Abstract:
An air cleaning robot and a system thereof which are capable of performing air cleaning while traveling around a predetermined area. The air cleaning robot includes a robot body, a driving part for driving a plurality of wheels disposed at lower portions of the robot body, an air cleaning part disposed in the robot body, for drawing-in dust-ladened air from a cleaning area, air filtering, and discharging cleaned air. A controller is disposed in the robot body for controlling the air cleaning part and the driving part. Accordingly, since the air cleaning robot and the system thereof perform air cleaning while traveling automatically around a predetermined area, there is an improvement in a residential household, living environment, and less of an inconvenience to operate.

Description:
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   This application claims priority to copending Korean Patent Application No. 2003-52438 filed on Jun. 29, 2003, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office. 
   CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   This application is related to copending Korean Patent Application Nos. 10-2003-00074216, filed Feb. 6, 2003; 10-2003-0013961, filed Mar. 6, 2003; 10-2003-0029242, filed Mar. 9, 2003; and 10-2003-51139, filed Jul. 24, 2003. 
   FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to an air cleaning robot and a system thereof, and more particularly, to an air cleaning robot and a system thereof which cleans ambient air while traveling around a predetermined area. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   Generally, a robot cleaner can determine a distance to an obstacle such as furniture, office appliances, or a wall in a predetermined area, by using a distance sensor, and avoids a collision with the obstacle while it performs an assigned task. 
   The cleaner robot includes a robot body, a driving part for driving the robot body, a controller for controlling the driving part, a memory device, and a transmitting and receiving part for inputting and outputting a command. 
   The assigned task includes work vacuuming a floor, and that task is usually performed upon receipt of a command from an operator. Although there are many robot cleaners available, there has been almost no air cleaning robot that performs air cleaning. 
   Due to the recent alarms prompted by the Asian Dust and the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), people have become more concerned about the health and cleaner and fresh air. 
   Thus, a heretofore unaddressed need exists in the industry for a robot with an air cleaning function, to address the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention has been developed in order to solve the above shortcomings in the related art. Accordingly, an aspect of the present invention provides an air cleaning robot and a system thereof, which is capable of performing an air cleaning while traveling around a predetermined area. 
   The above aspect is achieved by providing an air cleaning robot, which performs air cleaning while traveling around a predetermined area. The air cleaning robot comprises a robot body, a driving part for driving a plurality of wheels disposed at lower portions of the robot body, and an air cleaning part disposed in the robot body for drawing-in dust-ladened air from a cleaning area, filtering the air, and discharging cleaned air. A controller is disposed in the robot body for controlling the air cleaning part and the driving part. The controller controls the driving part and the air cleaning part simultaneously so the robot travels around the predetermined area and, simultaneously performs air cleaning. The driving part may include a pair of driving motors disposed in the robot body which are driven by supplied power, a pair of driving wheels rotated by the pair of driving motors, a pair of driven wheels proceeding the pair of driving wheels, and a power transmitting means connecting the driving wheels and the driven wheels. 
   In one embodiment, the power transmitting means includes a timing belt, and the robot body is connected with a body cover to form an exterior of the air cleaning robot. The air cleaning part includes a suction driving source drawing-in dust-ladened air from the predetermined area, a suction port connected to one side of the body cover, and a discharge port connected to another side of the body cover to discharge the cleaned air, an air cleaning duct disposed in the robot body and in communication with the suction port and further to the discharge port. A plurality of filters are disposed in the air cleaning duct for filtering the drawn-in air. The suction port may be disposed at one side of a front portion of the body cover, and also may be disposed on one side of an upper portion of the body cover. The discharge port may also be disposed at the other side of the front portion of the body cover, and may be disposed at the other side of the upper portion of the body cover. In another embodiment, the suction driving source is disposed inside the air cleaning duct to draw-in air. The plurality of filters comprise a first filter for filtering out relatively large dust particles from drawn-in air, and a second filter for removing the minute dust particles and unpleasant odors. 
