Optical module, intelligent mobile device and mode switching methodFiling and applying for separate cases
The application relates to an optical module and a split application of an application patent application of intelligent mobile equipment with the optical module, wherein the application number is 201710876071.1, the application date is 2017, 9 and 25.
Technical Field
The application relates to the field of robot positioning, in particular to an optical module, intelligent mobile equipment and a mode switching method.
Background
Mobile robots often incorporate various sensors to position themselves by sensing objects in the environment. Common positioning methods include relative positioning methods such as a dead reckoning algorithm, a code wheel method, positioning through an IMU (inertial sensor), and the like, and absolute positioning methods such as beacon-based positioning, environment map model matching positioning, and visual positioning, wherein a visual system is the detection method in which a robot is closest to the human perception environment. With the benefit of pattern recognition and development of machine vision, vision-based robot localization has become a research hotspot in recent years.
However, a single positioning method often cannot accurately position the robot, and the positioning of the robot is affected by accumulated errors or sudden faults generated by the positioning method, so that the robot cannot normally operate. The fusion is carried out through a plurality of positioning methods, so that the mobile robot can select a proper positioning method according to different environmental characteristics or actual needs, and the accuracy of the positioning of the robot can be improved.
In a home environment, the floor may be a smooth tile surface, a floor surface or a carpet surface laid thereon, and in general, the robot may carry some accessories, such as a water tank, to form a sweeping and mopping integrated machine, and it is sometimes not desirable to travel to the carpet surface, or to close the water tank on the carpet, however, the robot cannot determine what kind of floor is currently located, and therefore, cannot switch between different modes to match whether the robot travels to the carpet.
Therefore, there is a need for an optical module, an intelligent mobile device and a mode switching method, which at least partially solve the above problems in the prior art.
Disclosure of Invention
In the summary, a series of concepts in simplified form are introduced, which will be further described in detail in the detailed description. The summary of the application is not intended to define the key features and essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.
According to an aspect of the present application, there is provided an optical module including an optical assembly and a shielding cylinder sleeved outside the optical assembly;
The optical assembly includes:
A first optical signal transmitter for transmitting a first optical signal;
A second optical signal transmitter for transmitting a second optical signal;
Lens, and
An optical signal receiver, wherein the first optical signal is reflected to enter the optical signal receiver through the shielding cylinder, and the second optical signal is reflected to enter the optical signal receiver after passing through the lens through the shielding cylinder;
The first optical signal emitter and the second optical signal emitter are arranged to work in a time sharing mode.
The optical module comprises an optical component and a shielding cylinder sleeved outside the optical component, wherein the optical component is provided with a first optical signal emitter, a second optical signal emitter and an optical signal receiver, and the optical signal receiver can switch different illumination light sources according to the environment so as to enable positioning to be more accurate.
Optionally, the first optical signal emitter is a laser emitter and the second optical signal emitter is a light emitting diode.
Optionally, the optical signal receiver is an image sensor.
Optionally, the first optical signal emitter and the optical signal receiver are disposed on the same chip, and the lens is located between the second optical signal emitter and the chip.
Optionally, the optical module further comprises a circuit board, and the first optical signal transmitter, the second optical signal transmitter and the optical signal receiver are all electrically connected to the circuit board.
Optionally, the optical module further comprises a supporting member, the supporting member is mounted on the circuit board, the lens is embedded on the supporting member, and the shielding cylinder is sleeved on the outer side of the supporting member.
Optionally, the support member includes a first step portion, a second step portion, and a third step portion that are adjacent in order, the height of the second step portion is greater than the height of the first step portion, the height of the third step portion is greater than the height of the second step portion, and the lens is embedded in the second step portion.
Optionally, the first step portion is provided with a first optical signal transmitter opening corresponding to the first optical signal transmitter and an optical signal receiver opening corresponding to the optical signal receiver, and a light blocking plate is arranged between the first optical signal transmitter opening and the optical signal receiver opening.
Optionally, the second optical signal emitter is disposed in a third step provided with a second optical signal emitter opening corresponding to the second optical signal emitter.
Optionally, a first end of the shielding barrel away from the optical assembly is provided with a shielding barrel opening, and a second end of the shielding barrel near the optical assembly is provided with a filter through which the first optical signal and the second optical signal pass.
Optionally, the filter is configured as an infrared lens.
