U.S. patent application number 17/548804 was filed with the patent office on 2022-08-11 for method for recovering waste liquid, maintenance station, cleaning robot and system for recovering waste liquid.
The applicant listed for this patent is SHENZHEN FLY RODENT DYNAMICS INTELLIGENT TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.. Invention is credited to Jun Li, Linlin Zhou.
Application Number | 20220248927 17/548804 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 1000006076220 |
Filed Date | 2022-08-11 |
United States Patent
Application |
20220248927 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Li; Jun ; et al. |
August 11, 2022 |
METHOD FOR RECOVERING WASTE LIQUID, MAINTENANCE STATION, CLEANING
ROBOT AND SYSTEM FOR RECOVERING WASTE LIQUID
Abstract
A method for recovering waste liquid includes: obtaining a
liquid usage amount of a cleaning robot, and controlling a
maintenance station to recover the waste liquid collected by the
cleaning robot according to the liquid usage amount.
Inventors: |
Li; Jun; (Shenzhen, CN)
; Zhou; Linlin; (Shenzhen, CN) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
SHENZHEN FLY RODENT DYNAMICS INTELLIGENT TECHNOLOGY CO.,
LTD. |
Shenzhen |
|
CN |
|
|
Family ID: |
1000006076220 |
Appl. No.: |
17/548804 |
Filed: |
December 13, 2021 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47L 11/4083 20130101;
A47L 11/4088 20130101; A47L 11/4016 20130101; A47L 11/4011
20130101; A47L 2201/024 20130101 |
International
Class: |
A47L 11/40 20060101
A47L011/40 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Feb 5, 2021 |
CN |
202110161383.0 |
Claims
1. A method for recovering waste liquid, comprising: obtaining a
liquid usage amount of a cleaning robot; and controlling a
maintenance station to recover the waste liquid collected by the
cleaning robot according to the liquid usage amount.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the controlling a maintenance
station to recover the waste liquid collected by the cleaning robot
according to the liquid usage amount comprises: determining a
recovery amount of the waste liquid according to the liquid usage
amount; and controlling the maintenance station to recover the
waste liquid collected by the cleaning robot according to the
recovery amount of the waste liquid.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein before determining the recovery
amount of the waste liquid according to the liquid usage amount,
the method further comprises: obtaining a liquid loss coefficient;
correspondingly, determining the recovery amount of the waste
liquid according to the liquid usage amount comprises: determining
the recovery amount of the waste liquid according to the liquid
loss coefficient and the liquid usage amount.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein the determining the recovery
amount of the waste liquid according to the liquid loss coefficient
and the liquid usage amount comprises: sending the liquid loss
coefficient to the cleaning robot so that the cleaning robot
corrects the liquid usage amount according to the liquid loss
coefficient to obtain and return a correction amount of the waste
liquid, and determining the recovery amount of the waste liquid
according to the correction amount of the waste liquid.
5. The method of claim 3, wherein the determining the recovery
amount of the waste liquid according to the liquid loss coefficient
and the liquid usage amount comprises: calculating the correction
amount of the waste liquid according to the liquid loss coefficient
and the liquid usage amount, and determining the recovery amount of
the waster liquid according to the correction amount of the waste
liquid.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein the correction amount of the
waste liquid is: Q=.eta.*W, wherein Q is the correction amount of
the waste liquid, T is the liquid loss coefficient, and W is the
liquid usage amount.
7. The method of claim 3, wherein the liquid loss coefficient is
calculated according to a historical recovery amount when the
maintenance station recovers the waste liquid of the cleaning robot
and a historical liquid consumption when the cleaning robot
performs the cleaning operation.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein the liquid loss coefficient is:
.eta.=(M/N)*100%, where .eta. is the liquid loss coefficient, M is
the historical recovery amount, and N is the historical liquid
consumption.
9. The method of claim 8 wherein: the historical recovery amount is
calculated according to a historical recovery time when the
maintenance station recovers the waste liquid of the cleaning robot
and a unit recovery flow of the maintenance station; the historical
liquid consumption is calculated according to a unit liquid
consumption flow and a historical liquid consumption time of the
cleaning robot.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein the controlling the maintenance
station to recover the waste liquid collected by the cleaning robot
according to the liquid usage amount comprises: calculating a
current recovery time according to the liquid usage amount; and
controlling the maintenance station to recover the waste liquid
collected by the cleaning robot according to the current recovery
time and a designated recovery time.
11. The method of claim 1, wherein the obtaining a liquid usage
amount of a cleaning robot comprises: obtaining a waste liquid
recovery instruction sent by the cleaning robot, the waste liquid
recovery instruction packaging the liquid usage amount; and
extracting the liquid usage amount from the waste liquid recovery
instruction.
12. The method of claim 1, wherein a pressure sensor is provided at
a bottom of a clean liquid tank of the cleaning robot, the
obtaining a liquid usage amount of a cleaning robot comprises:
obtaining an initial pressure sent by the pressure sensor when the
cleaning operation is started; obtaining the last pressure sent by
the pressure sensor again when the cleaning robot drives back to
the maintenance station; subtracting the initial pressure from the
last pressure to obtain a pressure difference; and calculating the
liquid usage amount according to the pressure difference.
13. A method for recovering waste liquid, comprising: obtaining a
liquid usage amount; and sending the liquid usage amount to control
a maintenance station to recover the waste liquid collected by a
cleaning robot according to the liquid usage amount.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein before sending the liquid usage
amount, the method further comprises: correcting the liquid usage
amount; correspondingly, the sending the liquid usage amount to
control a maintenance station to recover the waste liquid collected
by a cleaning robot according to the liquid usage amount comprises:
sending the corrected liquid usage amount to control the
maintenance station to recover the waste liquid collected by the
cleaning robot according to the corrected liquid usage amount.
15. The method of claim 13, wherein the correcting the liquid usage
amount comprises: obtaining a liquid loss coefficient; and
correcting the liquid usage amount according to the liquid loss
coefficient and the liquid usage amount.
16. The method of claim 15, wherein the liquid loss coefficient is
calculated according to a historical recovery amount when the
maintenance station recovers the waste liquid of the cleaning robot
and a historical liquid consumption when the cleaning robot
performs the cleaning operation.
17. The method of claim 16, wherein: the historical recovery amount
is calculated according to a historical recovery time when the
maintenance station recovers the waste liquid of the cleaning robot
and a unit recovery flow of the maintenance station; the historical
liquid consumption is calculated according to a unit liquid
consumption flow and a historical liquid consumption time of the
cleaning robot.
18. The method of claim 13, wherein the obtaining the liquid usage
amount comprises: recording an actual liquid consumption time of
the cleaning robot and the unit liquid consumption flow of the
cleaning robot; and determining the liquid usage amount according
to the unit liquid consumption flow and the actual liquid
consumption time of the cleaning robot.
19. The method of claim 13, wherein the sending the liquid usage
amount to control a maintenance station to recover the waste liquid
collected by a cleaning robot according to the liquid usage amount
comprises: packaging the liquid usage amount into a waste liquid
recovery instruction; and sending the waste liquid recovery
instruction to the maintenance station, such that the maintenance
station extracts the liquid usage amount from the waste liquid
recovery instruction.
20. A maintenance station, comprising: at least one processor; and
a memory communicatively connected with the at least one processor;
wherein the memory stores instructions capable of being executable
by the at least one processor to enable the at least one processor
to execute the method of claim 1.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present disclosure claims priority of Chinese Patent
Application No. 202110161383.0, filed on Feb. 5, 2021, titled
"METHOD FOR RECOVERING WASTE LIQUID, MAINTENANCE STATION, CLEANING
ROBOT AND SYSTEM FOR RECOVERING WASTE LIQUID", the contents of
which are incorporated herein by reference.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] The present disclosure relates to the technical field of
robots, and in particular, relates to a method for recovering waste
liquid, a maintenance station, a cleaning robot and a system for
recovering waste liquid.
