WO2019076004A1 - Straight-on determination apparatus for solar panel cleaning robot, and determination method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

A solar panel cleaning robot straight line determining device and a determining method thereof. The determining device comprises an image collecting unit (12) and an image recognition processing unit, wherein the image collecting unit is disposed on the body (10) of the solar panel cleaning robot for collecting surface image information of the solar panel on the walking path of the vehicle body . The image recognition processing unit is configured to process the image information to determine whether the vehicle body is traveling in a linear direction in the planned route in the solar panel.

Description

Solar panel cleaning robot straight line determining device and determination method thereof Technical field

The invention relates to the field of cleaning robots, and in particular to a straight line determining device used by a solar panel cleaning robot and a determining method thereof.

Background technique

In the case of declining fossil fuels, solar energy as an emerging renewable energy source has become an important part of human energy use. In the past decade, solar energy application technology has developed rapidly in all countries of the world. A solar panel is a device that converts solar energy directly into electrical energy using photovoltaics that occur under the illumination of semiconductor materials. Solar panels can generate electricity in places where there is sunlight, so solar panels are suitable for a variety of applications, from large power stations to small portable chargers.

The working environment of solar panels can only be outdoor, and the biggest problem affecting their work is not the wind and rain, but the dust accumulated all the year round. Dust or other attachments on the solar panel may affect the transmittance of the panel and impede the photoelectric efficiency, which will seriously affect the efficiency of the panel directly acquiring sunlight, reduce the energy absorption and conversion efficiency of the panel, and reduce the power generation efficiency. In the prior art, the solar panel can only be manually and regularly cleaned up. Due to the large area of the solar panel and the large number of panels used by the large power station, the dust will accumulate repeatedly and need to be repeatedly cleaned; therefore, the labor cost is high. The cleaning efficiency is low and the cleaning effect is poor. In many cases, in order to improve space utilization, solar panels are placed at high places using brackets, which brings greater difficulty and risk to the cleaning work. Many solar panel users can only choose not to clean up in order to reduce the cleaning cost, so they can only be forced to bear the power loss caused by dust. In this way, a new automatic cleaning device is needed to automatically clean the solar panels.

In this regard, the industry has developed a new type of cleaning robot to clean the solar panel. For details, refer to the related content disclosed in Chinese Patent Application No. 201610836028.8. However, with the continuous use of such cleaning robots in practice, the industry has also found that it needs to carry out research and development of new functions to overcome various problems encountered.

For example, in order to ensure the power generation, a plurality of solar panels are usually connected, which makes the overall area of the connected solar panels larger, thus making the power generation larger. However, the increase in the area of the solar panel may also make it possible to store various foreign objects thereon, and when the cleaning robot touches the foreign matter and cleans it, it may be due to the foreign matter. The presence of the planned walking route has a certain angular offset. The cleaning robot that has a deviation of the traveling angle will inevitably miss some of the areas to be cleaned of the solar panel, so that the cleaning of the entire solar panel area is not complete, and to some extent, affects the solar panel. Power generation efficiency.

Therefore, it is indeed necessary to develop a new type of solar panel cleaning robot straight-line determination device and its determination method to overcome the defects in the prior art.