Optionally, the optical filter includes a first optical filter portion and a second optical filter portion connected to the first optical filter portion, and the first optical filter portion and the second optical filter portion are disposed at a predetermined angle.
Optionally, the first filter part faces the first optical signal emitter and the optical signal receiver, and the first filter part is disposed along a direction inclined to the horizontal direction;
The second filter part faces the second optical signal emitter and the lens, and the second filter part is disposed in a horizontal direction.
The application also provides intelligent mobile equipment, which comprises the optical module, wherein the optical module is arranged at the bottom of the intelligent mobile equipment.
According to the intelligent mobile device, the intelligent mobile device comprises the optical module, the optical module comprises the optical assembly and the shielding cylinder sleeved on the outer side of the optical assembly, the optical assembly is provided with the first optical signal emitter, the second optical signal emitter and the optical signal receiver, and the optical signal receiver can switch different illumination light sources according to environments so that positioning is more accurate.
Optionally, the intelligent mobile device controls the first optical signal transmitter or the second optical signal transmitter to transmit the optical signal according to the characteristic value acquired by the optical signal receiver.
Optionally, the intelligent mobile device is a cleaning robot.
The application also provides a mode switching method,
Transmitting an optical signal to the ground;
receiving the light signal reflected by the ground and judging the ground material;
when the ground material is a preset material, performing mode switching;
the optical signals comprise a first optical signal and a second optical signal, and the first optical signal and the second optical signal are different.
Optionally, the first optical signal is an infrared laser and the second optical signal is an infrared light.
Optionally, transmitting the optical signal to the ground includes time-sharing transmitting the first optical signal and the second optical signal.
Optionally, the mode switching method further comprises switching between the first optical signal and the second optical signal according to the optical signal reflected by the ground.
Optionally, receiving the ground reflected light signal and determining the ground material includes determining the ground material based on an image characteristic value of the reflected light signal.
Optionally, judging the ground material according to the image characteristic value of the reflected light signal comprises shooting the light signal reflected by the ground to obtain the characteristic value of the light signal reflected by the ground.
Optionally, when the floor material is a preset material, performing mode switching includes switching to a mopping mode when detecting that the floor material is a smooth surface, and switching to a cleaning mode when detecting that the floor material is a carpet.
Optionally, when the cleaning mode is switched, the wind power of the intelligent mobile equipment is improved.
Optionally, when the floor mopping mode is switched, the water tank is started to spray water.
The application also provides intelligent mobile equipment, and the mode of the intelligent mobile equipment is switched by using the mode switching method.
Drawings
The foregoing and other aspects of the application will become more apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the exemplary embodiments of the application, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a schematic bottom view of a smart mobile device equipped with an optical module according to a preferred embodiment of the present application;
FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the smart mobile device shown in FIG. 1;
Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of a portion a in fig. 2;
FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of an optical assembly of an optical module according to a preferred embodiment of the present application;
FIG. 5 is a schematic top view of FIG. 4, and
Fig. 6 is a perspective schematic view of an optical module.
Reference numerals illustrate:
1, intelligent mobile equipment 2, bottom opening
3 Floor 9 optical module
10 Circuit board 20 chip
21 Laser transmitter 22 optical signal receiver
30 Light emitting diode 40 lens
50 Supporting member 51 first step portion
511 Laser emitter opening 512 image sensor opening
513 Light-blocking plate 52 second step portion
521 Lens accommodation groove 53 third step portion
531 LED opening 60 shielding cylinder
61 A first filter 62 a second filter
63 Opening of the shielding cylinder
Detailed Description
Preferred embodiments of the present application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the terms "upper," "lower," and the like are used herein for purposes of illustration only and not limitation.
Herein, ordinal words such as "first" and "second" cited in the present application are merely identifiers and do not have any other meaning, such as a particular order or the like. Also, for example, the term "first component" does not itself connote the presence of "second component" and the term "second component" does not itself connote the presence of "first component".
Referring to fig. 1 to 3, an optical module 9 according to the present application is exemplarily shown and integrally configured on a smart mobile device 1, and the smart mobile device 1 may be a cleaning robot such as a floor sweeping robot or a floor wiping robot. The optical module 9 can sense the ground 3 where the intelligent mobile device 1 is located through the bottom opening 2 arranged at the bottom of the intelligent mobile device 1. The optical module 9 includes an optical assembly including a first optical signal transmitter, a second optical signal transmitter, a lens 40, and an optical signal receiver, which will be described in detail below, and a shielding cylinder 60 sleeved outside the optical assembly. The shielding cylinder 60 is used for shielding surrounding stray light, and an opening of the shielding cylinder 60 faces the ground 3.
