EP3995065B1 - Automatically moving cleaning device - Google Patents

Automatically moving cleaning device Download PDF

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Publication number
EP3995065B1
EP3995065B1 EP21203056.3A EP21203056A EP3995065B1 EP 3995065 B1 EP3995065 B1 EP 3995065B1 EP 21203056 A EP21203056 A EP 21203056A EP 3995065 B1 EP3995065 B1 EP 3995065B1
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EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
environment
cleaning device
obstacle
cleaning
subarea
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Active
Application number
EP21203056.3A
Other languages
German (de)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP3995065A1 (en
Inventor
Harald Windorfer
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Vorwerk and Co Interholding GmbH
Original Assignee
Vorwerk and Co Interholding GmbH
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Publication of EP3995065A1 publication Critical patent/EP3995065A1/en
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Classifications

    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47L—DOMESTIC WASHING OR CLEANING; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47L11/00—Machines for cleaning floors, carpets, furniture, walls, or wall coverings
    • A47L11/24—Floor-sweeping machines, motor-driven
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47L—DOMESTIC WASHING OR CLEANING; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47L9/00—Details or accessories of suction cleaners, e.g. mechanical means for controlling the suction or for effecting pulsating action; Storing devices specially adapted to suction cleaners or parts thereof; Carrying-vehicles specially adapted for suction cleaners
    • A47L9/28—Installation of the electric equipment, e.g. adaptation or attachment to the suction cleaner; Controlling suction cleaners by electric means
    • A47L9/2805—Parameters or conditions being sensed
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47L—DOMESTIC WASHING OR CLEANING; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47L11/00—Machines for cleaning floors, carpets, furniture, walls, or wall coverings
    • A47L11/40—Parts or details of machines not provided for in groups A47L11/02 - A47L11/38, or not restricted to one of these groups, e.g. handles, arrangements of switches, skirts, buffers, levers
    • A47L11/4002—Installations of electric equipment
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47L—DOMESTIC WASHING OR CLEANING; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47L11/00—Machines for cleaning floors, carpets, furniture, walls, or wall coverings
    • A47L11/40—Parts or details of machines not provided for in groups A47L11/02 - A47L11/38, or not restricted to one of these groups, e.g. handles, arrangements of switches, skirts, buffers, levers
    • A47L11/4002—Installations of electric equipment
    • A47L11/4008—Arrangements of switches, indicators or the like
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47L—DOMESTIC WASHING OR CLEANING; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47L11/00—Machines for cleaning floors, carpets, furniture, walls, or wall coverings
    • A47L11/40—Parts or details of machines not provided for in groups A47L11/02 - A47L11/38, or not restricted to one of these groups, e.g. handles, arrangements of switches, skirts, buffers, levers
    • A47L11/4061—Steering means; Means for avoiding obstacles; Details related to the place where the driver is accommodated
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47L—DOMESTIC WASHING OR CLEANING; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47L9/00—Details or accessories of suction cleaners, e.g. mechanical means for controlling the suction or for effecting pulsating action; Storing devices specially adapted to suction cleaners or parts thereof; Carrying-vehicles specially adapted for suction cleaners
    • A47L9/28—Installation of the electric equipment, e.g. adaptation or attachment to the suction cleaner; Controlling suction cleaners by electric means
    • A47L9/2805—Parameters or conditions being sensed
    • A47L9/281—Parameters or conditions being sensed the amount or condition of incoming dirt or dust
    • A47L9/2815—Parameters or conditions being sensed the amount or condition of incoming dirt or dust using optical detectors
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47L—DOMESTIC WASHING OR CLEANING; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47L9/00—Details or accessories of suction cleaners, e.g. mechanical means for controlling the suction or for effecting pulsating action; Storing devices specially adapted to suction cleaners or parts thereof; Carrying-vehicles specially adapted for suction cleaners
    • A47L9/28—Installation of the electric equipment, e.g. adaptation or attachment to the suction cleaner; Controlling suction cleaners by electric means
    • A47L9/2894—Details related to signal transmission in suction cleaners
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47L—DOMESTIC WASHING OR CLEANING; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47L2201/00—Robotic cleaning machines, i.e. with automatic control of the travelling movement or the cleaning operation
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47L—DOMESTIC WASHING OR CLEANING; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47L2201/00—Robotic cleaning machines, i.e. with automatic control of the travelling movement or the cleaning operation
    • A47L2201/04—Automatic control of the travelling movement; Automatic obstacle detection
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47L—DOMESTIC WASHING OR CLEANING; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47L2201/00—Robotic cleaning machines, i.e. with automatic control of the travelling movement or the cleaning operation
    • A47L2201/06—Control of the cleaning action for autonomous devices; Automatic detection of the surface condition before, during or after cleaning