Summary of the invention

An object of the present invention is to provide a solar panel cleaning robot straight-line determining device for correcting a traveling angle deviation problem which is easy to occur when a cleaning robot travels on a solar panel, so that it can follow a planned straight traveling route. Walking, so that you can carry out a comprehensive sweep of the solar panels in which it is located.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a solar panel cleaning robot straight-through determining device, wherein the solar panel cleaning robot includes a vehicle body that is driven or parked on at least one solar panel. The solar panel is rectangular, and has four border lines at its edges, and is provided with warp and weft lines perpendicular to each other, wherein the warp threads and the weft lines form a panel coordinate system. The determining device includes an image acquisition unit and an image analysis processing unit. The image acquisition unit collects surface image information of the solar panel in the traveling direction of the vehicle body, and transmits the collected image information to the image analysis processing unit, where the image information includes the solar energy The latitude and longitude information of the panel. The image analysis processing unit identifies forward extending straight line information in the image information, and then calculates an angle of each identified straight line in the current latitude and longitude coordinate system, and retains a qualified line, the qualified line One point is the difference between the Y coordinate of the starting point and the ending point of the line (the first threshold), and the other point is the difference between the X coordinate of the starting point and the ending point (the second threshold). The angle values of the qualified lines are sorted by size and the median value or the average value is taken, and the median value or a difference between the average value and a predetermined vertical line angle is calculated. When the angle difference is within a preset threshold range, it is determined that the vehicle body is traveling in a straight line direction; if the angle difference value is greater than a boundary value of the threshold value range and is negative, determining the vehicle body Offset to the right, need to be corrected to the left; if the angle difference is greater than the boundary value of the threshold range and is positive, it is determined that the vehicle body is shifted to the left and needs to be corrected to the right.

Further, in various embodiments, the image acquisition unit is disposed at a center position of the front portion of the vehicle body. The image acquisition unit includes, but is not limited to, a camera.

Further, in different embodiments, the vehicle body is provided with a casing, the casing covers the image collecting unit, and the casing is provided with a window opening portion, and the image is collected. The unit collects surface image information of the solar panel in front of the unit through the window opening portion.

Further, in different embodiments, the image acquired by the image acquisition unit is a trapezoidal area surrounded by warp and weft lines on the solar panel, and the trapezoidal area corresponds to a square area on the solar panel.

Further, in different embodiments, after receiving the collected image, the image analysis processing unit converts the image into a standard panel image and converts the trapezoidal region in the image into the The square area on the standard panel image.

Further, in various embodiments, the image analysis processing unit identifies a forward-extending straight line in the square region in the image using a Hough transform algorithm to identify forward-extending straight line information in the image. Wherein, the identified straight line is a Hough line.

Further, in different embodiments, the mean value of the qualified lines is averaged by removing one of the maximum and one minimum of all the qualified line data, and then taking the average.

Further, in different embodiments, the way in which the qualified line takes the median value is to sort the obtained angle data by size, and then take the intermediate order angle as the median value.

Further, in different embodiments, the angle of the qualified line refers to an angle between the Hough line and the predetermined vertical line.

Further, still another embodiment of the present invention provides a method for straightforward determination of a solar panel cleaning robot. The solar panel cleaning robot includes a vehicle body that travels or resides on at least one solar panel. The solar panel is rectangular, and has four border lines at its edges, and is provided with warp and weft lines perpendicular to each other, wherein the warp threads and the weft lines form a panel coordinate system. The straight line determination method includes an image acquisition step and an image analysis processing step. In the image capturing step, collecting image information of the solar panel surface in the traveling direction of the vehicle body, and transmitting the image information to the image analysis processing unit; wherein the collected image information includes The latitude and longitude line information of the panel. In the image analysis processing step, the image analysis processing unit recognizes the forward extended straight line information in the collected image information, and then calculates the angle of each identified straight line in the current latitude and longitude coordinate system. And a qualified line is reserved, the point of the qualified line is the difference between the Y coordinate of the starting point and the ending point of the line (the first threshold), and the other point is the difference (the second threshold) of the X coordinate of the starting point and the ending point. The angle values of the qualified lines are sorted by size and the median value or the average value is taken, and the median value or the difference between the average value and the preset vertical line angle is calculated. Wherein when the angle difference is within a predetermined threshold range, it is determined that the vehicle body is traveling in a straight line direction; if the angle difference value is greater than a boundary value of the threshold value range and is negative, determining the The vehicle body is offset to the right and needs to be corrected to the left; if the angle difference is greater than the threshold value of the threshold range and is positive, it is determined that the vehicle body is shifted to the left and needs to be corrected to the right.

Further, in different embodiments, in the image capturing step, the captured image is a trapezoidal region surrounded by warp and weft lines on the solar panel, and the trapezoidal region corresponds to one on the solar panel. Square area.