Referring to fig. 3 and 5 in combination, the first optical signal transmitter is configured to transmit a first optical signal, and the second optical signal transmitter is configured to transmit a second optical signal, where the first optical signal may be different from the second optical signal. For example, in the illustrated embodiment, the first optical signal emitter is a laser emitter 21 and the second optical signal emitter is a light emitting diode 30.
Referring to fig. 6, the first optical signal emitted from the laser transmitter 21 is reflected by the shielding cylinder 60 and enters the optical signal receiver, and the second optical signal emitted from the light emitting diode 30 is reflected by the shielding cylinder 60 and enters the optical signal receiver after passing through the lens 40.
Specifically, the optical signal receiver is an image sensor 22. The laser emitter 21 and the light emitting diode 30 can emit infrared light to irradiate the ground 3, the image sensor 22 is used for continuously shooting the ground 3, and the intelligent mobile device 1 can judge the material of the ground 3 where the intelligent mobile device 1 is located, such as a ceramic tile or a carpet, by analyzing the shot images.
Referring to fig. 5 in combination, the laser emitter 21 and the image sensor 22 may be disposed on the same chip 20 with the lens 40 between the light emitting diode 30 and the chip 20. The chip 20 may cooperate with the light emitting diode 30, for example, one of the laser transmitter 21 and the light emitting diode 30 may be turned on for illuminating the floor 3, i.e. the laser transmitter 21 and the light emitting diode 30 may not be simultaneously operated (emit light signals) for illuminating the floor 3.
In addition, the optical module 9 further includes a circuit board 10 (e.g., a printed circuit board), and the laser emitter 21, the light emitting diode 30, and the image sensor 22 are electrically connected to the circuit board 10. The circuit board 10 may be electrically connected to a main controller (not shown) of the smart mobile device 1, and the optical module 9 may continuously capture images.
The working principle of the optical module 9 will now be briefly described. When the smart mobile device 1 is in operation, only one of the laser transmitter 21 and the light emitting diode 30 is turned on. In other words, the laser transmitter 21 and the light emitting diode 30 are not allowed to be turned on at the same time. The main controller may determine to select the laser emitter 21 or the light emitting diode 30 to illuminate the ground 3 based on the image characteristics captured by the image sensor 22. In particular, the laser transmitter 21 may be selected to operate by default upon initial start-up of the smart mobile device 1.
Typically, when the laser transmitter 21 is operated, the image sensor 22 captures a tile surface with a high image characteristic value and a carpet surface with a low image characteristic value. When the light emitting diode 30 is operated, the image sensor 22 captures a high image characteristic value of the carpet surface and a low image characteristic value of the tile surface.
In this way, the optical assembly can identify the surface of different materials, from white smooth tile to coarse carpet. Because the floor materials of the indoor families are different, the optical module 9 can identify the wider material surface, so that the application range of the intelligent mobile equipment 1 is wider, and the positioning is more accurate. In addition, a higher DOF (depth of field) range can be provided to accommodate uneven surfaces.
In the illustrated embodiment, the optical module 9 further includes a support member 50, the support member 50 is mounted on the circuit board 10, the lens 40 is embedded on the support member 50, and the shielding cylinder 60 is sleeved outside the support member 50. Further, in the illustrated embodiment, the support member 50 may include a first stepped portion 51, a second stepped portion 52, and a third stepped portion 53 that are sequentially adjacent. The support member 50 has an inner space for accommodating the laser emitter 21, the light emitting diode 30, the image sensor 22, and the like.
As shown in fig. 4, the second step 52 has a height greater than that of the first step 51, and the third step 53 has a height greater than that of the second step 52, and the lens 40 is fitted in the second step 52. The second step portion 52 is provided with a lens accommodating groove 521 corresponding to the lens 40, the lens 40 is embedded in the lens accommodating groove 521, and a light hole (not shown) is formed at the bottom of the lens accommodating groove 521 and aligned with a part of the image sensor 22.