Definitions

  • the invention relates to an automatically moving cleaning device with a drive device for moving the cleaning device within an environment, a communication interface for outputting a message to a user of the cleaning device, an obstacle detection device for detecting obstacles within the environment and a computing device, which is set up based on to create a map of the surroundings based on the obstacles detected by the obstacle detection device and to transmit control commands to the communication interface, with the computing device also being set up to determine on the one hand a first partial area of the surroundings in which a position of a movable obstacle changes over time, and on the other hand a second partial area of the surroundings to determine which could only be cleaned incompletely.
  • Cleaning devices of the aforementioned type are well known in the prior art. These are usually also referred to as cleaning robots and can be embodied, for example, as mobile vacuum cleaners, wiping devices or combined suction-wiping devices.
  • the automatically moving cleaning devices usually have a computing device that is designed to carry out a navigation of the cleaning device within an environment.
  • the computing device is assigned an obstacle detection device which, for example, measures distances to obstacles in the area and this is transmitted to the computing device in order to create a map of the surroundings.
  • the environment map created in this way can then be used by the computing device in order to localize and navigate the cleaning device in the environment.
  • route planning can also be carried out in order to navigate the cleaning device through the area using a planned, predefined route, for example in order to carry out defined consecutive cleaning activities as part of a cleaning plan.
  • the computing device controls the movement of the cleaning device through the environment and preferably logs those partial areas of the environment that have already been cleaned by the cleaning device. It is also detected and documented which partial areas of the environment have not yet been cleaned or have only been cleaned incompletely. This documentation takes place, for example, directly in the map of the surroundings, in which cleaned and non-cleaned partial areas of the surroundings are marked. In addition, the map of the surroundings contains entries about the positions of detected obstacles. Obstacles are, on the one hand, room boundaries and, on the other hand, objects such as pieces of furniture, decorative objects or the like.
  • the arithmetic unit determines such moving obstacles, for example, by comparing maps of the surroundings that have been created in succession over time and/or based on the speed at which the obstacle is moving.
  • a self-propelled cleaning device according to the preamble of claim 1 is, for example, from EP-A-2508957 known.
  • the computing device of the cleaning device be set up to compare the position of the determined first partial area of the surrounding area with the position of the determined second partial area of the surrounding area and, if the positions match, send a message relating to the movable obstacle to a user of the cleaning device via the communication interface output, the computing device being set up to determine a change in the position of the movable obstacle that recurs over time by comparing a plurality of maps of the environment that have been created in chronological order, and the message contains a request to remove the obstacle manually from the defined partial area of the environment, namely to a specific location in the To shift message-defined location, which is outside of the surrounding sub-area in which the position of the movable obstacle changes repeatedly over time, is located.
  • the arithmetic unit thus determines partial areas of the environment which, on the one hand, have been cleaned incompletely or unevenly and, on the other hand, have moving obstacles. If both of the aforementioned prerequisites apply to the same sub-area of the environment, it is concluded that the obstacle present there prevents optimal, in particular uniform, cleaning of the sub-area of the surroundings. Since the computing device is also aware that a detected obstacle is a moving obstacle, a message is sent to the user of the cleaning device, so that he can take measures for optimal cleaning of the surrounding area.
  • a cleaning robot is thus created which, in order to achieve the best possible cleaning result, issues a message to a user that a movable obstacle, such as a chair, is present in a specific partial area of the environment, which prevents optimal cleaning of the partial area of the environment.
  • the cleaning device first determines locations where there are moving obstacles. Furthermore, the cleaning device determines partial areas of the surroundings which could not be cleaned at all or only with little success. The determined locations of the pollution and the moving obstacles are compared with one another, with a message being output to the user if they match. It is therefore not trusted that during a subsequent cleaning run the cleaning device accidentally reaches a position that was previously blocked by a moving obstacle.
  • the computing device is set up to determine a change in the position of the movable obstacle by comparing a plurality of maps of the surroundings that have been created in chronological succession.