BACKGROUND
[0003] With the development of robot technologies, cleaning robots
have gradually entered ordinary families, and they gradually
liberate people from heavy and trivial housework, and provide great
convenience for people.
[0004] Typical robots can not only mop the floor, but also recycle
the waste liquid generated in the process of mopping the floor to a
waste tank, thus preventing the humidity of the floor from being
too high. When the waste liquid in the waste tank needs to be
cleaned, the user needs to clean the waste tank manually, which is
troublesome.
SUMMARY
[0005] An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a method
for recovering waste liquid, including: obtaining a liquid usage
amount of a cleaning robot, and controlling a maintenance station
to recover the waste liquid collected by the cleaning robot
according to the liquid usage amount.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] One or more embodiments are illustrated by pictures in
corresponding attached drawings, and this does not constitute
limitation of the embodiments. Elements labeled with the same
reference numerals in the attached drawings represent similar
elements, and unless otherwise stated, figures in the attached
drawings do not constitute scale limitation.
[0007] FIG. 1 is a schematic flowchart diagram of a method for
recovering waste liquid provided by an embodiment of the present
disclosure, in which the executive body is an electronic device
such as a maintenance station or a mobile terminal;
[0008] FIG. 2 is a schematic flowchart diagram of S12 shown in FIG.
1;
[0009] FIG. 3 is a schematic flowchart diagram of a method for
recovering waste liquid provided by another embodiment of the
present disclosure, in which the executive body is an electronic
device such as a maintenance station or a mobile terminal;
[0010] FIG. 4 is a schematic flowchart diagram of a method for
recovering waste liquid provided by an embodiment of the present
disclosure, in which the executive body is an electronic device
such as a cleaning robot or a mobile terminal;
[0011] FIG. 5 is a schematic flowchart diagram of a method for
recovering waste liquid provided by another embodiment of the
present disclosure, in which the executive body is an electronic
device such as a cleaning robot or a mobile terminal;
[0012] FIG. 6 is a schematic flowchart diagram of S23 shown in FIG.
5;
[0013] FIG. 7 is a schematic flowchart diagram of S21 shown in FIG.
4;
[0014] FIG. 8 is a front view of a maintenance station provided by
an embodiment of the present disclosure;
[0015] FIG. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a waste liquid
collecting assembly shown in FIG. 8;
[0016] FIG. 10 is another schematic structural diagram of the waste
liquid collecting assembly shown in FIG. 8;
[0017] FIG. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of a cleaning
robot provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;
[0018] FIG. 12 is a schematic circuit structure diagram of a
cleaning robot provided by an embodiment of the present
disclosure;
[0019] FIG. 13 is a schematic structural diagram of a waste liquid
collection box assembly provided by an embodiment of the present
disclosure;
[0020] FIG. 14 is a schematic structural diagram of a system for
recovering waste liquid provided by an embodiment of the present
disclosure; and
[0021] FIG. 15 is a schematic circuit structure diagram of an
electronic device provided by an embodiment of the present
disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0022] In order to make objects, technical solutions and advantages
of the present disclosure clearer, the present disclosure will be
further described in detail with reference to attached drawings and
embodiments. It shall be appreciated that, the specific embodiments
described herein are only used to explain the present disclosure,
and are not used to limit the present disclosure. Based on the
embodiments of the present disclosure, all other embodiments
obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative
labor belong to the scope claimed in the present disclosure.
[0023] It shall be noted that, all features in the embodiments of
the present disclosure can be combined with each other if there is
no conflict, and this is within the scope claimed in the present
disclosure. In addition, although functional modules are divided in
the schematic diagrams of the device and logical sequences are
shown in the flowchart diagrams, in some cases, the steps shown or
described can be performed in module division and sequences
different from those in the schematic diagrams and flowchart
diagrams. Furthermore, words such as "first", "second" and "third"
used in the present disclosure do not limit the data and execution
order, but only distinguish same or similar items with basically
the same functions and effects.
Embodiment 1
[0024] This embodiment provides a method for recovering waste
liquid, which may be applied to any suitable device. The device may
be a maintenance station or a mobile terminal, and the mobile
terminal may be any of smart phones, smart watches and tablet
computers. The maintenance station in the embodiment of the present
disclosure may recover the waste liquid collected by the cleaning
robot. In some embodiments, the maintenance station may also
realize at least one of the following functions: providing clean
liquid and power for the cleaning robot, cleaning and drying the
mopping parts carried by the cleaning robot or the like.
[0025] Referring to FIG. 1, the method S100 for recovering waste
liquid includes:
[0026] S11. obtaining a liquid usage amount of the cleaning
robot.
[0027] In this embodiment, the liquid usage amount is the amount of
liquid consumed by the cleaning robot every time it performs the
cleaning operation, wherein the liquid here may be clean water or
liquid containing cleaning chemical components. Generally, the
liquid in the clean liquid tank of the cleaning robot will flow to
the mopping parts, and the cleaning robot will mop the floor with
the wet mopping parts. Relatively speaking, when the cleaning robot
performs cleaning operations, the liquid in the clean liquid tank
is consumed and reduced. Therefore, the liquid usage amount is the
amount of liquid consumed by the cleaning robot.
[0028] By way of example, but not for limitation, the cleaning
robot will collect the waste liquid generated during the cleaning
operation when it performs the cleaning operation, and after the
cleaning robot finishes the cleaning operation, it will
automatically drive back to the maintenance station so that the
maintenance station recovers the waste liquid collected by the
cleaning robot. After driving back to the maintenance station, the
cleaning robot will automatically send the liquid usage amount
consumed by this cleaning operation to the maintenance station. In
this way, the maintenance station obtains the liquid usage amount
of the cleaning robot.
[0029] For example, the cleaning robot starts to move out of the
maintenance station at time t0 to perform cleaning operations. At
time t100, the cleaning robot drives back to the maintenance
station. Therefore, the liquid usage amount is the amount of liquid
consumed by the cleaning robot during the period from time t0 to
t100. It shall be appreciated that, the cleaning robot may suspend
the cleaning operation during any period from time t0 to t100, and
in this period, no water will flow out for mopping. In this case,
the cleaning robot may still use the amount of liquid consumed
during the period from time t0 to t100 as the liquid usage
amount.
[0030] In some embodiments, when the cleaning robot is unable to
drive back to the maintenance station due to lack of sufficient
power during the cleaning operation, the cleaning robot may package
the amount of liquid consumed by this cleaning operation into a
waste liquid recovery instruction and send it to the maintenance
station. Alternatively, when the cleaning robot is moved back to
the maintenance station for charging, the cleaning robot sends the
waste liquid recovery instruction to the maintenance station, and
the maintenance station analyzes the waste liquid recovery
instruction and extracts the liquid usage amount therefrom.
[0031] In this embodiment, the cleaning robot records the liquid
usage amount every time the cleaning robot performs the cleaning
operation and consumes liquid. There are many ways to detect the
liquid usage amount. For example, the cleaning robot may calculate
the liquid usage amount according to a unit liquid consumption flow
and a liquid consumption time collected by a clean liquid
flowmeter. The unit liquid consumption flow is the volume of liquid
output by the cleaning robot to the mopping part in unit time. For
example, if the unit time is one second, then correspondingly, the
unit liquid consumption flow is the volume of liquid output by the
cleaning robot to the mopping part per second, and the liquid
consumption time is the period during which the cleaning robot uses
the liquid for each cleaning operation.
[0032] For another example, a pressure sensor is provided at the
bottom of a clean liquid tank of the cleaning robot, and when the
cleaning operation is started, the cleaning robot obtains an
initial pressure sent by the pressure sensor. When the cleaning
robot drives back to the maintenance station, the cleaning robot
obtains the last pressure sent by the pressure sensor again.
Therefore, the cleaning robot subtracts the initial pressure from
the last pressure to obtain a pressure difference, and then
calculates the liquid usage amount according to the pressure
difference.
[0033] S12. controlling the maintenance station to recover the
waste liquid collected by the cleaning robot according to the
liquid usage amount.
