Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US7805220?dq=6,064,942
Timestamp: 2018-01-19 16:23:03
Document Index: 760248050

Matched Legal Cases: ['Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60']

Patent US7805220 - Robot vacuum with internal mapping system - Google Patents
A robot cleaner is described that cleans a room using a serpentine room clean and a serpentine localized clean. Sensors can include an object following sensor, a stairway detector and bumper sensors....http://www.google.com/patents/US7805220?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US7805220 - Robot vacuum with internal mapping system
Publication number US7805220 B2
Application number US 10/798,732
Also published as US20050000543
Publication number 10798732, 798732, US 7805220 B2, US 7805220B2, US-B2-7805220, US7805220 B2, US7805220B2
Inventors Charles E. Taylor, Andrew J. Parker, Shek Fai Lau, Eric C. Blair, Andrew Heninger, Eric Ng
Patent Citations (171), Non-Patent Citations (25), Referenced by (158), Classifications (20), Legal Events (5)
US 7805220 B2
A robot cleaner is described that cleans a room using a serpentine room clean and a serpentine localized clean. Sensors can include an object following sensor, a stairway detector and bumper sensors.
This application claims priority to U.S. Patent Provisional Application No. 60/454,934 filed Mar. 14, 2003; U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/518,756 filed Nov. 10, 2003; U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/518,763 filed Nov. 10, 2003; U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/526,868 filed Dec. 4, 2003; U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/527,021 filed Dec. 4, 2003 and U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/526,805 filed Dec. 4, 2003.
This application is related to the following commonly-owned patent applications: “ROBOTIC VACUUM CLEANER WITH EDGE AND OBJECT DETECTION SYSTEM”, Ser. No. 10/799,573; “ROBOTIC VACUUM CLEANER WITH POSITIONABLE NAVIGATIONAL MARKERS,” Ser. No. 11/104,890; “ROBOT VACUUM CLEANER,” Ser. No. 11/171,031.
The present invention relates generally to robotic cleaners.
Robot cleaners, such as robot vacuums, have been proposed to clean rooms. One issue in producing a robot cleaner is the problem of controlling the robot cleaner to clean an entire room without missing regions. This problem relates to the difficulty of accurately positioning a robot cleaner.
One robot vacuum is the Roomba™ vacuum from iRobot. The Roomba™ vacuum avoids the positioning problem by making multiple passes through a room in a somewhat random fashion. The Roomba™ vacuum starts in a spiral pattern until it contacts a wall, follows the wall for a period of time and then crisscrosses the room in straight lines. After it covers the room multiple times, the Roomba™ stops and turns itself off.
FIG. 1A is a functional diagram of one embodiment of a robot cleaner of the present invention.
FIG. 1A is a functional diagram of a robot cleaner 100 of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. In this example, the robot cleaner 100 includes a cleaning unit 102 which can be any type of cleaning unit. The cleaning unit can clean any object, such as a carpeted or uncarpeted floor. One cleaning unit comprises a vacuum, with or without a sweeper. Alternately, the cleaning unit can comprise a sweeper, duster or any other type of cleaning unit.
The robot cleaner 100 includes a processor 104 for receiving information from sensors and producing control commands for the robot cleaner 100. For the purposes of this application, the term “processor” includes one or more processor. Any type of processor can be used. The processor 104 is associated with a memory 105 which can store program code, internal maps and other state data for the robot cleaner 100. The processor 104, in one embodiment, is mounted to a circuit board that connects the processor 104 to wires for the sensors, power and motor controllers.
Portions of the robot cleaner irradiated by the germicidal ultraviolet lamp, such as the internal cavity, can be made of a UV resistant material. The UV resistant material can be UV resistant plastic material, such as CYCOLAC® ABS resin, material designation VW300(F2), which is manufactured by General Electric Plastics Global Products, and is certified by UL Inc., for use with ultraviolet light.
The selection of the next subgrid can be under the control of a next subgrid selection module. The subgrid selection module can use the room map provided by the subgrid mapping unit module to select the next subgrid. In one embodiment, the next subgrid is selected to “bunch” together the cleaned subgrids rather than having the subgrids form a straight line across a room. FIG. 14 illustrates the selection of subgrids within a room. In this embodiment, the next subgrid selected is adjacent to a previous subgrid. In the example of FIG. 14, the subgrids are selected in a roughly spiral shape to bunch together the subgrids.
In one embodiment, a region in a room is cleaned with a robot cleaner. The region is mapped in a first internal map. Information from the first internal map is used to produce a second internal map of lower resolution. The internal maps can be data structures used by the robot cleaner. In one example, the first internal map is sub a grid map and the second internal map is a room map. FIG. 16A shows an example of a sub grid map with the obstacle indicated with cells marked with “2”. FIG. 16B shows an example of a room map. The lower resolution for the room map conserves on memory and processing. The internal maps can be composed of cells. In one example, the cells are marked as obstacle, cleaned or uncleaned. A width of a cell of a subgrid map may correspond to portion of the effective cleaning unit width of the robot cleaner. In one embodiment, a cell of the subgrid map can be set cleaned with single straight line path segment of robot cleaner. Information of the first internal map, such as the subgrid map can be cleared after the region is cleaned. A new internal map can be prepared for the next region being cleaned.
Internal environment maps can allow the robot cleaner to ensure that a particular location is not favored over a more “hidden” location giving all open locations equal attention. By applying a localization method, such as dead reckoning, a map of the environment of the robot can be built.
With an internal map, such as the room or subgrid maps, the robot cleaner can potentially perform path-planning routines that it otherwise would not be able to do. The robot can be a lot “smarter” about where to go next. The robot can also know what to avoid (obstacles or walls) because the robot has sensed them during earlier excursions.
In one embodiment, the robot cleaner does path planning to get to specific locations. If there is no obstruction, the robot can go directly to the desired spot. If there is an obstruction in the path the internal map can be used to determine the path. For example, in one case, the robot cleaner uses an internal map to determine if there is an obstruction, a fixed distance, such as 1 ft, away from the robot cleaner in the direction of the point of interest. If there is no obstruction, as indicated by the internal map, the robot moves the fixed distance toward the goal to that location. If there is an obstruction marked in the internal map, another path is calculated by rotating the proposed path left 5°. If that path is free, the robot cleaner uses it, if not, the proposed path is rotated left another 5° and the internal map is checked again. If rotating the proposed path left does not yield an open path, the robot can check for open paths on the right. If, during this technique, the robot encounters new obstructions, they are marked on the map, the robot backs up, and tries the technique again.
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U.S. Classification 700/253, 701/26, 700/245, 318/568.17, 318/568.12, 701/23
International Classification G06F19/00, G05B19/04, G05B19/18, B08B7/04
Cooperative Classification G05D1/0246, G05D1/0274, G05D1/0227, G05D1/027, G05D1/0219, G05D2201/0215, G05D1/0255, G05D1/0272
European Classification G05D1/02E3F, G05D1/02E14M
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:TAYLOR, CHARLES E.;PARKER, ANDREW J.;LAU, SHEK FAI;AND OTHERS;REEL/FRAME:015090/0923;SIGNING DATES FROM 20040328 TO 20040825
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:TAYLOR, CHARLES E.;PARKER, ANDREW J.;LAU, SHEK FAI;AND OTHERS;SIGNING DATES FROM 20040328 TO 20040825;REEL/FRAME:015090/0923