  • the cleaning device can compare a map of the surroundings created during a current cleaning run with a map of the surroundings that was last created in terms of time in order to identify one or more moving obstacles based on existing differences between the two maps of the surroundings.
  • a map of the surroundings can be created and compared with one or more previous maps of the surroundings, for example after each work routine, in particular after processing a deployment plan containing predefined time and location requirements.
  • changes in the position of moving obstacles are detected. For example, a chair that was used at an earlier point in time may not be in exactly the same position as before it was used.
  • the notification to the user which is issued in the event of a match between a position of a movable obstacle and a position of incomplete cleaning, contains a request to manually remove the obstacle from the defined environmental sub-area, namely the movable obstacle to a specific one in the notification to relocate to a defined location.
  • the user of the cleaning device preferably receives a suggestion to carry the movable obstacle directly to a different position in the environment after the next use. For example, he can be asked not to put a chair in the same position as before, for example no longer to move back to a table, but to remove it from the table.
  • the cleaning device can then eliminate dirt at the relevant location when the user has removed the obstacle there.
  • the cleaning device preferably has a dirt sensor, which is designed to determine the degree of dirt in a partial area of the surrounding area.
  • the dirt sensor is designed to identify such sub-regions of the environment which could not be cleaned at all, incompletely, unevenly and/or only with an increased expenditure of time compared to a norm. In this way, sub-areas of the surrounding area that are difficult to clean can be identified and stored in the map of the surrounding area.
  • the dirt sensor can have a camera with an associated image processing device or a particle sensor.
  • the cleaning device has a camera that takes pictures of the environment, which are compared with reference images of the environment by means of an associated image processing device.
  • the cleaning device can also have a particle sensor, which measures, in particular quantifies, dirt and/or dust particles removed from a surface to be cleaned by the cleaning device, for example a suction fan or a wiping cloth.
  • the notification to the user particularly preferably contains an image or a graphic representation of the movable obstacle.
  • the cleaning device has a camera, for example, an image recorded by the camera can be displayed directly to the user, for example on a display of the cleaning device itself, or also on an external terminal device.
  • the message can also contain a graphic representation of the moving obstacle, for example an icon that represents a specific type of moving object, for example an icon that represents a chair, an armchair, a side table or the like.
  • the movable obstacle is a piece of furniture
  • the cleaning device having a memory with reference parameters of defined pieces of furniture
  • the computing device being set up to compare parameters of a detected movable obstacle with the stored reference parameters.
  • a detected obstacle can be identified with regard to its type and a message can be sent directly to the user, for example, which reflects the type of obstacle to be moved.
  • the message can directly contain a text component such as "chair", or a graphically represented chair symbol.
  • the communication interface be designed to output the notification directly to a user as an optical signal or acoustic signal or to output the notification via wireless data communication to a communication link with the cleaning device to transmit the user's standing external device.
  • the communication interface of the cleaning device has a display or a loudspeaker, for example.
  • An image or a symbol representing the moving obstacle can be shown to the user on the display of the cleaning device, or alternatively text which describes the moving obstacle.
  • the user can also be given an acoustic signal, for example in the form of a voice output that contains a request such as "Please do not put the chair back at the table".
  • the communication interface of the cleaning device can transmit the message to an external end device of the user, for example to a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a laptop or the like.
  • the data is preferably transmitted wirelessly via a home network or the Internet.
  • a display of the mobile terminal device can be used to then display text, an image and/or a symbol.
  • the mobile terminal can also make a corresponding voice output that contains a message for the user.
  • the obstacle detection device of the cleaning appliance is preferably set up to also detect removal of the movable obstacle from the partial area of the surrounding area and then to report this to the computing device, with the computing device being set up to then control cleaning of the partial area of the surrounding area.
  • the obstacle detection device can again detect obstacles in the area and transmit corresponding information to the computing device, with the computing device then determining in a comparison with older maps of the environment that a moving obstacle is no longer present in the relevant partial area of the environment.