[0034] In some embodiments, the maintenance station can obtain the
liquid usage amount, thereby efficiently and reliably recovering
the waste liquid collected by the cleaning robot according to the
liquid usage amount and any suitable algorithms. For example, the
maintenance station may recover the waste liquid collected by the
cleaning robot quickly and reliably according to the PID algorithm
in combination with the liquid usage amount.
[0035] As can be seen from the above description, the method can
recover the waste liquid collected by the cleaning robot
quantitatively and intelligently without manual participation, thus
improving the recovery efficiency and improving the user
experience.
[0036] In some embodiments, S12 includes: calculating the current
recovery time by the maintenance station according to the liquid
usage amount, and controlling the maintenance station to recover
the waste liquid collected by the cleaning robot according to the
current recovery time and a designated recovery time. For example,
the maintenance station calculates the current recovery time
according to a formula: t=W/P, wherein t is the current recovery
time, W is the liquid usage amount, and P is the unit recovery flow
of the maintenance station. The unit recovery flow of the
maintenance station may be the volume of waste liquid recovered by
the maintenance station. In addition, the designated recovery time
may be a preset time length value, or the designated recovery time
is equal to the product of the current recovery time multiplied by
a preset coefficient.
[0037] By way of example, but not for limitation, the step of
controlling the maintenance station to recover the waste liquid
collected by the cleaning robot according to the current recovery
time and the designated recovery time may specifically includes:
calculating the sum of the current recovery time and the designated
recovery time, and controlling the maintenance station to recover
the waste liquid collected by the cleaning robot according to the
sum. In this way, the waste liquid in the cleaning robot may be
recovered more thoroughly.
[0038] For example, it is assumed that the current recovery time is
10 seconds and the designated recovery time is 2 seconds.
Correspondingly, the sum of the current recovery time and the
designated recovery time is calculated to be 12 seconds, and the
maintenance station is controlled to work for 12 seconds to recover
the waste liquid collected by the cleaning robot.
[0039] In some embodiments, during the working process
corresponding to the current recovery time, the maintenance station
will continuously determine whether it receives a liquid signal,
which indicates that the waste liquid is continuously input into
the maintenance station. If the maintenance station receives the
liquid signal, the maintenance station will continue to work until
the current recovery time is finished. Then, the maintenance
station again determines whether the liquid signal is received. If
the liquid signal is received, the maintenance station continues to
work (the time at which the maintenance station continues to work
here is labeled as t01) until the waste liquid stops being
continuously input into the maintenance station (the time at which
the waste liquid stops being continuously input into the
maintenance station is labeled as t02). Then, in order to ensure
that all the waste liquid of the cleaning robot can be recovered,
the maintenance station will continue to work for the designated
recovery time after working for the two time periods (the two time
periods are the time length between t01 and t02). With this method,
the maintenance station can recover the waste liquid of the
cleaning robot reliably and completely.
[0040] In some embodiments, the maintenance station may take the
liquid usage amount as a reference quantity, and deeply determine
the recovery amount of the waste liquid again. Therefore, referring
to FIG. 2, S12 includes:
[0041] S121. determining the recovery amount of the waste liquid
according to the liquid usage amount;
[0042] S122. controlling the maintenance station to recover the
waste liquid collected by the cleaning robot according to the
recovery amount of the waste liquid.
[0043] The recovery amount of the waste liquid is the amount of the
waste liquid that needs to be recovered by the maintenance
station.
[0044] In this embodiment, the recovery amount of the waste liquid
is the amount of waste liquid collected by the cleaning robot that
is recovered accurately and reliably by the maintenance station to
the greatest extent. Since the liquid consumption environment and
the waste liquid collection environment vary among cleaning robots,
even if the same amount of liquid is used, the waste liquid
collected by each cleaning robot may be different. By determining
the corresponding recovery amount of waste liquid according to the
liquid usage amount, waste liquid collection requirements of
various cleaning robots can be met, which may not only recover the
waste liquid collected by the cleaning robots to the greatest
extent, but also avoid waste of electric energy caused by idle
operation of the maintenance station.
[0045] By way of example, but not for limitation, the liquid
consumption of the cleaning robot requires the participation of
various components. For example, the components may include a clean
liquid tank, a first clean liquid pipe, a clean liquid solenoid
valve, a clean liquid pump, a second clean liquid pipe and a clean
liquid flowmeter. Calculation errors may exist in one or more of
the above components, which will result in the amount of liquid
actually consumed being not equal to the liquid usage amount
calculated. For example, the clean liquid flowmeter becomes not
sensitive enough due to long-term use, and this may cause the
liquid usage amount to be larger or smaller than the amount of
liquid actually consumed. Alternatively, there is a gap in the
clean liquid box, the liquid flowing out of the gap in the clean
liquid box does not pass through the clean liquid flowmeter, and
thus the clean liquid flowmeter cannot fully count the liquid usage
amount of the cleaning robot. That is, the counted liquid usage
amount is smaller than the amount of liquid actually consumed.
[0046] In the cleaning robot, it is certain to have some liquid
loss, and this kind of liquid loss will affect the calculation
error of the liquid usage amount. Generally, the cleaning robot
sprays liquid to the mopping part, and the mopping part mops the
floor. On the one hand, part of the liquid will be sucked into the
mopping part so that the cleaning robot cannot recover this part of
liquid, and part of the liquid will be absorbed by the floor, and
the cleaning robot is also unable to recover this part of liquid.
On the other hand, another part of the liquid will flow into other
places, such as flowing out of the clean liquid tank but staying in
the conduit, or being sprayed into the body of the cleaning robot
or the like. Generally speaking, this kind of liquid loss will
affect the calculation error of the liquid usage amount.
[0047] Similarly, since the calculation error of the liquid usage
amount may occur in the cleaning robot, this phenomenon may also
occur in the maintenance station.
[0048] Therefore, in some embodiments, referring to FIG. 3, before
S121 is executed, the method S100 for recovering waste liquid
further includes S120: obtaining the liquid loss coefficient.
Correspondingly, S121 includes determining the recovery amount of
the waste liquid according to the liquid loss coefficient and the
liquid usage amount.
[0049] In this embodiment, the liquid loss coefficient is used to
evaluate the liquid loss of the maintenance station in the process
of recovering waste liquid and/or the liquid loss of the cleaning
robot in the process of liquid consumption. The liquid loss
coefficient is a coefficient that comprehensively summarizes the
liquid loss of the maintenance station and/or the cleaning robot in
the process of liquid consumption. The liquid loss of the cleaning
robot in the process of liquid consumption includes the liquid
absorption loss of the mopping part and/or the liquid absorption
loss of the floor and/or liquid loss caused by other factors.
[0050] In some embodiments, the liquid loss coefficient may be a
preset empirical constant. For example, the designer tests the
liquid loss of the maintenance station for recovering the waste
liquid of the cleaning robot as well as the liquid loss of the
cleaning robot in the cleaning operation for many times, and
accordingly generates the liquid loss coefficient according to the
test data. For example, the liquid loss coefficient may be
calculated according to algorithms such as the least square method
or variance.
[0051] In some embodiments, the liquid loss coefficient may be
calculated in real time by the maintenance station or the cleaning
robot. Optionally, the liquid loss coefficient calculated at the
current time may be applied to the next recovery process of waste
liquid, so as to continuously and iteratively update the liquid
loss coefficient and finally converge to an optimal liquid loss
coefficient. According to the optimal liquid loss coefficient and
the liquid usage amount, the maintenance station can calculate the
recovery amount of the waste liquid reliably and accurately.
[0052] In some embodiments, the liquid loss coefficient is
calculated according to the historical recovery amount when the
maintenance station recovers the waste liquid of the cleaning robot
and the historical liquid consumption when the cleaning robot
performs the cleaning operation. For example, .eta.=(M/N)*100%,
wherein .eta. is the liquid loss coefficient, M is the historical
recovery amount, and N is the historical liquid consumption.
[0053] For convenience of description, the time at which the
acquisition of the liquid loss coefficient is performed currently
is recorded as a first designated time.
