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US 11,385,653 B2Granted
Mobile robot area cleaning
AssigneeiRobot Corporation
InventorJasper Vicenti
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A cleaning robot includes a chassis, a drive system connected to the chassis and configured to drive the robot, a signal generator and sensor carried by the chassis, and a controller in communication with the drive system and the sensor. The signal generator directs a signal toward the floor surface. The sensor is responsive to reflected signals from the floor surface. The controller controls the drive system to alter direction of the robot responsive to a reflected signal indicating an edge of the floor surface.
Claims21
A cleaning robot comprising:
- a body;
- a drive system configured to drive the cleaning robot in an environment;
- one or more sensors each configured to produce a sensor output indicative of a characteristic of a surface on which the cleaning robot is traveling, the sensor output including a signal reflected from the surface, wherein at least one of the one or more sensors is located about a peripheral edge of the body of the cleaning robot;
- and
- a navigation system configured to:
- identify variations in floor surface materials across a traversable border between areas with respective different floor surface materials along a path of the cleaning robot based on the sensor output including the signal reflected from the surface;
- generate a control signal to direct the cleaning robot away from the traversable border based on the identified variations in floor surface materials, and subsequently. after a. set period of time, to direct the cleaning robot to resume cleaning of an area where the cleaning robot encounters the traversable border;
- and
- maintain one or more maps of the environment and store information about the identified variations in floor surface materials in the one or more maps.
6 more elements
A cleaning robot comprising:
- a body;
- a drive system configured to drive the cleaning robot in an environment;
- one or more sensors each configured to produce a sensor output indicative of a characteristic of a surface on which the cleaning robot is traveling, the sensor output including a signal reflected from the surface, wherein at least one of the one or more sensors is located about a peripheral edge of the body of the cleaning robot;
- a navigation system configured to determine whether an edge of a first area having a first surface type represents a traversable border between the first area and a second area having a second surface type that is different from the first surface type, the determination being based on a change in a surface characteristic determined from a change in the sensor output including a change in the signal reflected from the surface, and to direct the cleaning robot away from the traversable border so as to keep at least a portion of the cleaning robot from crossing the edge of the first area and subsequently, after a set period of time, to direct the cleaning robot to resume cleaning of an area where the cleaning robot encounters the traversable border,
- wherein the navigation system is configured to maintain one or more maps of an environment, and store information about locations of edges of the first area in the one or more maps.
2 more elements
A method of operating a cleaning robot, the method comprising:
- driving, via a drive system, the cleaning robot in an environment;
- sensing, via at least one sensor located about a peripheral edge of a body of the cleaning robot, a characteristic of a surface on which the cleaning robot is traveling and producing a sensor output indicative of the characteristic of the surface on which the cleaning robot is traveling, the sensor output including a signal reflected from the surface;
- identifying, via a navigation system, variations in floor surface materials across a traversable border between areas with respective different floor surface materials along a path of the cleaning robot while the cleaning robot is traveling based on the sensor output including the signal reflected from the surface;
- controlling, via the navigation system, the drive system to direct the cleaning robot away from the traversable border in response to the identification of the variations in floor surface materials, and subsequently. after a set period of time, to direct the cleaning robot to resume cleaning of an area where the cleaning robot encounters the traversable border;
- maintaining, via the navigation system, one or more maps of the environment;
- and
- storing, via the navigation system, information about the identified variations in floor surface materials in the one or more maps.
4 more elements
A method of maneuvering an autonomous cleaning robot across a surface within a bounded area having at least one open edge, the bounded area being part of an environment, the method comprising:
- driving, via a navigation system, the autonomous cleaning robot across a surface while sensing a sensor output from at least one sensor located about a peripheral edge of a body of the autonomous cleaning robot, the sensor output including a signal reflected from the surface indicative of a characteristic of the surface on which the autonomous cleaning robot is traveling;
- while continuing to drive the autonomous cleaning robot, evaluating, via a sensor, the sensor output including the signal reflected from the surface against a baseline signal characteristic to determine whether the sensor output is indicative of the autonomous cleaning robot being adjacent the at least one open edge of the bounded area, in which the open edge represents a traversable border between the bounded area having a first surface type and a second area having a second surface type that is different from the first surface type;
- making a navigation decision, via the navigation system, including directing the autonomous cleaning robot away from the traversable border, in response to determining from the sensor output that the autonomous cleaning robot is adjacent the at least one open edge of the bounded area, and subsequently, after a set period of time, directing the autonomous cleaning robot to resume cleaning of an area where the autonomous cleaning robot encounters the traversable border;
- maintaining, via the navigation system, one or more maps of the environment;
- and
- storing, via the navigation system, information about the at least one open edge of the bounded area in the one or more maps.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.