Further, in different embodiments, in the image analysis processing step, after receiving the acquired image, the image analysis processing unit converts the image perspective into a standard panel image, and the image is The trapezoidal area in the area is converted to a square area on the standard panel picture.

Further, in various embodiments, in the image analysis processing step, the image analysis processing unit identifies a forward-extending straight line in a square region in the image by using a Hough transform algorithm to identify the image The straight line information that extends forward. Wherein, the identified straight line is a Hough line.

Further, in various embodiments, the mean line is averaged by removing one of the maximum values and a minimum value and then averaging.

Further, in different embodiments, the way in which the qualified line takes the median value is to sort the obtained angle data by size, and then take the intermediate order angle as the median value.

Further, in various embodiments, the angle of the qualified line refers to an angle between the Hough line and the predetermined vertical line.

An advantage of the present invention is to provide a solar panel cleaning robot straight-line determining device and a determining method thereof, which are obtained by comparing a coordinate latitude and longitude line (ie, a qualified line) recognized in the collected image information with a preset vertical line. The angle difference is used to determine whether the vehicle body is traveling in a straight line direction. When the angle difference is within the set threshold range, it is determined that the vehicle body is traveling in a straight line direction; if the angle difference is greater than the threshold value and is negative, it is determined that the vehicle body is shifted to the right, and needs to Left correction; if the angle difference is greater than the threshold and is positive, it is determined that the vehicle body is shifted to the left and needs to be corrected to the right.

The determining device and the determining method according to the present invention can effectively correct the traveling direction of the vehicle body on the solar panel on which it is located, so that it can travel straight according to a prescribed route, so that the solar panel can be fully effective. The cleaning further increases the power generation efficiency of the solar panel that has been cleaned to a certain extent.

DRAWINGS

1 is a schematic structural view of a cleaning robot according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein it is located on a solar panel;

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the cleaning robot shown in Fig. 1;

The part numbers in the figure are as follows:

The solar panel cleaning robot 100, the solar panel 200, the frame line 210, the warp 211, the weft 212, the vehicle body 10, the casing 11, the window opening portion 110, and the image collecting unit 12.

Detailed ways

The preferred embodiments of the present invention are described in the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which the invention can be implemented, and the present invention can be fully described by those skilled in the art to make the technical content clearer and easier to understand. The invention may be embodied in many different forms of embodiments, and the scope of the invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed herein.

In the drawings, structurally identical components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and structural or functionally similar components are denoted by like reference numerals. The dimensions and thickness of each component shown in the drawings are arbitrarily shown, and the invention does not limit the size and thickness of each component. In order to make the illustration clearer, some parts of the drawing appropriately exaggerate the thickness of the parts.

The directional terms mentioned in the present invention, such as "upper", "lower", "before", "after", "left", "right", "inside", "outside", "side", etc., are only attached The illustrations are intended to be illustrative of the invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

When a component is described as being "on" another component, the component can be placed directly on the other component; an intermediate component can also be present, the component being placed on the intermediate component, And the intermediate part is placed on another part. When a component is described as "mounted to" or "connected to" another component, it can be understood as "directly" or "connected", or a component is "mounted to" or "connected" through an intermediate component. To "another part.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, an embodiment of the present invention provides a solar panel cleaning robot straight-through determining device, wherein the solar panel cleaning robot 100 includes a vehicle body 10, and the vehicle body 10 is at least one. The solar panel 200 travels or resides. The solar panel 200 is rectangular, and has four border lines 210 at its edges, and is provided with warp threads 211 and weft lines 212 perpendicular to each other, wherein the warp threads 211 and the weft threads 212 form a panel coordinate system.

The determining device includes an image collecting unit 12 and an image analyzing processing unit, wherein the image collecting unit collects the image information of the solar panel surface in the traveling direction of the vehicle body 10, and sends the image information to the image. The image analysis processing unit is described. The image information includes the warp 211 and the weft 212 information of the solar panel 200 in which it is located.