  • the computing device can then control the cleaning device in such a way that it moves to the previous position of the movable obstacle and carries out cleaning there.
  • the user can then receive a message via the communication interface of the cleaning device that the corresponding position of the environment has been cleaned and the user can now put the movable obstacle back to the desired location.
  • the computing device is set up to receive information from the user via the communication interface of the cleaning device that the obstacle has been removed from the surrounding partial area, and then to start cleaning the surrounding partial area.
  • the cleaning device or its obstacle detection device does not have to detect itself that the movable obstacle has been removed. Rather, the user makes a corresponding entry via the communication interface of the cleaning device, preferably also with the aid of an external terminal device.
  • the arithmetic unit of the cleaning device then processes the information from the user in such a way that the partial area around the area cleared of the movable obstacle is cleaned. If this is done, a corresponding notification can then be issued to the user.
  • FIG. 1 1 shows an example of a self-moving cleaning device 1.
  • the cleaning device 1 is here a vacuum robot with a cleaning element 16 in the form of a cleaning brush, which rotates about a substantially horizontal axis.
  • the cleaning device 1 has wheels 15 and a drive device 2 for the wheels 15, which drive device 2 comprises an electric motor (not shown).
  • the cleaning device 1 has a communication interface 3 for wireless communication with an external end device 14 (see FIG figure 3 ) on.
  • the cleaning device 1 can be integrated into a home network, for example, or also be connected to the Internet via the communication interface 3 .
  • An obstacle detection device 5 of the cleaning device 1 is designed to detect obstacles 6 , 7 in the vicinity of the cleaning device 1 .
  • the obstacles 6, 7 can be stationary obstacles 6, for example large pieces of furniture such as cupboards, beds and the like, and mobile obstacles 7, such as small furniture, including chairs, side tables and the like.
  • the obstacle detection device 5 is here, for example, a distance measuring device which measures distances from the cleaning appliance 1 to the obstacles 6, 7.
  • the obstacle detection device 5 can be an optical measuring device, for example a triangulation measuring device that measures in a 360-degree angular range around the obstacle detection device 5 .
  • the cleaning appliance 1 has a computing device 8 which uses the distances determined by the obstacle detection device 5 to create a map of the surroundings 9 (see figure 2 ) that represents a floor plan of the environment.
  • the floor plan corresponds here to a floor of an apartment or a house with several rooms, which in turn are divided into partial areas 10, 11.
  • the area map 9 also has the detected obstacles 6, 7 and a current location of the cleaning device 1.
  • the computing device 8 can use the area map 9 to identify the current position of the cleaning device 1 and continuously update it in the area map 9.
  • the cleaning device 1 can also use a dirt sensor 12 to detect a level of dirt in the environment.
  • the dirt sensor 12 can, for example, have a camera in connection with image processing software, which uses an image comparison to identify current soiling conditions as average, below average or above average. Other classifications can be, for example, low, medium, high or the like.
  • the computing device 8 can also enter these determined degrees of contamination in the map 9 of the surroundings.
  • a memory 13 of the cleaning device 1 can have images of reference degrees of soiling, with which an image currently recorded by the dirt sensor 12 can be compared in order to determine a degree of soiling.
  • the environment map 9 can also be stored in the memory 13 .
  • FIG 2 12 shows an exemplary environment map 9 created by the cleaning device 1.
  • This environment map 9 can be created, for example, as part of a so-called SLAM method (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping).
  • the obstacle detection device 5 of the cleaning device 1 continuously measures distances to obstacles 6, 7 in the area and uses this to create the area map 9, while the cleaning device 1 simultaneously localizes itself using the already existing parts of the area map 9 and currently detected obstacle data continuously with the in the area map 9 stored data.
  • the area map 9 contains here only an example of a plurality of obstacles 6, 7, where stationary obstacles 6 (which the user usually does not move) can be distinguished from movable obstacles 7 (which the user frequently moves) to better illustrate the invention.
  • a plurality of partial environmental areas 10, 11 are marked in environmental map 9, environmental partial areas 10 representing areas of the environment that contain a moving obstacle 7 and environmental partial areas 11 identifying areas of the environment in which dirt sensor 12 of cleaning device 1 has an increased degree of soiling compared to a reference Has been established.
  • the figure 3 shows an external terminal 14 of a user of the cleaning device 1 in the form of a mobile phone.
  • the external terminal 14 has a display 17 in the usual way, on which messages 4 are displayed to the user.