[0054] Optionally, the historical recovery amount is the waste
liquid amount corresponding to the waste liquid collected by the
cleaning robot that is recovered by the maintenance station before
the first designated time.
[0055] For example, after the cleaning robot completes the first
cleaning operation, the maintenance station recovers the waste
liquid collected by the cleaning robot at t1, and ends the recovery
operation at t10. During the time period from t1 to t10, the amount
of waste liquid collected by the cleaning robot that is recovered
by the maintenance station is M1.
[0056] After the cleaning robot completes the second cleaning
operation, the maintenance station recovers the waste liquid
collected by the cleaning robot at t2, and ends the recovery
operation at t20. During the time period from t2 to t20, the amount
of waste liquid collected by the cleaning robot that is recovered
by the maintenance station is M2. As compared to M2, M1 is the
historical recovery amount.
[0057] After the cleaning robot finishes the second cleaning
operation, the maintenance station recovers the waste liquid
collected by the cleaning robot at t3, and ends the recovery
operation at t30. During the time period from t3 to t30, the amount
of waste liquid collected by the cleaning robot that is recovered
by the maintenance station is M3, and as compared to M3, either M1
or M2 may be the historical recovery amount.
[0058] In some embodiments, the historical recovery amount may be
the amount of waste liquid corresponding to a recovery before and
closest to the first designated time. Since the amount of waste
liquid corresponding to the recovery closest to the first
designated time may be selected as the historical recovery amount,
the historical recovery amount has higher timeliness, and thus, it
is possible to calculate the recovery amount of waste liquid
required at the current time more accurately.
[0059] In some embodiments, the historical recovery amount may
specifically be the total amount of waste liquid of the cleaning
robot recovered by the maintenance station before the first
designated time. Thus, as mentioned above, relative to M3, the sum
of M1 and M2 may be the historical recovery amount.
[0060] In some embodiments, the historical recovery amount is
calculated according to the historical recovery time when the
maintenance station recovers the waste liquid of the cleaning robot
and the unit recovery flow of the maintenance station. The
historical recovery time may be the time spent by the maintenance
station to recover all the waste liquid collected by the cleaning
robot, or the time spent by the maintenance station to recover a
preset amount of waste liquid. For example, during the first
cleaning operation, the maintenance station starts to recover the
waste liquid collected by the cleaning robot at t11 and recovers
all the waste liquid collected by the cleaning robot at t12. In
this case, the time from t11 to t12 is the historical recovery
time.
[0061] By way of example, but not for limitation, the unit recovery
flow of the maintenance station may be the volume of the waste
liquid collected by the cleaning robot that is recovered by the
maintenance in unit time. For example, the unit recovery flow of
the maintenance station may be the volume of the waste liquid
collected by the cleaning robot that is recovered by the
maintenance station per second, and the unit may be ml/s.
Therefore, the historical recovery amount V=T*P, wherein V is the
historical recovery amount, T is the historical recovery time, and
P is the unit recovery flow of the maintenance station.
[0062] By way of example, but not for limitation, the historical
liquid consumption is the amount of liquid consumed by the cleaning
robot in the cleaning operation before the second designated
time.
[0063] For convenience of description, a cleaning operation before
and closest to the first designated time is recorded as the current
cleaning operation.
[0064] For example, the second designated time is the time when the
current cleaning operation is started.
[0065] In some embodiments, the historical liquid consumption is
the amount of liquid consumed by the cleaning robot in a single
cleaning operation before the second designated time.
[0066] For example, the amount of liquid consumed by the cleaning
robot in order to complete the first cleaning operation, the second
cleaning operation and the third cleaning operation is labeled as
N1, N2 and N3, respectively, and N1 is the historical liquid
consumption for the second cleaning operation. In the third
cleaning operation, either N1 or N2 may be used as the historical
liquid consumption.
[0067] In some embodiments, the historical liquid consumption is
the total amount of liquid consumed by the cleaning robot in
multiple cleaning operations before the second designated time.
[0068] In some embodiments, the historical liquid consumption is
calculated according to the unit liquid consumption flow of the
cleaning robot and the historical liquid consumption time. The unit
liquid consumption flow is the volume of liquid output by the
cleaning robot to the mopping part per second. The historical
liquid consumption time may be the time consumed by the cleaning
robot when it finishes the cleaning operation, or the time consumed
by the cleaning robot when it performs a preset part of the
cleaning operation. For example, before the second designated time,
the cleaning robot starts to perform the first cleaning operation
at t41, and finishes the cleaning operation at t42. In this case,
the time from t41 to t42 is the historical liquid consumption
time.
[0069] As mentioned above, this method can fully consider all kinds
of errors and calculate the recovery amount of the waste liquid by
combining the liquid loss coefficient with the liquid usage amount,
so the calculated recovery amount of the waste liquid is more
accurate.
[0070] In some embodiments, the maintenance station may send the
liquid loss coefficient to the cleaning robot so that the cleaning
robot corrects the liquid usage amount according to the liquid loss
coefficient to obtain and return the correction amount of the waste
liquid. Then, the maintenance station determines the recovery
amount of the waste liquid according to the correction amount of
the waste liquid. For example, the cleaning robot obtains the
correction amount of the waste liquid according to the formula:
Q=.eta.*W, and sends the correction amount of the waste liquid to
the maintenance station. The maintenance station takes the
correction amount of the waste liquid as the recovery amount of the
waste liquid, wherein Q is the correction amount of the waste
liquid, .eta. is the liquid loss coefficient, and W is the liquid
usage amount. With this method, the cleaning robot may directly
calculate the correction amount of the waste liquid and send it to
the maintenance station so that the maintenance station can quickly
determine the recovery amount of the waste liquid according to the
correction amount of the waste liquid.
[0071] Different from the above embodiments, the maintenance
station calculates the correction amount of the waste liquid
according to the liquid loss coefficient and the liquid usage
amount, and determines the liquid replenishment amount according to
the correction amount of the waste liquid. With this method, the
maintenance station can calculate a more reliable and accurate
recovery amount of the waste liquid at one time without the
participation of the cleaning robot.
[0072] As mentioned above, there are errors in the process of
recovering the waste liquid or using the liquid by the maintenance
station and/or the cleaning robot. However, according to the
embodiment of the present disclosure, the recovery amount of the
waste liquid may be determined reliably and accurately by combining
the liquid loss coefficient, which is beneficial for the
maintenance station to recover the waste liquid collected by the
cleaning robot reliably, accurately and efficiently.
[0073] In order to explain in detail the benefits of the embodiment
of the present disclosure in determining the recovery amount of the
waste liquid in combination with the liquid loss coefficient, the
following examples are provided herein for auxiliary understanding.
These examples will not unduly limit the embodiments of the present
disclosure, but only serve as auxiliary explanation. The following
deductive processes all assume that the unit liquid consumption
flow of the cleaning robot=the unit recovery flow of the
maintenance station=1 ml/s.
[0074] Liquid loss, e.g., the liquid absorption loss of the mopping
part and the liquid absorption loss of the floor, certainly exists
in the process of liquid consumption by the cleaning robot. Such
loss will cause the amount of waste liquid recovered by the
cleaning robot to be less than the amount of liquid consumed by the
cleaning robot in performing cleaning operations. However, in
consideration of detection errors of components such as the
flowmeter of the cleaning robot, the overall situation is that: for
the cleaning robot, the detected liquid usage amount may be less
than the amount of waste liquid recovered by the cleaning robot.
For example, if the clean liquid actually ejected is large in
amount, but the detected flow is very small because the flowmeter
fails to operate normally, then it may appear that the detected
liquid usage amount is less than the amount of waste liquid
recovered by the cleaning robot.
[0075] Similarly, the maintenance station may have errors itself,
and the detected recovery amount of waste liquid may be less than
or greater than the liquid usage amount sent by the cleaning robot.