Further, the first step portion 51 is provided with a laser emitter opening 511 (first optical signal emitter) corresponding to the laser emitter 21 and an image sensor opening 512 (optical signal receiver opening) corresponding to the image sensor 22. The laser transmitter opening 511 is used for illuminating the ground 3 with the optical signal emitted by the laser transmitter 21. And image sensor opening 512 allows light signals reflected by ground surface 3 to enter image sensor 22 directly. In addition, in order to improve the sensing effect, to avoid interference, a light blocking plate 513 is provided between the laser emitter opening 511 and the image sensor opening 512, and the light blocking plate 513 is protruded between the laser emitter opening 511 and the image sensor opening 512.
Since the volume of the light emitting diode 30 is relatively large, the light emitting diode 30 may be disposed in the third step portion 53, the third step portion 53 is provided with a light emitting diode opening 531 (second light emitter opening) corresponding to the light emitting diode 30, the light emitting diode opening 531 is used for the light signal emitted by the light emitting diode to irradiate the ground 3, the light emitting diode 30 is partially exposed from the light emitting diode opening 531, so that half of the light emitting diode 30 is exposed, half of the light emitting diode 30 is blocked, and the shape of the lens 40 is similar to the shape of the exposed half of the light emitting diode 30 to effectively receive the second light signal emitted by the light emitting diode 30.
Referring to fig. 6, a shielding barrel opening 63 is formed at an end of the shielding barrel 60 away from the optical component, a filter is disposed at an end of the shielding barrel 60 close to the optical component, and the shielding barrel 60 is gradually transitionally flared. The first optical signal and the second optical signal pass through the optical filter.
Alternatively, in the case where both the laser emitter 21 and the light emitting diode 30 emit infrared light, the filter is configured as an infrared lens. For example, the infrared lens 40 may be made of a material that allows only infrared light to pass through, thereby facilitating shielding of other light beams and facilitating capturing a clearer image by the image sensor 22.
In the illustrated embodiment, the filter includes a first filter portion 61 and a second filter portion 62 in contact with the first filter portion 61, and the first filter portion 61 is disposed at a predetermined angle to the second filter portion 62. The first filter 61 is opposite to the laser emitter 21 and the image sensor 22, and the first filter 61 is disposed in a direction inclined to the horizontal direction, and the second filter 62 is opposite to the light emitting diode 30 and the lens 40, and the second filter 62 is disposed in the horizontal direction.
It is easy to understand that the distance between the laser emitter 21 and the image sensor 22 is small, and the inclined first filter 61 can make the laser emitted from the laser emitter 21 generate a certain refraction when passing through the first filter 61. The distance between the light emitting diode 30 and the image sensor 22 is large, and the second filter 62 disposed along the horizontal direction can make the light emitted by the light emitting diode 30 generate as little refraction as possible when passing through the second filter 62.
According to another aspect of the present application, there is provided a smart mobile device 1, which includes the optical module 9 described above, and the optical module 9 is disposed at the bottom of the smart mobile device 1.
Referring to fig. 3, the following description will be given by taking an example that the optical module 9 is mounted on the sweeping robot, the bottom edge of the shielding cylinder 60 may be substantially flush with the bottom surface of the sweeping robot, and the distance H between the bottom edge of the shielding cylinder 60 and the ground 3 is 1 to 1.5CM, which can be adaptively adjusted according to the object distance.
The laser transmitter 21 in the optical module 9 is controlled to operate preferentially when the robot for sweeping the floor travels on the ground. When the laser emitter is started, the image sensor 22 shoots an image and sends the image to the main controller, the main controller analyzes the image to judge whether the image characteristic value is high or low, if the analyzed image characteristic value is higher than a preset characteristic value range stored in the main controller, the current sweeping robot is proved to be positioned on the surface of the tile, the laser is continuously used for positioning, the image is continuously tracked along with the continuous advancing of the sweeping robot on the ground, and once the analyzed image characteristic value is lower than the preset characteristic value range stored in the main controller, the current sweeping robot is proved to be advanced from the surface of the tile to the surface of the carpet. At this time, the light emitting diode 30 is switched to work, the laser emitter 21 is turned off, the image sensor 22 continuously shoots an image, the image characteristic value is analyzed by the main controller, if the analyzed image characteristic value is higher than the preset characteristic value range in the memory of the main controller, the current sweeping robot is proved to still travel on the surface of the carpet, the image is continuously tracked along with the continuous travel of the sweeping robot on the ground, and once the analyzed image characteristic value is lower than the preset characteristic value range stored in the main controller, the current sweeping robot is proved to travel from the surface of the carpet to the surface of the ceramic tile. In this way, the laser emitter 21 or the light emitting diode 30 can be controlled to emit light signals according to the image characteristic value.