   The above aspect is also achieved by providing an air cleaning robot system, which includes a driving part for driving a plurality of wheels and a controller for controlling the driving part. The air cleaning robot system further comprises an air cleaning part controlled by a controller with the system traveling automatically along a predetermined area while simultaneously air cleaning. The air cleaning part may include a suction driving source for drawing-in dust-ladened air from the predetermined area, a suction port through which air is drawn-in, and a discharge port for discharging cleaned air. The air cleaning may further include at least one filter for filtering drawn-in air. When the suction driving source is driven by the controller, air is drawn-in through the suction port and filtered by the filter. Cleaned air is discharged through the discharge port. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a drawing showing a perspective view of an air cleaning robot with an air cleaning part according to one embodiment of the present invention; 
       FIG. 2  is a drawing showing a perspective view of the air cleaning robot of  FIG. 1  in which an upper cover is removed; 
       FIG. 3  is a plan view drawing showing the air cleaning part of the air cleaning robot of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 4  is a block diagram showing a central control device of an air cleaning robot system according to one embodiment; and 
       FIG. 5  is a drawing showing a perspective view of an air cleaning robot with an air cleaning part according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   Referring to  FIGS. 1–4 , an air cleaning robot and a system according to one embodiment of the present invention are described in detail hereinbelow, in which reference sign ‘I’ indicates a forwarding direction of the robot. Referring to  FIGS. 1–4 , the air cleaning robot mainly includes a body  10 , a body cover  11  connected to the body  12  to form the exterior of the air cleaning robot, a driving part  20 , an upper camera  30 , a front camera  32 , an obstacle sensor  34 , an air cleaning part  60 , a controller  40 , a memory device  41 , and a transmitting and receiving part  43 . 
   The driving part  20  includes two driven wheels  21  disposed at both front sides of the robot body  11 , two driving wheels  22  disposed at both rear sides of the robot body  11 , a pair of motors  24  rotationally driving the two rear driving wheels  22 , respectively, and a power transmitting means  25  for transmitting power from the rear driving wheels  22  to the front driven wheels  21 . The power transmitting means  25  includes a timing belt (not shown) or a gear pulley (not shown). The driving part  20  rotates the pair of motors  24  independently in a clockwise direction or a counter-clockwise direction in accordance with a control signal from the controller  40 . The traveling direction of the cleaning robot  10  is determined by rotating the motors  24  at respective RPMs. 
   The front camera  32  is disposed in the body  12  to photograph front images and output the photographed images to the controller  40 . The upper camera  30  is disposed in the body  12  to photograph upward images and output the photographed images to the controller  40 . In another embodiment, the upper camera  30  employs a fish eye lens (not shown). Since the construction of the fish eye lens is disclosed in the Korean Publication Nos. 1996-7005245, 1997-48669, and 1994-22112 and is being marketed by various fish eye lens manufactures, a detailed description thereof is omitted. 
   The obstacle sensors  34  are arranged along a circumference of the body  12  at a predetermined interval to transmit signals to the outside and receive a reflected signal. Also, the obstacle sensor  34  may use an ultrasonic sensor emitting an ultrasonic wave and receive a reflected ultrasonic wave. The obstacle sensor  34  is used to measure a distance to an obstacle or a wall. The traveling distance sensor (not shown) connected to the controller  40  may use a rotation detecting sensor (not shown) for detecting RPMs of the driving wheels  22  and the driven wheels  21 . In particular, the rotation detecting sensor may employ an encoder to detect RPMs of the motors  24 . 
   The air cleaning part  60  is disposed at an inner side of the body  12  to draw-in air from a cleaning area and filter out dust ( FIG. 3 ). The air cleaning part  60  includes a suction driving source  61 , a suction port  63  connected to one side of the body cover  11 , a discharge port  65  connected to the other side of the body cover  11 , an air cleaning duct  67 , and a plurality of filters  69 . The suction driving source  61  generates a suction force enabling dust-ladened air to be drawn-in from the cleaning area. The suction driving source  61  is disposed inside the air cleaning duct  67  to draw air in and also provide the suction force to the air cleaning part  60  in relation to movement of a driving motor (not shown), thus providing a driving force to the driving part  20  of the air cleaning robot. The suction driving source  61  can be embodied either in association with the driving motor (not shown) or separately if the suction driving source  61  provides the suction force to the air cleaning part  60 . The suction driving source  61  may include a motor and a fan system. 
   The suction port  63  is disposed in one front side or one upper side of the body cover  11 , and the discharge port  65  is disposed in the other front side or the other upper side of the body cover  11 . As shown in  FIG. 1 , the suction port  63  may be disposed in one front side of the body cover  11 , while the discharge port  65  may be disposed in one rear side of the body cover  11 . Thus, the positions where the suction port  63  and the discharge port  65  are disposed may be varied. For example, the suction port  63  may be disposed in one front side of the body cover  11 , while the discharge port  65  may be disposed in one upper side of the body cover  11  as shown in  FIG. 5 . Also, there may be provided at least two suction ports  63  and at least two discharge ports  65 . In that case, each suction port  63  and discharge port  65  may be disposed independently from the air cleaning duct  67 , or may be connected to the air cleaning duct  67 . 