In one embodiment, the vehicle body 10 is provided with a casing 11 in which the image capturing unit 12 is housed, and the image collecting unit 12 is disposed at the front of the vehicle body 10. Center position. The housing 11 is provided with a window opening portion 110 through which the image capturing unit 12 collects surface image information of the solar panel 200 in front of it. The captured image is a trapezoidal region surrounded by latitude and longitude lines on the solar panel 200, the trapezoidal region corresponding to a square region on the solar panel 200.

Specifically, the image acquisition unit 12 includes a camera. The camera collects the surface image of the solar panel every set time. Specifically, the frame may be taken every 500 milliseconds, but the specific setting time may be determined according to actual needs.

The image acquisition unit 12 is preferably disposed on the vehicle body 10, but is not limited thereto. After receiving the collected image, the image analysis processing unit 12 converts the image into a standard panel image, and converts the trapezoidal region in the image into a square region on the standard panel image.

Further, the image analysis processing unit detects a forward extending straight line in a square region in the image by using a Hough transform algorithm, and the identified straight lines may also be referred to as a Hough line. Then, calculating the angle of each line recognized in the current latitude and longitude coordinate system, and retaining a qualified line, the point of the qualified line is the difference between the Y coordinate of the starting point and the ending point of the line (the first threshold), The other point is the difference between the X coordinates of the start point and the end point (second threshold). The first threshold may be 15, and the second threshold may be 10, but is not limited thereto, and may be specifically determined as needed.

Further, the angle values of the qualified lines are sorted by size and the median value or the average value is taken, and the median value or the difference between the average value and a preset vertical line angle is calculated. The pass line may be averaged by removing one of the maximum values and a minimum value and then averaging. The manner in which the qualifying line takes the median value is to sort the obtained angle data by size, and then take the angle of the intermediate order, that is, the median value. The angle of the qualifying line refers to the angle between the Hough line and the predetermined vertical line. The angle difference is calculated as:

If(angle>135)angle=angle-180;

Else angle>45? Angle-90:angle;

The calculated angle value is in the range [-45, 45].

When the angle difference is within a set threshold value, it is determined that the vehicle body 10 is traveling in a straight line direction; if the angle difference value is greater than a boundary value of the threshold value range and is a negative value, The vehicle body is shifted to the right and needs to be corrected to the left; if the angle difference is greater than the boundary value of the threshold range and is positive, it is determined that the vehicle body is shifted to the left and needs to be corrected to the right.

In a specific embodiment, the threshold value of the angular difference may be plus or minus 0.1 degrees. Specifically, when the angle difference is greater than -0.1 degrees and less than 0.1, it is determined that the traveling direction of the vehicle body 10 is a straight line; when the angle difference is greater than 0.1 degrees, it is determined that the direction of the vehicle body 10 is shifted to the left, and Corrected to the right; when the angle difference is less than -0.1 degrees, it is determined that the direction of the vehicle body 10 is shifted to the right and needs to be corrected to the left.

Further, another embodiment of the present invention provides a solar panel cleaning robot straight-through determination method, wherein the solar panel cleaning robot 100 includes a vehicle body 10 that travels on at least one solar panel 200 or Resident. The solar panel 200 is rectangular, and has four border lines at its edges, and is provided with warp threads 211 and weft threads 212 perpendicular to each other. The warp threads 211 and the weft threads 212 form a panel coordinate system, which includes image collection. Steps and image analysis processing steps.

The image capturing step is to collect the solar panel surface image information of the vehicle body in the traveling direction, and send the image information to the image analysis processing unit 12, wherein the image information includes the panel in which the panel is located. Warp 211 and weft 212 information.

In the image capturing step, the captured image is a trapezoidal region surrounded by warp and weft lines on the solar panel, and the trapezoidal region corresponds to a square region on the solar panel.

In the image analysis processing step, after receiving the collected image, the image analysis processing unit converts the image perspective into a standard panel image, and converts the trapezoidal region in the image into standard solar energy. The square area on the panel image.

