US-20260123808-A1 - CLEANING ROBOT AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING CLEANING ROBOT

US20260123808A1US 20260123808 A1US20260123808 A1US 20260123808A1US-20260123808-A1

Abstract

A cleaning robot includes a main body; a wheel to move the main body; a pad holder, the pad holder being rotatable and to which a wet cleaning pad is attachable; a motor to rotate the pad holder; a floor sensor; a controller connected to the wheel, the motor, and the floor sensor; and a lifting assembly to lower the pad holder toward the floor, or to raise the pad holder toward the main body, wherein the controller is to: identify a type of the floor based on a detection signal transmitted from the floor sensor, determine whether a dry cleaning is required based on the type of the floor, and control the motor to rotate the pad holder in the reverse direction such that the pad holder is raised toward the main body, by the lifting assembly, based on the dry cleaning being determined as required.

Inventors

Jiwon RYU
Sol Kim
Juyeong KIM
Heesuk YOON
Hongseok Choi

Assignees

SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20251219
Priority Date: 20230814

Claims (15)

1 . A cleaning robot, comprising: a main body; a wheel in the main body to move the main body; a pad holder at a lower portion of the main body, the pad holder being rotatable and to which a wet cleaning pad is attachable; a motor configured to rotate the pad holder; a floor sensor configured to detect a floor to be cleaned; a controller electrically connected to the wheel, the motor, and the floor sensor; and a lifting assembly configured to lower the pad holder toward the floor as the pad holder rotates with the wet cleaning pad attached, in a preset forward direction, or configured to raise the pad holder toward the main body as the pad holder rotates with the wet cleaning pad attached, in a reverse direction opposite to the preset forward direction, wherein the controller is configured to: identify a type of the floor based on a detection signal transmitted from the floor sensor, determine whether a dry cleaning is required based on the type of the floor, and control the motor to rotate the pad holder in the reverse direction such that the pad holder is maintained to be raised toward the main body during the dry cleaning, by the lifting assembly, based on the dry cleaning being determined as required.
2 . The cleaning robot of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to rotate the pad holder in the reverse direction until raising of the pad holder is restricted by the lifting assembly, and subsequent to the raising of the pad holder being restricted, stop the motor.
3 . The cleaning robot of claim 2 , wherein the controller is configured to control the motor to rotate the pad holder in the reverse direction at preset intervals, based on the dry cleaning being determined as required.
4 . The cleaning robot of claim 2 , wherein the controller is configured to: detect a rotation of the main body in a state where the motor is stopped, and control the motor to rotate the pad holder in the reverse direction, based on the main body rotating in a rotation direction identical to the reverse direction and based on the dry cleaning being determined as required.
5 . The cleaning robot of claim 4 , wherein the controller is configured to control the motor to rotate the pad holder in the reverse direction, based on the main body rotating in the rotation direction by a preset threshold rotation angle.
6 . The cleaning robot of claim 4 , wherein the controller is configured to: calculate an accumulated rotation angle by accumulating a rotation angle of the main body each the rotation of the main body, and control the motor to rotate the pad holder in the reverse direction, based on the accumulated rotation angle reaching a preset threshold rotation angle.
7 . The cleaning robot of claim 4 , further comprising: a motion sensor configured to detect the rotation of the main body, wherein the controller is configured to determine the rotation direction of the main body and a rotation angle of the main body based on a motion detection signal generated by the motion sensor.
8 . The cleaning robot of claim 1 , wherein the pad holder includes a first pad holder located at a lower right side of the main body and a second pad holder located at a lower left side of the main body, the motor includes a first motor configured to rotate the first pad holder and a second motor configured to rotate the second pad holder, the lifting assembly includes a first lifting assembly configured to lower and configured to raise the first pad holder and a second lifting assembly configured to lower and configured to raise the second pad holder, and the controller is configured to: control the first motor to rotate the first pad holder in a first reverse direction to raise the first pad holder, and control the second motor to rotate the second pad holder in a second reverse direction opposite to the first reverse direction to raise the second pad holder.
9 . The cleaning robot of claim 8 , wherein the controller is configured to: detect rotation of the main body based on the motor being stopped, and control the first motor to rotate the first pad holder in the first reverse direction and control the second motor to rotate the second pad holder in the second reverse direction based on a rotation direction of the main body and based on the dry cleaning being determined as required.
10 . A method for controlling a cleaning robot comprising a pad holder in a lower portion of a main body, the pad holder being rotatable and to which a wet cleaning pad is attachable, the method comprising: identifying a type of a floor using a floor sensor configured to detect a floor to be cleaned; determining, by a controller, whether a dry cleaning is required based on the type of the floor; and controlling, by the controller, a motor configured to rotate the pad holder in a reverse direction opposite to a preset forward direction such that the pad holder is maintained to be raised toward the main body during the dry cleaning, by a lifting assembly, based on the dry cleaning being determined as required, wherein the pad holder is lowered or raised by the lifting assembly according to rotation of the pad holder.