   The air cleaning duct  67  is in fluid communication with the suction port  63  through the discharge port  65  so that air drawn-in through the suction port  63  by the suction driving source  61  is discharged through the discharge port  65  via the air cleaning duct  67 . As long as the fluid communication with the suction port  63  through to the discharge port  65  is ensured, the communication line may take various forms such as a straight line or a curved line. 
   The plurality of filters  69  function to filter air drawn-in through the suction port  63 . The filters  69  include a first filter  71  and a second filter  73 . The first filter  71  filters out relatively larger dust particles from the air, while the second filter  73  filters out relatively minute dust particles and distasteful odors from the large dust-removed air. In another embodiment, the second filter  73  uses a commercially available hepa filter to filter bacteria, virus, molds, house dust and, minute bacteria from animals which can cause respiratory system disorder and allergies in humans. The second filter  73  may use a commercially available deodorizing filter for removing various smells. 
   The controller  40  processes signals received through the receiving and transmitting part  43  and controls those respective components. The air cleaning robot may further comprise a key input apparatus (not shown). In that case, the key input apparatus (not shown) is formed in the body  12  and has a plurality of keys for manipulating a function setting of the air cleaning robot  10 , and the controller  40  processes a key signal inputted through the key input apparatus (not shown). 
   The controller  40  operates the driving part  20  and the air cleaning part  60 , simultaneously, so that the air cleaning robot  10  performs air cleaning while traveling around a predetermined area. The memory device  41  stores the upward images photographed by the upper camera  30  and assists the controller  40  in calculating the location and traveling information. 
   The receiving and transmitting part  43  transmits data to an external device  80  via an antenna  42  and also transmits signals received from the external device  80  via the antenna to the controller  40 . The external device  80  includes a wireless relay apparatus (not shown) and a remote controller (not shown) through which data is input and output. In this embodiment, the external device  80  is a remote controller. 
   The controller  40  controls the driving part  20  to drive the air cleaning robot to travel around a working area according to a traveling pattern, creates an image map with respect to an upward area from the upward image photographed by the upper camera  30 , and stores the created image map in the memory device  41 . Alternatively, when a working command is wirelessly received through the key input apparatus or from the outside, the image map can be created before a task is performed. After the creation of the image map, the controller  40  recognizes a location by using the created image map while working. That is, when a command signal for the job or task is inputted wirelessly through the key input apparatus or from the outside, the controller  40  recognizes a current location by comparing a current image inputted from the upper camera  30  or the front camera  32  with the memorized image map, and commands the driving part  20  to follow a traveling path from the current location to a target location. The work commanding signal includes a cleaning, or a monitoring by cameras  31 ,  32 . 
   When the air cleaning robot  10  runs along the traveling path to the target location, the driving part  20  is directed to calculate a traveling error by using a traveling distance measured by the encoder and the current location recognized by the comparison of the currently photographed image and the memorized image map, and compensate the error, thereby tracking the traveling path to the target location. While the air cleaning robot is traveling, the controller  40  commands the air cleaning part  60  to operate according to the work commanding signal. As the suction driving source  61  is driven by the controller  40 , air is drawn-in through the suction port  63  and filtered by the filters  69  from the air cleaning part  60 , and cleaned air is discharged through the discharge port  65 . Accordingly, the air cleaning robot  10  air cleans while traveling around the predetermined area. 
   When a user inputs a signal to stop the operation of the driving part  20  through the external device  80 , the air cleaning robot  10  stops at a predetermined position, but continues air cleaning. When the user inputs a work stopping command through the external device as when air cleaning is completed, the controller  40  stops the air cleaning work and returns the air cleaning robot  10  to an initial position. 
   The foregoing embodiment and advantages are merely exemplary and are not to be construed as limiting the present invention. The description of the present invention is intended to be illustrative, and not to limit the scope of the claims. Many alternatives, modifications, and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. In the claims, means-plus-function clauses are intended to cover the structures described herein as performing the recited function and not only structural equivalents but also equivalent structures.