IP Library Granted Patent US 10,653,057
Granted Patent B2
US 10,653,057 · App. 15/679,723 · Granted May 19, 2020

Moving robot and control method thereof

Inventors: Kyuchun Choi (Seoul, KR); Jaehoon Lee (Seoul, KR); Jieun Choi (Seoul, KR)
Assignee: LG ELECTRONICS INC.
A01D34/008G05D1/0219G05D1/0225G05D1/0227G05D1/0238G05D1/0265G05D1/0274A01D2101/00G05D2201/0208
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 10,653,057
App. No.
15/679,723
Granted
May 19, 2020
Kind
B2
Abstract

A lawn mowing robot includes a body, a driving unit driven such that the body moves within an operation region, and a controller setting first information related to at least one reference line using coordinate information corresponding to vertices included in a polygon forming an operation region and setting second information related to a plurality of regions such that the operation region is divided into the plurality of regions using the first information, wherein the controller controls the driving unit such that the body moves according to a preset movement pattern by the plurality of divided regions using the second information.

Claims (46)

1. A robot comprising:

a body;

a driving unit to drive the body such that the body travels within an operation region; and

a controller to generate map information corresponding to an operation region, the controller setting first information corresponding to at least one reference line using coordinate information corresponding to vertices included in a polygon forming the operation region, and the controller, using the first information, setting second information corresponding to a plurality of regions such that the operation region is divided into the plurality of regions,

wherein the controller, using the second information, controls the driving unit such that the body travels according to a preset movement pattern for each of the plurality of divided regions, and

wherein when a maximum length of any one of the divided regions along a preset traveling direction is greater than a predetermined maximum traveling distance value, the controller resets the second information such that the divided region is divided into a plurality of sub-regions.

2. The robot of claim 1 , wherein

the controller detects coordinate information corresponding to a concave vertex of the vertices and, using the detected coordinate information, sets the first information,

whereby an internal angle of the polygon formed around the concave vertex is an obtuse angle.

3. The robot of claim 2 , wherein the controller selects at least one of the at least one reference line using third information corresponding to a preset traveling direction for the robot, and sets the second information using the first information related to the selected at least one reference line.

4. The robot of claim 1 , wherein when the controller does not detect coordinate information corresponding to a concave vertex of the vertices, the controller sets the second information such that the operation region is divided into the plurality of regions using fourth information corresponding to a predetermined maximum traveling distance value for the robot.

5. The robot of claim 1 , wherein the controller sets information related to each of the sub-regions using the maximum length value and the predetermined maximum traveling distance value in the traveling direction.

6. The robot of claim 1 , wherein the controller controls the driving unit such that the body travels, according to the preset movement pattern, to a region that is spaced apart from a contour line of the divided region by a predetermined additional traveling distance.

7. The robot of claim 1 , further comprising:

a sensing unit to sense coordinate information corresponding to a position of the body,

wherein the controller generates polygonal map information related to the operation region using the sensed coordinate information.

8. The robot of claim 7 , wherein the controller:

calculates a difference in area between a rectangle tangent to a polygon corresponding to the generated map information and the polygon,

sets information related to the rectangle such that the calculated difference in area includes a minimum value, and

sets information related to a traveling coordinate axis of the robot using the set information related to the rectangle.

9. The robot of claim 1 , further comprising:

a memory to store information corresponding to a movement history of the body,

wherein the controller determines whether an obstacle is located in any of the plurality of divided regions according to the stored movement history information, and

when it is determined that an obstacle is located in any of the plurality of divided regions, the controller controls the driving unit to change a travel direction of the body, and

after the movement direction is changed, the controller verifies, using information related to the traveling of the body, the determination result related to the location of the obstacle.

10. The robot of claim 9 , wherein when the controller verifies that the determination result is accurate, the controller controls the driving unit to drive the body to a position corresponding to one of the plurality of divided regions where the obstacle is not located.

11. The robot of claim 9 , wherein when the controller verifies that the determination result is wrong because the obstacle is not located within any of the plurality of divided regions, the controller controls the driving unit to change the movement direction to a previous state such that the robot moves according to the preset movement pattern.

12. A method for controlling a robot, the method comprising:

generating, by a controller, map information corresponding to an operation region for the robot;

setting, by the controller, first information corresponding to at least one reference line using coordinate information corresponding to vertices included in a polygon forming the operation region;

setting, by the controller, using the first information, second information corresponding to a plurality of regions such that the operation region is divided into the plurality of regions;

driving a driving unit, using the second information, to move the robot according to a preset movement pattern for each of the plurality of divided regions, the driving unit being controlled by the controller; and

setting, by the controller, the second information such that the operation region is divided into the plurality of regions using fourth information corresponding to a predetermined maximum traveling distance value for the robot when the controller does not detect coordinate information corresponding to a concave vertex of the vertices.

13. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:

detecting, by the controller, coordinate information corresponding to a concave vertex of the vertices when it is determined that an internal angle of the polygon formed around the concave vertex is an obtuse angle; and

setting the first information using the detected coordinate information.

14. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:

selecting, by the controller, at least one of the at least one reference line using third information corresponding to a preset traveling direction for the robot;

and setting the second information using the first information related to the selected at least one reference line.

15. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:

storing, using a memory, information corresponding to a movement history of the body,

determining, by the controller, whether an obstacle is located in any of the plurality of divided regions according to the stored movement history information, and

controlling the robot to change a travel direction when it is determined that an obstacle is located in any of the plurality of divided regions,

verifying, by the controller, after the movement direction is changed, the determination result related to the location of the obstacle.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein when the determination result is verified as accurate, the robot is driven to a position corresponding to one of the plurality of divided regions where the obstacle is not located.

17. The method of claim 15 , wherein when the determination result is not verified because the obstacle is not located within any of the plurality of divided regions, the movement direction of the robot is changed to a previous state such that the robot moves according to the preset movement pattern.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Aug 17, 2017
From: CHOI, KYUCHUN; LEE, JAEHOON; CHOI, JIEUN
To: LG ELECTRONICS INC.
Reel/Frame 043322/0697 →
Continuity (2)
Provisional Application 62383504 · Sep 5, 2016
Related Publication 20180064024A1 · Mar 8, 2018
Cited By (13)
US 12,296,694 US 12,369,509 US 12,425,197 US 12,443,180 US 12,472,611 US 12,510,892 US 12,564,130 US 12,650,694 US 12,653,097 US 12,677,737 US 12,690,518 US 12,696,838 US 12,714,019