Further, the image analysis processing unit detects a forward extending straight line in the square region in the image by using a Hough transform algorithm, and the recognized straight lines may also be referred to as a Hough line. Then calculating the angle of each line recognized in the current latitude and longitude coordinate system, and retaining a qualified line, the point of the qualified line is the difference between the Y coordinate of the starting point and the ending point of the line (the first threshold), and The other point is the difference between the X coordinates of the starting point and the ending point (second threshold). The first threshold may be 15, and the second threshold may be 10, but is not limited thereto, and may be specifically determined as needed.

Further, the angle values of the qualified lines are sorted by size and the median value or the average value is taken, and the median value or the difference between the average value and the preset vertical line angle is calculated. The pass line may be averaged by removing one of the maximum values and a minimum value and then averaging. The way in which the qualified line takes the median value is to sort the obtained angle data by size, and then take the intermediate order angle as the median value. The angle of the qualifying line refers to the angle between the Hough line and the predetermined vertical line. The angle difference is calculated as:

If(angle>135)angle=angle-180;

Else angle>45? Angle-90:angle;

The calculated angle value is in the range [-45, 45].

Determining that the vehicle body is traveling in a straight line direction when the angle difference value is within a set threshold value; and determining that the angle difference value is greater than a boundary value of the threshold value range and is a negative value The vehicle body is offset to the right and needs to be corrected to the left; if the angle difference is greater than the boundary value of the threshold range and is positive, it is determined that the vehicle body is shifted to the left and needs to be corrected to the right.

In a specific embodiment, the threshold may be plus or minus 0.1 degrees. Specifically, when the difference is greater than -0.1 degrees and less than 0.1, it is determined that the traveling direction of the vehicle body is a straight line; when the difference is greater than 0.1 degrees, it is determined that the direction of the vehicle body is shifted to the left, and needs to be corrected to the right; When the difference is less than -0.1 degrees, it is determined that the body direction is shifted to the right and needs to be corrected to the left.

The invention provides a solar panel cleaning robot straight-line determining device and a determining method thereof, which determine whether a vehicle body is determined by an angle difference between a coordinate latitude and longitude line and a preset vertical line recognized in the collected image information. Travel in a straight line. Wherein, when the angle difference is within a set threshold range, it is determined that the vehicle body is traveling in a straight line direction; if the angle difference is greater than a threshold value and is negative, determining that the vehicle body is shifted to the right It needs to be corrected to the left; if the angle difference is greater than the threshold and is positive, it is determined that the vehicle body is shifted to the left and needs to be corrected to the right.

The determining device and the determining method according to the present invention can effectively correct the traveling direction of the vehicle body on the solar panel on which it is located, so that it can travel straight according to a prescribed route, so that the solar panel can be fully effective. The cleaning further increases the power generation efficiency of the solar panel that has been cleaned to a certain extent.

The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and it should be noted that those skilled in the art can also make several improvements and retouchings without departing from the principles of the present invention. These improvements and retouchings should also be considered. It is the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims (16)

