, and the breaks during which the liquid storage tank does not apply the fluid to the cleaning part have a fourth period of time therebetween.

13. The method for a cleaning robot applying fluid according to claim 12, wherein the first period of time is shorter than the third period of time, and the second period of time is longer than the fourth period of time.

14. The method for a cleaning robot applying fluid according to claim 12, wherein the first period of time is shorter than the second period of time, and the third period of time is longer than the fourth period of time.

15. A cleaning robot, comprising:

a main body;
a driving part, configured to drive the cleaning robot to move on a surface to be cleaned;
a liquid storage tank, configured to store a fluid;
a cleaning part, configured to cooperate with the fluid to clean the surface to be cleaned; and
a power unit, configured to provide power to control the fluid in the liquid storage tank to flow or stop of, such that the liquid storage tank applies the fluid outward in a first liquid supply manner.

16. The cleaning robot according to claim 2, wherein in both the first liquid supply manner and the second liquid supply manner, the liquid storage tank is opened to apply the fluid to the cleaning part and closed, in a cyclical manner.

17. The cleaning robot according to claim 3, wherein in both the first liquid supply manner and the second liquid supply manner, the liquid storage tank is opened to apply the fluid to the cleaning part and closed, in a cyclical manner.

18. The cleaning robot according to claim 4, wherein in both the first liquid supply manner and the second liquid supply manner, the liquid storage tank is opened to apply the fluid to the cleaning part and closed, in a cyclical manner.

19. The cleaning robot according to claim 6, wherein the controller is further configured to control the cleaning robot to enter a third working mode, such that the liquid storage tank stops applying the fluid to the cleaning part.

20. The cleaning robot according to claim 6, wherein during a same period of time, the fluid quantity that is applied to the cleaning part in the first liquid supply manner is greater than the fluid quantity that is applied to the cleaning part in the second liquid supply manner.

Patent History
Publication number: 20210045612
Type: Application
Filed: Oct 24, 2019
Publication Date: Feb 18, 2021
Inventor: Wenzhi XIE (Shenzhen)
Application Number: 16/662,471
Classifications
International Classification: A47L 11/40 (20060101);