11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the controlling of the motor comprises rotating the pad holder in the reverse direction until raising of the pad holder is restricted by the lifting assembly, and, subsequent to the raising of the pad holder being restricted, stopping the motor.
12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the controlling of the motor further comprises rotating the pad holder in the reverse direction at preset intervals, based on the dry cleaning being determined as required.
13 . The method of claim 11 , further comprising: detecting a rotation of the main body based on the motor being stopped, wherein the controlling of the motor further comprises rotating the pad holder in the reverse direction, based on the main body rotating in a rotation direction identical to the reverse direction and based on the determination the dry cleaning is required.
14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the controlling of the motor comprises rotating the pad holder in the reverse direction, based on the main body rotating in the rotation direction by a preset threshold rotation angle.
15 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the detecting of the rotation of the main body comprises calculating an accumulated rotation angle by accumulating a rotation angle of the main body each the rotation of the main body, and the controlling of the motor comprises rotating the pad holder in the reverse direction, based on the accumulated rotation angle reaching a preset threshold rotation angle.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S) This application is a continuation application, under 35 U.S. C. § 111(a), of International Application No. PCT/KR2024/009694, filed on Jul. 8, 2024, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office and is based on and claims priority to Korean Patent Applications No. 10-2023-0106533, filed on Aug. 14, 2023, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD The disclosure relates to a cleaning robot capable of performing wet cleaning or dry cleaning, and a method for controlling the cleaning robot. BACKGROUND ART A cleaning robot may identify objects located in an indoor space while moving within the indoor space, and may generate a map of the indoor space. The cleaning robot may clean the indoor space using the map of the indoor space. In addition, the cleaning robot may collect environmental data of the indoor space. The cleaning robot may perform cleaning by driving itself in the area to be cleaned without user operation The cleaning robot may include a wet cleaning pad used for wet cleaning. The wet cleaning pad may be rotatably provided at a lower portion of a main body of the cleaning robot. When the wet cleaning pad contacts the floor to be cleaned and rotates, contaminants on the floor may be cleaned. However, when the cleaning robot moves over a flooring material that requires dry cleaning (e.g., a carpet), the wet cleaning pad requires to be raised to prevent the flooring material from being soiled by the wet cleaning pad. DISCLOSURE Technical Solution The disclosure provides a cleaning robot that, when dry cleaning is required based on the type of floor, may raise a wet cleaning pad and adjust a position of the wet cleaning pad according to a predetermined condition, and a method for controlling the same. The disclosure provides a cleaning robot that may independently adjust a position of each of a plurality of pad holders, and a method for controlling the same. According to an embodiment of the disclosure, a cleaning robot may include: a main body; a wheel provided in the main body to move the main body; a pad holder to which a wet cleaning pad is attachable and which is rotatable in a lower portion of the main body; a motor configured to rotate the pad holder; a floor sensor configured to detect a floor being cleaned; a controller electrically connected to the wheel, the motor, and the floor sensor; and a lifting assembly configured to lower the pad holder toward the floor as the pad holder rotates in a preset forward direction, or raise the pad holder toward the main body as the pad holder rotates in a reverse direction opposite to the forward direction. The controller may be configured to identify a type of the floor based on a detection signal transmitted from the floor sensor. The controller may be configured to determine whether dry cleaning is required based on the type of the floor. The controller may be configured to control the motor to rotate the pad holder in the reverse direction to raise the pad holder based on the dry cleaning being required. According to an embodiment of the disclosure, a method for controlling a cleaning robot may include: identifying a type of a floor using a floor sensor; determining, by a controller, whether dry cleaning is required based on the type of the floor; and controlling, by the controller, a motor to rotate a pad holder in a reverse direction opposite to a preset forward direction so as to raise the pad holder, based on the dry cleaning being required. According to the disclosure, when dry cleaning is required based on the type of floor, a cleaning robot and a method for controlling the same may raise a wet cleaning pad and adjust a position of the wet cleaning pad according to a predetermined condition. Thus, a flooring material may be prevented from being soiled by the wet cleaning pad. According to the disclosure, a cleaning robot and a method for controlling the same may independently adjust a position of each of a plurality of pad holders, thereby reducing power consumption and wear on a lifting assembly that lowers or raises the pad holders. According to an embodiment of the disclosure, a cleaning robot, may include: a main body; a wheel in the main body to move the main body; a pad holder at a lower portion of the main body, the pad holder being rotatable and to which a wet cleaning pad is attachable; a motor configured to rotate the pad holder; a floor sensor configured to detect a floor to be cleaned; a controller electrically connected to the wheel, the motor, and the floor sensor; and a lifting assembly configured to lower the pad holder toward the floor as the pad holder rotates with the wet cleaning pad attached, in a preset forward direction, or configured to raise the pad holder toward the main body as the pad holder rotates with the wet cleaning pad attached, in a reverse direction opposite to the preset forw