A solar panel cleaning robot straight-through judging device, wherein the solar panel cleaning robot comprises a vehicle body that travels or resides on at least one solar panel; each solar panel is a rectangle with four recognizable borders at the edges thereof The warp and the weft are perpendicular to each other, and the warp and the weft form a panel coordinate system; wherein The determining device includes an image collecting unit and an image analyzing processing unit. The image capturing unit collects image information of the solar panel surface in the traveling direction of the vehicle body, and sends the image information to the image analysis processing unit, wherein the image information includes the latitude and longitude of the solar panel in which the solar panel is located Line information The image analysis processing unit identifies forward extending straight line information in the image information, and then calculates an angle of each identified straight line in the current latitude and longitude coordinate system, and retains the straight line starting point identified therein A line that differs from the Y coordinate of the end point by a first threshold and whose X coordinate differs by a second threshold is a qualifying line; the angle values of the qualified line are sorted by size and the median value or the average value is obtained, The median value or the difference between the average value and the preset vertical line angle; When the difference is within a preset threshold range, it is determined that the vehicle body is traveling in a straight line direction; if the difference is greater than a boundary value of the threshold range and is a negative value, The vehicle body is shifted to the right and needs to be corrected to the left; if the difference is greater than the boundary value of the threshold range and is positive, it is determined that the vehicle body is shifted to the left and needs to be corrected to the right. The determination device according to claim 1, wherein said image pickup unit is disposed at a center position of a front portion of said vehicle body. The determining device according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle body is provided with a casing, the casing housing the image collecting unit therein, and the casing is provided with a window opening portion, The image acquisition unit collects surface image information of the solar panel in front of the window through the window portion. The determination device according to claim 1, wherein the image acquired by the image acquisition unit is a trapezoidal region surrounded by latitude and longitude lines on the solar panel, the trapezoidal region corresponding to a square region on the solar panel. The determining device according to claim 4, wherein said image analysis processing unit converts said image perspective into a standard panel image after receiving said acquired image to convert a trapezoidal region in said image A square area on the standard panel image. The determination device according to claim 1, wherein said image analysis processing unit recognizes a forwardly extending straight line in a square region in said image using a Hough transform algorithm to identify forward extending straight line information in said image The recognized straight line is a Hough line. The determining apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said pass line is averaged by removing one of a maximum value and a minimum value, and then averaging. The determining apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said pass line takes a median value by sorting the obtained angle data by size, and then taking an intermediate order angle is said median value. The determining device according to claim 6, wherein the angle of the pass line is an angle between the Hough line and the predetermined vertical line. A solar panel cleaning robot straight-through determination method, wherein the solar panel cleaning robot comprises a vehicle body, and the vehicle body runs or resides on at least one solar panel; the solar panel is rectangular and has four borders at an edge thereof. a line having warp and weft perpendicular to each other, and the warp and the weft form a panel coordinate system; wherein The determining method includes an image capturing step and an image analyzing processing step; In the image capturing step, collecting solar panel surface image information of the vehicle body in the traveling direction, and transmitting the image information to the image analysis processing unit, wherein the image information includes the panel Warp and latitude information; In the image analysis processing step, the image analysis processing unit identifies forward-extending straight line information in the image information, and then calculates an angle of each identified straight line in the current latitude and longitude coordinate system, and retains The line in which the identified Y line of the straight line differs from the Y coordinate of the end point by a first 并且 value and the X coordinate differs by the second 阙 value is a qualified line; the angle value of the qualified line is sorted by size and the median value is taken Or an average value, calculating the median value or the difference between the average value and the preset vertical line angle; Wherein when the difference is within a predetermined threshold range, it is determined that the vehicle body is traveling in a straight line direction; if the difference is greater than a boundary value of the threshold value range and is a negative value, then determining The vehicle body is offset to the right and needs to be corrected to the left; if the difference is greater than the boundary value of the threshold range and is positive, it is determined that the vehicle body is shifted to the left and needs to be corrected to the right. The determination method according to claim 10, wherein in the image capturing step, the acquired image is a trapezoidal region surrounded by a latitude and longitude line on the solar panel, the trapezoidal region corresponding to the solar panel A square area. The determination method according to claim 11, wherein in the image analysis processing step, after receiving the captured image, the image analysis processing unit converts the image perspective into a standard panel image to The trapezoidal region in the image is converted to a square region on a standard solar panel picture. The determination method according to claim 10, wherein in the image analysis processing step, the image analysis processing unit recognizes that the straight line information extending forward in the image is a square in the image detected by a Hough transform algorithm A straight line extending in the region, and the identified straight line is a Hough line. The determination method according to claim 10, wherein said pass line is averaged by removing one of a maximum value and a minimum value, and then averaging. The determination method according to claim 10, wherein the pass line takes the median value by sorting the obtained angle data by size, and then taking the intermediate order angle as the median value. The determination method according to claim 13, wherein the angle of the pass line is an angle between the Hough line and the predetermined vertical line.

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