  • the display 17 shows a request to the user to keep a specific obstacle 7 (chair) away from a defined partial area 10, 11 (surroundings of the table).
  • the cleaning appliance 1 first creates a map 9 of the surroundings using its computing device 8 .
  • map 9 As shown by way of example in figure 2 shown, obstacles 6, 7 noted that the obstacle detection device 5 of the cleaning device 1 has determined during a reconnaissance or work trip.
  • the cleaning device 1 uses its dirt sensor 12 to determine those partial areas 11 of the surroundings that are dirty beyond a standard value.
  • Such subregions 11 of the surroundings are, for example, in the region of smaller pieces of furniture, the surroundings of which cannot be completely cleaned by the cleaning device 1 .
  • Surrounding areas 11 with such obstacles 7 are, for example, areas under chairs, between the chair legs of which Cleaning device 1 cannot drive through.
  • the partial area 11 in which this obstacle 7 is located cannot be optimally cleaned.
  • Small pieces of furniture such as chairs are among the movable obstacles 7 that are frequently carried or pushed back and forth by a user. For this reason, these are marked as moving obstacles 7 in the environment map 9, in contrast to larger, non-mobile pieces of furniture, which are marked here as obstacles 6, for example.
  • These non-mobile pieces of furniture include kitchen cabinets, sideboards, beds and the like.
  • the cleaning device 1 uses the computing device 8 on the basis of the obstacles 6, 7 detected by the obstacle detection device 5 and the detection signals of the dirt sensor 12 to continuously create a new, up-to-date map of the area 9 and preferably stores this in the memory 13.
  • the created environment map 9 compared with one or more older environment maps 9 and analyzed in relation to changes in location of moving obstacles 7.
  • the computing device 8 can determine that a movable obstacle 7 has been placed at a different position within the surroundings.
  • a moving obstacle 7 can be, for example, a chair that was previously at a dining table and was then put back in a slightly different position after the user has moved away from the dining table.
  • the maps 9 of the surroundings which are created in chronological succession are also analyzed in relation to sub-areas 11 of the surroundings which have degrees of pollution which deviate from a norm. For example, it can be a question of partial areas 11 of the surroundings which could not be cleaned at all, could be cleaned incompletely, inhomogeneously or only with great expenditure of time.
  • the computing device 8 compares the positions of the detected partial areas 11 of the surroundings with an incomplete cleaning result or one that is not optimal in some other way and the partial areas 10 of the surroundings which have movable obstacles 7 . If the computing device 8 determines that a sub-area 10, 11 of the invention belongs both to the sub-areas 10 with moving obstacles 7 and to the sub-areas 11 with incomplete or sub-optimal cleaning, this is marked in the area map 9. By comparing the partial areas 11 of the surroundings, which are difficult to clean, with the partial areas 10 of the surroundings, which have positions of movable obstacles 7, the computing device 8 determines a proposed solution which, as in figure 3 shown as a message 4 on the display 17 of the external terminal 14 of the user.
  • the message 4 "Please do not put the chair back at the table” is issued, prompting the user not to put the movable obstacle 7 "chair” back in its previous position, namely not in the partial area 10, after the next use .
  • This can be done in that the user no longer puts the chair back in the dining area or moves it closer to the table, but places it somewhat apart from it.
  • the fact that the movable obstacles 7 are thus moved in a targeted manner ensures that all partial areas 10, 11 of the surroundings are cleaned evenly, regularly and homogeneously.
  • the user can also receive a message 4 in the form of an image or an icon, which represents the obstacle 7 to be moved.
  • a message 4 in the form of an image or an icon, which represents the obstacle 7 to be moved.
  • an image of the space containing this movable obstacle 7 can also be displayed.
  • the image itself can have been captured by an obstacle detection device 5 of the cleaning device 1, in particular a camera.
  • issuing messages 4 on an external Terminal 14 can also have cleaning device 1 itself a display 17 on which messages 4 are displayed to the user.
  • the communication interface 3 of the cleaning device 1 can also output an optical or acoustic message 4, for example a voice message, a signal projected onto a wall or the like.
  • the user can send information to the computing device 8 of the cleaning device, for example via a touch-sensitive display 17 of the external terminal device 14 1 transmit that the movable obstacle 7 has been removed from the partial area 11 of the surrounding area to be cleaned.
  • the computing device 8 can then start cleaning in the respective partial area 11 of the surrounding area.
  • the cleaning device 1 can also determine autonomously, in particular with the cooperation of its obstacle detection device 5, that the movable obstacle 7 has been removed from the partial area 11 of the surrounding area and then control the cleaning of the partial area 11 of the surrounding area accordingly.