For the cleaning robot with the sweeping and mopping functions, a sweeping mode and a mopping mode can be set in the cleaning robot, and the cleaning mode and the mopping mode can be intelligently switched according to information fed back by the optical module based on the cleaning robot with the sweeping and mopping functions of the optical module. For example, when the main controller is switched to the light emitting diode 30 to work and the laser emitter 21 is turned off, the cleaning robot is proved to travel on the carpet surface, at the moment, the cleaning robot is switched to a cleaning mode at the same time, a mopping mode is turned off so as to avoid sprinkling water on the water tank, when the main controller is switched to the laser emitter 21 to work and the light emitting diode 30 is turned off, the cleaning robot is proved to travel on the smoother surface of the ceramic tile and the like, at the moment, the mopping mode of the cleaning robot is switched at the same time, and the cleaning mode is turned off so as to control the water tank to be turned on for continuous sprinkling water.
It can be understood that the cleaning mode is only a cleaning mode of the cleaning robot, namely, the cleaning robot cleans rubbish and chips on the ground through a rolling brush, a mopping mode cleans the cleaned ground through a water spraying rag, so that the ground is cleaner, however, when the cleaning robot moves to the carpet surface, the mopping mode is required to be closed, meanwhile, the carpet surface is rough, the rubbish and chips are not easy to be sucked into the cleaning robot on the carpet surface, so that the wind force is increased, the cleaning mode can be further provided with a general cleaning mode and a forced-inlet cleaning mode, so that the cleaning robot is matched with the cleaning robot to travel to the carpet surface to support the cleaning requirement through large wind force, and different cleaning modes are matched and switched through judging that the cleaning robot is matched with different ground environments, so that the cleaning effect is effectively provided, and the cleaning mode is more intelligent.
According to the optical module and the intelligent mobile device with the same, different optical signal transmitters can be switched to work according to the surfaces of different materials, image shooting is carried out, and the optical module is automatically switched in two illumination modes after image feature recognition so as to adapt to the surface materials of different floors, so that the optical module can be matched with other positioning modes, accumulated errors are reduced, and positioning is more accurate.
The intelligent mobile device comprises an optical module, wherein the optical module comprises an optical assembly and a shielding cylinder sleeved on the outer side of the optical assembly, the optical assembly is provided with a first optical signal transmitter, a second optical signal transmitter and an optical signal receiver, and the optical signal receiver can switch different illumination light sources according to the environment so as to enable positioning to be more accurate. To sweeping and dragging integrative cleaning robot, often need know the cleaning robot and go on what ground to switch different modes, unlike the mode of sweeping or mopping, the optical module in this embodiment can judge ground material, with the appropriate cleaning mode of different ground environment cooperation, guarantee that cleaner robot can not spill on the carpet, it is more intelligent.
The application can combine the first optical signal emitter with the second optical signal emitter to drive on smooth ground in cooperation with the sweeping robot, thereby avoiding the limitation that only the second optical signal emitter is arranged and only the sweeping robot can drive on the carpet, widening the sweeping area and application scene in cooperation with the mode switching of the sweeping robot, and being more suitable for the complex and changeable condition of household ground.
Unless defined otherwise, technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this application pertains. The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular implementations only and is not intended to be limiting of the application. Terms such as "component" as used herein may refer to either a single part or a combination of parts. Terms such as "mounted," "disposed," and the like as used herein may refer to one component being directly attached to another component or to one component being attached to another component through an intermediary. Features described herein in one embodiment may be applied to another embodiment alone or in combination with other features unless the features are not applicable or otherwise indicated in the other embodiment.
The present application has been described in terms of the above embodiments, but it should be understood that the above embodiments are for purposes of illustration and description only and are not intended to limit the application to the embodiments described. In addition, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present application is not limited to the embodiments described above, and that many variations and modifications may be made in accordance with the teachings of the present application, which fall within the scope of the claimed application.