Based on this fact, the following deduction is made
hereinafter:
[0076] {circle around (1)} when there is an error in the cleaning
robot and there is no error in the maintenance station, the
following deduction is made:
[0077] it is assumed that when the cleaning robot performs the
first cleaning operation, it actually uses 10 ml of liquid, but it
is detected that 12 ml of liquid is used, and the liquid
consumption time is 12 seconds. The cleaning robot sends 12 ml to
the maintenance station to recover the waste liquid.
[0078] In theory, the maintenance station needs to recover 12 ml of
waste liquid, but considering the liquid loss of the cleaning
robot, when the maintenance station actually recovers 10 ml of
waste liquid, all the waste liquid of the cleaning robot has been
recovered, so the maintenance station only works for 10
seconds.
Liquid loss coefficient .eta.=(10*1)/(1*12)=5/6.
[0079] Then, when the cleaning robot performs the second cleaning
operation, it actually uses 8 ml of liquid, but it is detected that
10 ml of liquid is used, and the liquid consumption time is 10
seconds. The cleaning robot sends 10 ml to the maintenance station
to recover the waste liquid.
[0080] Here, assuming that the liquid loss coefficient is not used
for correction, the maintenance station theoretically needs to
recover 10 ml of waste liquid, that is, it needs to work for 10 s.
However, when the maintenance station actually recovers 8 ml of
waste liquid, all the waste liquid of the cleaning robot is
recovered, so the maintenance station actually only works for 8
s.
[0081] If the liquid loss coefficient is used for correction, since
Q=.eta.*W=(5/6)*10=25/3, the maintenance station takes the liquid
correction quantity Q as the liquid replenishment amount, and after
correction, the recovery time of waste liquid of the maintenance
station=25/3/1=8.33. The 8.33 s actually required by the
maintenance station after correction is not much different from the
8 s actually required by the maintenance station without
correction, but is quite different from the 10 s theoretically
required. Therefore, after correction, the error of the maintenance
station may be reduced to a certain extent.
[0082] 1.2 On the premise that the error detection of the cleaning
robot becomes smaller:
[0083] it is assumed that when the cleaning robot performs the
first cleaning operation, it actually uses 10 ml of liquid, but it
is detected that 8 ml of liquid is used, and the time of liquid
consumption is 8 s. The cleaning robot sends 8 ml to the
maintenance station to recover the waste liquid.
[0084] In theory, the maintenance station needs to recover 8 ml of
waste liquid. However, when the maintenance station recovers for 8
seconds, the waste liquid of the cleaning robot has not yet been
completely recovered, and the maintenance station needs to continue
to work for 2 seconds in order to recover the waste liquid of the
cleaning robot completely. Therefore, the cleaning robot actually
worked for 10 seconds.
Liquid loss coefficient .eta.=10/8=5/4.
[0085] Then, when the cleaning robot performs the second cleaning
operation, the cleaning robot actually uses 8 ml of liquid, but it
is detected that 6 ml of liquid is used, and the time of liquid
consumption is 6 seconds. The cleaning robot sends 6 ml to the
maintenance station to recover the waste liquid.
[0086] Here, assuming that the liquid loss coefficient is not used
for correction, the maintenance station theoretically needs to
recover 6 ml of waste liquid. However, the maintenance station
actually needs to recover 8 ml of waste liquid in order to recover
all the waste liquid of the cleaning robot, so the maintenance
station actually worked for 8 seconds.
[0087] If the liquid loss coefficient is used for correction, since
Q=.eta.*W=(5/4)*6=7.5, the recovery time of the maintenance
station=7.5/1=7.5 after correction. The 7.5 s actually required by
the maintenance station after correction is not much different from
the 8 s actually required by the maintenance station without
correction, but it is quite different from the 6 s theoretically
required. Therefore, the error of the maintenance station may be
reduced to a certain extent after correction.
[0088] {circle around (2)} When both the cleaning robot and the
maintenance station have detection errors, the following deduction
is made:
[0089] 2.1 On the premise that the error detection of both the
cleaning robot and the maintenance station becomes larger:
[0090] it is assumed that when the cleaning robot performs the
first cleaning operation, it actually uses 10 ml of liquid, but it
is detected that 12 ml of liquid is used, and the time of liquid
consumption is 12 seconds. The cleaning robot sends 12 ml to the
maintenance station to recover the waste liquid.
[0091] In theory, the maintenance station needs to recover 12 ml of
waste liquid, but when the maintenance station recovers for 12
seconds, the waste liquid of the cleaning robot has not yet been
recovered completely, and the maintenance station needs to continue
to recover for 2 seconds in order to recover the waste liquid of
the cleaning robot completely. Therefore, the cleaning robot
actually works for 14 seconds.
Liquid loss coefficient .eta.=14/12=7/6.
[0092] Then, when the cleaning robot performs the second cleaning
operation, it actually uses 8 ml of liquid, but it is detected that
10 ml of liquid is used, and the time of liquid consumption is 10
seconds. The cleaning robot sends 10 ml to the maintenance station
to recover the waste liquid.
[0093] Assuming that the liquid loss coefficient is not used for
correction, the maintenance station theoretically needs to recover
10 ml, but only when the maintenance station actually recovers 12
ml of waste liquid, can all the waste liquid of the cleaning robot
be recovered. Therefore, the maintenance station actually worked
for 12 seconds.
[0094] If the liquid loss coefficient is used for correction, since
Q=.eta.*W=(7/6)*10=35/3, the recovery time of the maintenance
station=35/3/1=11.66 after correction. The 11.66 s actually
required by the maintenance station after correction is not much
different from the 12 s actually required by the maintenance
station without correction, but it is quite different from the 10 s
theoretically required. Therefore, the error of the maintenance
station may be reduced to a certain extent after correction.
[0095] 2.2 On the premise that the error detection of both the
cleaning robot and the maintenance station becomes smaller:
[0096] it is assumed that when the cleaning robot performs the
first cleaning operation, it actually uses 10 ml of liquid, but it
is detected that 8 ml of liquid is used, and the liquid consumption
time is 8 s. The cleaning robot sends 8 ml to the maintenance
station to recover the waste liquid.
[0097] In theory, the maintenance station needs to recover 8 ml of
waste liquid, but when 6 ml of waste liquid is actually recovered,
all the waste liquid of the cleaning robot has been recovered.
Therefore, the maintenance station actually worked for 6
seconds.
Liquid loss coefficient .eta.=6/8=3/4.
[0098] Then, when the cleaning robot performs the second cleaning
operation, it actually uses 6 ml of liquid, but it is detected that
4 ml of liquid is used, and the liquid consumption time is 4 s. The
cleaning robot sends 4 ml to the maintenance station to recover the
waste liquid.
[0099] Here, assuming that the liquid loss coefficient is not used
for correction, the maintenance station theoretically needs to
recover 4 ml of waste liquid, but all the waste liquid of the
cleaning robot has been recovered when the maintenance station
actually recovers 2 ml of waste liquid, so the maintenance station
actually worked for 2 seconds.
[0100] If the liquid loss coefficient is used for correction, since
Q=.eta.*W=(3/4)*4=3, the recovery time of the maintenance
station=3/1=3 after correction. The 3 s actually required by the
maintenance station after correction is not much different from the
2 s actually required by the maintenance station without
correction, but is quite different from the 4 s theoretically
required. Therefore, the error of the maintenance station may be
reduced to a certain extent after correction.
[0101] 2.3 On the premise that the error detection of the cleaning
robot becomes larger and the error detection of the maintenance
station becomes smaller:
[0102] it is assumed that when the cleaning robot performs the
first cleaning operation, it actually uses 10 ml of liquid, but it
is detected that 12 ml of liquid is used, and the liquid
consumption time is 12 seconds. The cleaning robot sends 12 ml to
the maintenance station for waste liquid recovery.
[0103] In theory, the maintenance station needs to recover 12 ml of
waste liquid, but all the waste liquid of the cleaning robot has
been recovered when the maintenance station actually recovers 10 ml
of waste liquid. Therefore, the maintenance station actually worked
for 10 seconds.
[0104] Liquid loss coefficient .eta.=10/12=5/6.