Description

Gebiet der Technikfield of technology

Die Erfindung betrifft ein sich selbsttätig fortbewegendes Reinigungsgerät mit einer Antriebseinrichtung zur Fortbewegung des Reinigungsgerätes innerhalb einer Umgebung, einer Kommunikationsschnittstelle zur Ausgabe einer Mitteilung an einen Nutzer des Reinigungsgerätes, einer Hindernisdetektionseinrichtung zur Detektion von Hindernissen innerhalb der Umgebung und einer Recheneinrichtung, welche eingerichtet ist, basierend auf den von der Hindernisdetektionseinrichtung detektierten Hindernissen eine Umgebungskarte zu erstellen und Steuerbefehle an die Kommunikationsschnittstelle zu übermitteln, wobei die Recheneinrichtung des Weiteren eingerichtet ist, einerseits einen ersten Umgebungsteilbereich zu ermitteln, in welchem sich eine Position eines beweglichen Hindernisses zeitlich wiederkehrend ändert, und anderseits einen zweiten Umgebungsteilbereich zu ermitteln, welcher nur unvollständig gereinigt werden konnte.The invention relates to an automatically moving cleaning device with a drive device for moving the cleaning device within an environment, a communication interface for outputting a message to a user of the cleaning device, an obstacle detection device for detecting obstacles within the environment and a computing device, which is set up based on to create a map of the surroundings based on the obstacles detected by the obstacle detection device and to transmit control commands to the communication interface, with the computing device also being set up to determine on the one hand a first partial area of the surroundings in which a position of a movable obstacle changes over time, and on the other hand a second partial area of the surroundings to determine which could only be cleaned incompletely.

Stand der TechnikState of the art

Reinigungsgeräte der vorgenannten Art sind im Stand der Technik hinreichend bekannt. Diese werden üblicherweise auch als Reinigungsroboter bezeichnet und können beispielsweise als mobile Staubsauger, Wischgeräte oder kombinierte Saug-Wisch-Geräte ausgebildet sein.Cleaning devices of the aforementioned type are well known in the prior art. These are usually also referred to as cleaning robots and can be embodied, for example, as mobile vacuum cleaners, wiping devices or combined suction-wiping devices.

