A recharge control method includes: providing a robot comprising a body and four infrared carrier receivers, wherein a second and a third of the four infrared carrier receivers are mounted on a front of the body, and a first and a fourth of four infrared carrier receivers are mounted on left side and on a right side of the body; receiving, by one or more of the four infrared carrier receivers, infrared carrier emitted by a charging dock; determining an area where the robot is located, wherein the area is one of at least five areas around the charging dock that are determined based on receiving of the infrared carrier by different combinations of the four infrared carriers and based on not receiving of the infrared carrier by the infrared carriers; and controlling the robot to move to the charging dock according to a movement mode corresponding to the area.

A work vehicle comprising: a drive wheel unit that is provided in a vehicle body and is configured to be driven by a travel drive mechanism; a work unit that is provided in the vehicle body and is configured to perform work on a work target; a battery provided in the vehicle body; a motor that is configured to receive electric power from the battery and drive the work unit; an inclination sensor configured to detect an inclination of the vehicle body relative to a horizontal plane; and a first captured image acquisition unit configured to acquire a captured image that shows surroundings of the vehicle body when the work is being performed.

A docking station for a mobile cleaning robot can include a base portion configured to receive the mobile cleaning robot. The docking station can include a housing connected to the base portion and a pad cleaning system. The pad cleaning system can be connected to the housing and can include a cleaning head engageable with a cleaning pad of the mobile cleaning robot to remove debris from the cleaning pad, the cleaning head can include a nozzle configured to discharge a fluid onto the cleaning pad.

A dirtiness level determining method applied to an electronic device comprising an image sensor. The method comprises: (a) capturing a first image at a first time point according to first type of light; (b) capturing a second image at a second time point after the first time point according to the first type of light; (c) calculating a first fixed pattern according to a first difference between the first image and the second image; and (d) calculating a first dirtiness level of the image sensor according to the first fixed pattern; (e) generating a first notifying message if the first dirtiness level is higher than a dirtiness threshold.

Provided is a cleaning system including: a robot cleaner including a dust collecting device having a dirt outlet and an outlet door configured to open and close the dirt outlet; and a station including a collecting device configured to generate a suction force to suction dirt of the duct collecting device and a lever device provided with a lever configured to be fixable to the outlet door as the outlet door is being opened to allow the collecting device and the dust collecting device to communicate with each other, and a lever driving source configured to generate power for driving the lever.

An apparatus for use with a plurality of robotic appliances, the apparatus comprising a plurality of receiving spaces each configured to receive at least one robotic appliance, wherein each of the receiving spaces comprises: a shelf comprising an upper surface on which a robotic appliance can be located; a charging element configured to charge a robotic appliance when it is located on the shelf; and one or more locating formations arranged to abut said robotic appliance, such that the one or more locating formations provide support against movement of the robotic appliance when the robotic appliance is located on the shelf, wherein the one or more locating formations are provided at or above the upper surface of said shelf.

A robotic vacuum cleaner equipped with a holonomic drive that can drive in a given direction, e.g., north (assigned orientation), and move in a different direction, while maintaining its assigned orientation or that of any desired portion of the robot, such as an intake, or any other portion of the robot that is needed for a particular maneuver. The robotic vacuum cleaner includes a removable, chargeable battery system including a battery pack having batteries and a battery management system extending across all the batteries of the battery pack. A housing, including a top cover, surrounds the battery pack and the battery management system (BMS). The top cover extends over the BMS and includes a circuit board therein. A connector is at least partially connected to the BMS and extends through the housing. The connector is configured to transmit signals between the battery management system and the robotic vacuum cleaner.

A cleaner performing autonomous traveling includes a main body, a driving unit moving the main body, a battery supplying power to the driving unit, a communication unit performing communication with a charging station to charge the battery, a sensor sensing a signal emitted from the charging station, and a controller controlling the driving unit such that the main body is docked to the charging station on the basis of the signal sensed by the sensor, wherein when the main body starts to move to dock to the charging station, the controller determines a kind of the signal sensed by the sensor and controls the driving unit such that the main body moves along a traveling path corresponding to a circle centered on a predetermined point on the basis of the determined kind of the signal.

Provided is a method for controlling a robot cleaner, the method comprising: a preparatory step of dividing a cleaning target area input by an user into a plurality of to-be-cleaned regions and identifying a battery consumption required for cleaning each region; a determination step of determining whether the robot cleaner requires additional charging to clean the cleaning target area based on a current battery residual amount of the robot cleaner; upon determination that the additional charging is required, a selection step for selecting a first region, wherein the first region is defined as one combination selected from combinations of to-be-cleaned regions among the plurality of to-be-cleaned regions which are determined to be able to be cleaned using the current battery residual amount of the robot cleaner; and a first cleaning step of cleaning the first region.

A dirtiness level determining method, applied to a robot cleaner comprising an image sensor, comprising: capturing an image of a reference surface as a reference image: capturing a current image; calculating a fixed pattern according to a difference between the reference image and the current image; calculating a dirtiness level of the image sensor according to the fixed pattern; and generating a notifying message if the dirtiness level is higher than a dirtiness threshold. The dirtiness level of the image sensor can be automatically determined by the robot cleaner, thus the user can be notified before the auto clean machine cannot normally operate.