[0105] Then, when the cleaning robot performs the second cleaning
operation, it actually uses 8 ml of liquid, but it is detected that
10 ml of liquid is used, and the liquid consumption time is 10 s.
The cleaning robot sends 10 ml to the maintenance station to
recover the waste liquid.
[0106] Assuming that the liquid loss coefficient is not used for
correction, the maintenance station theoretically needs to recover
10 ml of waste liquid, but all the waste liquid of the cleaning
robot has been recovered when the maintenance station actually
recovers 8 ml of waste liquid. Therefore, the maintenance station
actually worked for 8 seconds.
[0107] If the liquid loss coefficient is used for correction, since
Q=.eta.*W=(5/6)*10=25/3, the recovery time of the maintenance
station=25/3/1=8.33 after correction. The 8.33 s actually required
by the maintenance station after correction is not much different
from the 8 s actually required by the maintenance station without
correction, but is quite different from the 10 s theoretically
required. Therefore, the error of the maintenance station may be
reduced to a certain extent after correction.
[0108] 2.4 On the premise that the error detection of the cleaning
robot becomes smaller and the error detection of the maintenance
station becomes larger:
[0109] it is assumed that when the cleaning robot performs the
first cleaning operation, it actually uses 10 ml of liquid, but it
is detected that 8 ml of liquid is used, and the liquid consumption
time is 8 s. The cleaning robot sends 8 ml to the maintenance
station to recover the waste liquid.
[0110] In theory, the maintenance station needs to recover 8 ml of
waste liquid, but when the maintenance station recovers for 8
seconds, the waste liquid of the cleaning robot has not yet been
recovered completely, and the maintenance station needs to continue
to recover for 2 seconds in order to recover the waste liquid of
the cleaning robot completely. Therefore, the cleaning robot
actually works for 10 seconds.
Liquid loss coefficient .eta.=10/8=5/4.
[0111] Then, when the cleaning robot performs the second cleaning
operation, it actually uses 6 ml of liquid, but it is detected that
4 ml of liquid is used, and the liquid consumption time is 4 s. The
cleaning robot sends 4 ml to the maintenance station to recover the
waste liquid.
[0112] Assuming that the liquid loss coefficient is not used for
correction, the maintenance station theoretically needs to recover
4 ml of waste liquid, but only when the maintenance station
actually recovers 6 ml of waste liquid, can all the waste liquid of
the cleaning robot be recovered. Therefore, the maintenance station
actually worked for 6 seconds.
[0113] If the liquid loss coefficient is used for correction, since
Q=.eta.*W=(5/4)*4=5, the recovery time of the maintenance
station=5/1=5 after correction. The 5 s actually required by the
maintenance station after correction is not much different from the
6 s actually required by the maintenance station without
correction, so the error of the maintenance station may be reduced
to a certain extent after correction.
[0114] As can be seen from the above description, the recovery
error may be reduced by using the liquid loss coefficient to
correct the liquid usage amount, so that the maintenance station
can recover the waste liquid collected by the cleaning robot
quickly, accurately and reliably.
[0115] In some embodiments, in order to optimize the liquid loss
coefficient and improve the accuracy of recovery again, the
maintenance station may train and optimize the liquid loss
coefficient in advance, record the liquid loss coefficient during
each recovery operation, process all the liquid loss coefficients
according to the centroid algorithm, least square method or
variance algorithm to obtain the optimal liquid loss coefficient,
and correct the liquid usage amount according to the optimal liquid
loss coefficient. The maintenance station may be instructed to
accurately and reliably recover the waste liquid collected by the
cleaning robot by obtaining and using the optimal liquid loss
coefficient from many liquid loss coefficients. Thus, the optimized
liquid loss coefficient is helpful to improve the recovery
efficiency and accuracy of the maintenance station.
Embodiment 2
[0116] The embodiment of the present disclosure provides a method
for recovering waste liquid, which may be applied to any suitable
device. The device may be a cleaning robot or a mobile terminal,
and the mobile terminal may be any of the following: a smart phone,
a smart watch and a tablet computer.
[0117] Referring to FIG. 4, the method S200 for recovering the
waste liquid includes:
[0118] S21. obtaining a liquid usage amount.
[0119] In this embodiment, the liquid usage amount may be detected
by the cleaning robot using the structure provided in the above
embodiment, e.g., detected by a clean liquid flowmeter, or detected
by the cleaning robot using other detection structures. For
example, a pressure sensor is installed at the bottom of the clean
liquid tank of the cleaning robot, and the cleaning robot
calculates the liquid usage amount according to the pressure
sampled by the pressure sensor.
[0120] S22. sending the liquid usage amount to control the
maintenance station to recover the waste liquid collected by the
cleaning robot according to the liquid usage amount.
[0121] This method can recover the waste liquid collected by the
cleaning robot quantitatively and intelligently without manual
participation, thereby improving the recovery efficiency and
improving the user experience.
[0122] In some embodiments, referring to FIG. 5, before S22 is
executed, the method S200 for recovering waste liquid further
includes S23: correcting the liquid usage amount. Correspondingly,
S22 includes: sending the corrected liquid usage amount to control
the maintenance station to recover the waste liquid collected by
the cleaning robot according to the corrected liquid usage
amount.
[0123] In some embodiments, referring to FIG. 6, S23 includes:
[0124] S231. obtaining the liquid loss coefficient;
[0125] S232. correcting the liquid usage amount according to the
liquid loss coefficient and the liquid usage amount.
[0126] In some embodiments, the liquid loss coefficient is
calculated according to the historical recovery amount when the
maintenance station recovers the waste liquid of the cleaning robot
and the historical liquid consumption when the cleaning robot
performs the cleaning operation.
[0127] In some embodiments, the historical recovery amount is
calculated according to the historical recovery time when the
maintenance station recovers the waste liquid of the cleaning robot
and the unit recovery flow of the maintenance station. The
historical liquid consumption is calculated according to the unit
liquid consumption flow of the cleaning robot and the historical
liquid consumption time.
[0128] In some embodiments, referring to FIG. 7, S21 includes:
[0129] S211. recording the actual liquid consumption time and the
unit liquid consumption flow of the cleaning robot;
[0130] S212. determining the liquid usage amount according to the
unit liquid consumption flow and the actual liquid consumption time
of the cleaning robot.
[0131] It should be noted that, reference may be made to the method
for recovering waste liquid provided in the above embodiments for
technical details not described in detail in this embodiment.
Embodiment 3
[0132] The embodiment of the present disclosure provides a
maintenance station, which is a device for maintaining a cleaning
robot, and the maintenance station in this embodiment may recover
the waste liquid collected by the cleaning robot. In some
embodiments, the maintenance station may also realize at least one
of the following functions: providing power to the cleaning robot,
adding liquid to the cleaning robot, and cleaning the mopping part
carried by the cleaning robot.
[0133] The maintenance station includes at least one first
processor and a first memory communicatively connected with the at
least one first processor. The first memory stores a first
instruction executable by the at least one first processor, and the
first instruction, when executed by the at least one first
processor, cause the at least one first processor to execute steps
in each embodiment of the method for recovering waste liquid in
Embodiment 1 above, e.g., steps S11 and S12 shown in FIG. 1.
[0134] By way of example, but not for limitation, referring to FIG.
8 and FIG. 9 together, the maintenance station 300 includes a
housing 31, a cleaning assembly 32, a clean liquid supply assembly
33, a waste liquid collection assembly 34, a power supply assembly
35, a first processor 36 and a first memory 37.
[0135] The housing 31 is used for accommodating the above-mentioned
components, and the bottom of the housing 31 is provided with an
accommodating cavity 311 into which the cleaning robot may
move.
[0136] The cleaning assembly 32 is installed in the accommodating
cavity 311, and is used for cleaning the mopping part carried by
the cleaning robot. In some embodiments, the mopping part includes
other objects of suitable materials and shapes, such as mops or
sponges. The mopping part is detachably installed at the bottom of
the cleaning robot, and the cleaning robot may control the rotation
of the mopping part.
