Robot cleaner, docking station, robot cleaner system including robot cleaner and docking station, and method of controlling robot cleaner

A system comprising:

• a docking station comprising:
• a first transmission unit, disposed on the docking station, to transmit a first docking signal comprising a first signal pulse and a second signal pulse to both a short-distance docking guide area and to a long-distance docking guide area;
• a second transmission unit, disposed on the docking station, to transmit a second docking signal comprising a third signal pulse and a fourth signal pulse to both the short-distance docking guide area and to the long-distance docking guide area;
• and
• a controller configured to:
• adjust a duration of a peak intensity of the first signal pulse included in the first docking signal transmitted by the first transmission unit to be different than a duration of a peak intensity of the second signal pulse included in the first docking signal transmitted by the first transmission unit, and
• adjust a duration of a peak intensity of the third signal pulse included in the second docking signal transmitted by the second transmission unit to be different than a duration of a peak intensity of the fourth signal pulse included in the second docking signal transmitted by the second transmission unit;
• and
• a robot cleaner comprising:
• a reception unit configured to receive a plurality of signals including at least one of the first docking signal from the first transmission unit or the second docking signal from the second transmission unit, and
• a control unit configured to:
• measure a time between a start of the first signal pulse and a start of the second signal pulse in the first docking signal included in the received plurality of signals and received directly from the first transmission unit or a period between a start of the third signal pulse and a start of the fourth signal pulse in the second docking signal included in the received plurality of signals received directly from the second transmission unit,
• measure another time between a first peak of a signal and a second peak of the signal included in the received plurality of signals,
• determine if the received signal is the first docking signal or the second docking signal, or if the received plurality of signals also includes a reflected wave produced by a reflection by an obstacle of the transmitted first docking signal or the transmitted second docking signal based on a comparison of the measured time and the measured another time, and to
• control a movement of the robot cleaner, based on the determination.