[0137] The clean liquid supply assembly 33 is installed in the
housing 31 for supplying clean liquid.
[0138] The waste liquid collection assembly 34 is installed in the
housing 31 and arranged side by side with the clean liquid supply
assembly 33 for extracting waste liquid. In some embodiments,
referring to FIG. 9, the waste liquid collection assembly 34
includes a waste liquid storage tank 341, a waste liquid solenoid
valve 342, a first waste liquid conduit 343, a waste liquid
flowmeter 344, a fan assembly 345 and a second waste liquid conduit
346.
[0139] The waste liquid storage tank 341 is installed at the upper
part of the housing 31 and arranged side by side with the cleaning
liquid tank 331, and is used for storing waste liquid collected by
the cleaning robot or waste liquid generated by cleaning the
mopping part or the like.
[0140] The waste liquid storage tank 341 is provided with a liquid
inlet. One end of the first waste liquid conduit 343 communicates
with the liquid inlet and the other end thereof communicates with
an output end of the fan assembly 345. The waste liquid solenoid
valve 342 is installed on the first waste liquid conduit 343. The
input end of the fan assembly 345 communicates with one end of the
second waste liquid conduit 346, and the other end of the second
waste liquid conduit 346 is accommodated in the housing 31.
[0141] The waste liquid flowmeter 344 is installed on the first
waste liquid conduit 343 for detecting the unit recovery flow of
the waste liquid.
[0142] The first processor 36 is electrically connected with the
waste liquid flowmeter 344, the fan assembly 345 and the first
memory 37 respectively, and controls the working state of the fan
assembly 345.
[0143] When the maintenance station 300 needs to recover the waste
liquid of the cleaning robot, the other end of the second waste
liquid conduit 346 is connected with the waste liquid collection
box of the cleaning robot, the first processor 36 controls the fan
assembly 345 to work in an on state, and the fan assembly 345 draws
the waste liquid from the waste liquid collection box of the
cleaning robot back to the waste liquid storage box 341. In this
way, the waste liquid flowmeter 344 may detect the unit recovery
flow of the waste liquid flowing into the waste liquid storage box
341.
[0144] When the maintenance station 300 does not need to recover
the waste liquid of the cleaning robot, the first processor 36
controls the fan assembly 345 to work in a dormant state.
[0145] It shall be appreciated that, the unit recovery flow may be
variable or fixed, and the first processor 36 may adjust the waste
liquid solenoid valve 342 or the fan assembly 345 according to
rules to adjust the unit recovery flow. For example, the waste
liquid flowmeter 344 sends the current unit recovery flow detected
to the first processor 36, and the first processor 36 determines
whether the current unit recovery flow matches a preset unit
recovery flow. If the current unit recovery flow does not match the
preset unit recovery flow and the current unit recovery flow is
less than the preset unit recovery flow, then the first processor
36 may increase the working power of the fan assembly 345 to
increase the rate of pumping the waste liquid. Alternatively, the
first processor 36 may increase the opening of the waste liquid
solenoid valve 342 to allow the inflow of more waste liquid.
[0146] If the current unit recovery flow does not match the preset
unit recovery flow and the current unit recovery flow is greater
than the preset unit recovery flow, then the first processor 36 may
reduce the working power of the fan assembly 345 to reduce the rate
of pumping the waste liquid. Alternatively, the first processor 36
may reduce the opening of the waste liquid solenoid valve 342 to
block the inflow of more waste liquid.
[0147] In some embodiments, the waste liquid collection assembly 34
may also reliably detect whether all the waste liquid in the waste
liquid collection box in the cleaning robot have been extracted.
Referring to FIG. 10, the waste liquid collection assembly 34
further includes a liquid detection assembly 347 installed in the
second waste liquid conduit 346 and electrically connected with the
first processor 36 for detecting whether the waste liquid
continuously passes through the second waste liquid conduit
346.
[0148] Generally, if the waste liquid still remains in the waste
liquid collection box of the cleaning robot, the waste liquid will
continue to pass through the second waste liquid conduit 346 under
the action of the fan assembly 345 when the waste liquid collection
assembly 24 collects the waste liquid from the waste liquid
collection box. The liquid detection assembly 347 will generate a
liquid signal indicating that the waste liquid remains in the
cleaning robot 300. Therefore, the first processor 36 continues to
control the fan assembly 345 to be in the on state to extract the
waste liquid according to the liquid signal. When the liquid
detection assembly 347 does not detect the liquid signal, it
indicates that the waste liquid of the cleaning robot has been
drained. Therefore, the first processor 36 controls the fan
assembly 345 to be in a dormant state.
[0149] In some embodiments, still referring to FIG. 10, the liquid
detection assembly 347 includes a first conductive pole piece 3471,
a second conductive pole piece 3472, a sampling circuit 3473 and a
signal amplifying circuit 3474.
[0150] The first conductive pole piece 3471 and the second
conductive pole piece 3472 are separated by a preset distance and
respectively installed on the inner side of the second waste liquid
conduit 346. The sampling circuit 3473 is electrically connected
with the first conductive pole piece 3471 and the second conductive
pole piece 3472 respectively, and the signal amplifying circuit
3474 is electrically connected with the sampling circuit 3473 and
the first processor 36 respectively, wherein the preset distance is
user-defined, e.g., 1 cm, 2 cm or 5 cm or the like.
[0151] When the waste liquid continuously passes through the second
waste liquid conduit 346, the waste liquid will short-circuit the
first conductive pole piece 3471 and the second conductive pole
piece 3472. Therefore, the first conductive pole piece 3471, the
second conductive pole piece 3472 and the sampling circuit 3473
form a loop, and the sampling circuit 3473 generates a sampling
voltage greater than 0. After the sampling voltage is amplified by
the signal amplifying circuit 3474, an amplified signal is
obtained. The amplified signal is sent to the first processor 36,
and according to the amplified signal, the first processor 36
continues to control the fan assembly 345 to be in the on state to
extract the waste liquid.
[0152] When the waste liquid does not pass through the second waste
liquid conduit 346, the first conductive pole piece 3471, the
second conductive pole piece 3472 and the sampling circuit 3473
cannot form a loop because the first conductive pole piece 3471 and
the second conductive pole piece 3472 are in an open circuit. The
sampling voltage of the sampling circuit 3473 is 0, and the first
processor 36 controls the fan assembly 345 to be in a dormant
state.
[0153] It shall be appreciated that, the sampling circuit 3473 may
be composed of any suitable discrete devices. For example, the
sampling circuit 3473 is composed of a resistor network, or a
resistor and a capacitor, or a resistor, an electronic switch tube
and a capacitor, or the like.
[0154] It shall be appreciated that, the signal amplifying circuit
3474 may be any amplifying circuit of suitable forms. For example,
the signal amplifying circuit 3474 adopts an operational amplifier,
or is a common-emitter amplifier circuit, a common-source amplifier
circuit, or a common-gate amplifier circuit or the like.
[0155] The power supply assembly 35 is used for connecting with the
charging assembly of the cleaning robot to provide power for the
cleaning robot. In some embodiments, the power supply assembly 35
includes a power supply pole piece and a power supply circuit, and
the power supply circuit converts the commercial power into a
voltage suitable for the cleaning robot, e.g., a voltage of 5 volts
or 12 volts, and the cleaning robot steps down and charges
according to the voltage.
Embodiment 4
[0156] The embodiment of the present disclosure provides a cleaning
robot, which is detailed as follows.
[0157] The cleaning robot includes at least one second processor
and a second memory communicatively connected with the at least one
second processor. The second memory stores second instructions
executable by the at least one second processor, and the second
instructions, when executed by the at least one second processor,
cause the at least one second processor to perform steps in each
embodiment of the method for recovering waste liquid in Embodiment
2 above, e.g., steps S21 and S22 shown in FIG. 4.
[0158] By way of example, but not for limitation, referring to FIG.
11 and FIG. 12 together, the cleaning robot 400 includes a main
body 40, a water tank assembly 41, a second processor 42, a second
memory 43, a sensing unit 44, a wireless communication unit 45, a
cleaning unit 46 and a driving unit 47.
[0159] The main body 40 is used for protecting the cleaning robot
400, and a water tank assembly 41 is accommodated in the main body
40. The water tank assembly 41 includes a clean liquid tank
assembly for providing clean liquid and a waste liquid collection
tank assembly 48 for collecting waste liquid.
[0160] Referring to FIG. 13, the waste collection box assembly 48
includes a waste liquid filter assembly 481, a waste liquid
collection box 482 and a fan module 483. The waste liquid filter
assembly 481 is installed at the waste liquid collection port of
the main body 40, and the waste liquid collection box 482 is
installed at the bottom of the waste liquid filter assembly 481.
The waste liquid collection box 482 is provided with a waste liquid
collection port, and the fan module 483 is installed inside the
main body 40. When the fan module 483 generates wind power, the
wind power flows through the waste liquid collection port, the
waste liquid filter assembly 481, the wind passage of the main body
40, the wind input end of the fan module 483, the wind output end
of the fan module 483 and the external environment in turn.
[0161] When the cleaning robot performs the cleaning operation, the
mopping part is sprayed wet and rubs against the floor. At the same
time, the fan module 483 starts to work, and the wind draws the
waste liquid generated by the mopping part on the floor into the
waste liquid collection port. Then, the wind carrying the waste
liquid moves centrifugally after passing through the waste liquid
filter assembly 481, and the waste liquid falls into the waste
liquid collection box 482 so that the waste liquid is collected by
the waste liquid collection box 482.
[0162] As the control core of the cleaning robot 400, the second
processor 42 may adopt various path planning algorithms to control
the cleaning robot to perform traversal work.
[0163] The second memory 43 is electrically connected with the
second processor 42, and the second memory 43 stores second
instructions executable by the at least one second processor 42.
The second instructions, when executed by the at least one second
processor 42, cause the at least one second processor 42 to perform
steps in each embodiment of the method for recovering waste liquid
in Embodiment 2 above.
[0164] The sensing unit 44 is used to collect some motion
parameters of the cleaning robot 400 and various types of
environmental data. The sensing unit 44 includes various suitable
sensors, such as an inertial measurement unit (IMU), a gyroscope, a
magnetic field meter, an accelerometer or speedometer, a laser
radar or an acoustic radar or the like.
[0165] The wireless communication unit 45 is electrically connected
with the second processor 42. When traversing, the user sends a
control instruction to the cleaning robot 400 through an external
terminal, the wireless communication unit 45 receives the control
instruction and sends the control instruction to the second
processor 42, and the second processor 42 controls the cleaning
robot 400 to complete the traversal work according to the control
instruction. In some embodiments, the external terminal includes
but is not limited to terminals such as a smart phone, a remote
controller, a smart tablet and the like.
[0166] In some embodiments, the wireless communication unit 45
includes a combination of one or more of a broadcast receiving
module, a mobile communication module, a wireless Internet module,
a short-distance communication module and a positioning information
module.
[0167] The cleaning unit 46 is used for cleaning the floor, and may
be configured into any cleaning structure. For example, in some
embodiments, the cleaning unit 46 includes a cleaning motor and a
roller brush, the surface of the roller brush is provided with a
cleaning part, and the roller brush is connected with the cleaning
motor through a driving mechanism. The cleaning motor is connected
with a control unit, and the control unit may send instructions to
the cleaning motor to control the cleaning motor to drive the
roller brush to rotate so that the cleaning part thereof can
effectively clean the floor.
[0168] The driving unit 47 is used to drive the cleaning robot 400
to move forward or backward. During the cleaning operation, the
second processor 42 sends a control instruction to the driving unit
47, and the driving unit 47 drives the cleaning unit 46 to complete
the cleaning work according to the control instruction.
Embodiment 5
[0169] An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a system
for recovering waste liquid. Referring to FIG. 14, the system 500
for recovering waste liquid includes the maintenance station 300 as
described in Embodiment 3 above and the cleaning robot 400 as
described in Embodiment 4 above. The cleaning robot 400 is
communicatively with the maintenance station 300 through wireless
communication or wired communication. For example, wireless
communication may include any of the following: Bluetooth, WI-FI,
Global System for Mobile communications (GSM communication), ZigBee
communication (ZigBee, ZigBee protocol), and cellular mobile
communication.
Embodiment 6
[0170] Referring to FIG. 15, and FIG. 15 is a schematic circuit
structure diagram of an electronic device provided by an embodiment
of the present disclosure. The electronic device may be any
suitable type of electronic product. For example, the electronic
device includes electronic products with logical calculation and
analysis functions such as maintenance stations, cleaning robots,
computers or mobile phones. As shown in FIG. 15, the electronic
device 600 includes one or more processors 61 and a memory 62. In
FIG. 15, one processor 61 is taken as an example.
[0171] The processor 61 and the memory 62 may be connected by a bus
or other means, and the connection achieved by a bus is taken as an
example in FIG. 15.
[0172] As a nonvolatile computer readable storage medium, the
memory 62 may be used to store nonvolatile software programs,
nonvolatile computer executable programs and modules, such as
program instructions/modules corresponding to the method for
recovering waste liquid in the embodiment of the present
disclosure. The processor 61 executes the method for recovering
waste liquid provided by the above embodiments of the method by
running nonvolatile software programs, instructions and modules
stored in the memory 62.
[0173] The memory 62 may include a high-speed random access memory,
and may also include a nonvolatile memory, such as at least one
magnetic disk memory device, flash memory device, or other
nonvolatile solid-state memory device. In some embodiments, the
memory 62 optionally includes memories remotely located relative to
the processor 61, and these remote memories may be connected to the
processor 61 through a network. Examples of the above network
include but are not limited to the Internet, Intranet, local area
networks, mobile communication networks and combinations
thereof.
[0174] The program instructions/modules are stored in the memory
62, and when executed by the one or more processors 61, execute the
method for recovering waste liquid in any of the above embodiments
of the method.
[0175] The embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a
nonvolatile computer storage medium, in which computer executable
instructions are stored. The computer executable instructions, when
executed by one or more processors, e.g., a processor 61 in FIG.
15, cause the one or more processors to execute the method for
recovering waste liquid in any of the above embodiments of the
method.
[0176] The embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a
computer program product, which includes a computer program stored
on a nonvolatile computer readable storage medium, and the computer
program includes program instructions. The program instructions,
when executed by an electronic device, cause the electronic device
to execute any of the method for recovering waste liquids.
[0177] The embodiments of the above-described devices or equipments
are only schematic. The unit modules described as separate
components may or may not be physically separated, and components
displayed as module units may or may not be physical units, that
is, they may be located in one place or distributed over multiple
network module units. Some or all of the modules may be selected
according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of this
embodiment.
[0178] From the description of the above embodiments, those skilled
in the art may clearly understand that each embodiment may be
realized by means of software plus a general hardware platform, and
of course, it may also be realized by hardware. Based on such
understanding, the essence of the above technical solution or the
part that contributes to related technologies may be embodied in
the form of software products. The computer software products may
be stored in computer-readable storage media, such as a ROM/RAM, a
magnetic disk, an optical disk or the like, and they include
several instructions to make a computer device (which may be a
personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) execute the
method described in various embodiments or some parts of
embodiments.
[0179] Finally, it shall be noted that, the above embodiments are
only used to illustrate the technical solution of the present
disclosure, but not to limit the present disclosure. Under the idea
of the present disclosure, technical features in the above
embodiments or different embodiments may also be combined, the
steps may be realized in any order, and many other variations in
different aspects of the present disclosure as described above are
possible, and these variations are not provided in details for
conciseness. Although the present disclosure has been described in
detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those of
ordinary skill in the art shall appreciate that, the technical
solutions described in the foregoing embodiments may still be
modified or some of the technical features may be equivalently
replaced. These modifications or substitutions do not make the
essence of the corresponding technical solutions deviate from the
scope of the technical solutions of various embodiment of the
present disclosure.
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