Die sich selbsttätig fortbewegenden Reinigungsgeräte weisen üblicherweise eine Recheneinrichtung auf, die ausgebildet ist, eine Navigation des Reinigungsgerätes innerhalb einer Umgebung durchzuführen. Der Recheneinrichtung ist eine Hindernisdetektionseinrichtung zugeordnet, welche beispielsweise Abstände zu in der Umgebung vorhandenen Hindernissen misst und diese zur Erstellung einer Umgebungskarte an die Recheneinrichtung übermittelt. Die so erstellte Umgebungskarte kann dann von der Recheneinrichtung genutzt werden, um das Reinigungsgerät in der Umgebung zu lokalisieren und zu navigieren. Insbesondere kann auch eine Routenplanung vorgenommen werden, um das Reinigungsgerät anhand einer geplanten vordefinierten Route durch die Umgebung zu navigieren, beispielsweise um festgelegte aufeinanderfolgende Reinigungstätigkeiten im Rahmen eines Reinigungsplans auszuführen.The automatically moving cleaning devices usually have a computing device that is designed to carry out a navigation of the cleaning device within an environment. The computing device is assigned an obstacle detection device which, for example, measures distances to obstacles in the area and this is transmitted to the computing device in order to create a map of the surroundings. The environment map created in this way can then be used by the computing device in order to localize and navigate the cleaning device in the environment. In particular, route planning can also be carried out in order to navigate the cleaning device through the area using a planned, predefined route, for example in order to carry out defined consecutive cleaning activities as part of a cleaning plan.

Während einer Reinigung steuert die Recheneinrichtung die Fortbewegung des Reinigungsgerätes durch die Umgebung und protokolliert vorzugsweise solche Umgebungsteilbereiche, welche bereits durch das Reinigungsgerät gereinigt wurden. Ebenso wird detektiert und dokumentiert, welche Umgebungsteilbereiche noch nicht oder unvollständig gereinigt sind. Diese Dokumentation erfolgt beispielsweise unmittelbar in der Umgebungskarte, in welcher gereinigte und nicht gereinigte Umgebungsteilbereiche markiert werden. Darüber hinaus enthält die Umgebungskarte Einträge über die Positionen von detektierten Hindernissen. Hindernisse sind einerseits Raumbegrenzungen und andererseits beispielsweise Objekte wie Möbelstücke, Dekorationsgegenstände oder ähnliches.During cleaning, the computing device controls the movement of the cleaning device through the environment and preferably logs those partial areas of the environment that have already been cleaned by the cleaning device. It is also detected and documented which partial areas of the environment have not yet been cleaned or have only been cleaned incompletely. This documentation takes place, for example, directly in the map of the surroundings, in which cleaned and non-cleaned partial areas of the surroundings are marked. In addition, the map of the surroundings contains entries about the positions of detected obstacles. Obstacles are, on the one hand, room boundaries and, on the other hand, objects such as pieces of furniture, decorative objects or the like.

Des Weiteren ist es im Stand der Technik bekannt, bewegliche Hindernisse zu detektieren. Bei diesen Hindernissen kann es sich beispielsweise um kleinere Möbelstücke, Dekorationsgegenstände oder auch Personen und Tiere handeln. Die Recheneinrichtung ermittelt derartige bewegliche Hindernisse beispielsweise durch einen Vergleich zeitlich aufeinanderfolgend erstellter Umgebungskarten und/oder anhand einer Fortbewegungsgeschwindigkeit des Hindernisses.Furthermore, it is known in the prior art to detect moving obstacles. These obstacles can be, for example, smaller pieces of furniture, decorative objects or people and animals. The arithmetic unit determines such moving obstacles, for example, by comparing maps of the surroundings that have been created in succession over time and/or based on the speed at which the obstacle is moving.

Um Umgebungsteilbereiche mit beweglichen Hindernissen möglichst vollständig zu reinigen, ist es im Stand der Technik bekannt, zu detektieren, wenn ein bewegliches Hindernis einen Umgebungsteilbereich verlässt. Das Reinigungsgerät wird dann gezielt dort hingesteuert. Alternativ machen bekannte Reinigungsgeräte auch von einer zufälligen Verfahrroute Gebrauch, wobei unter der Annahme, dass bewegliche Hindernisse von Zeit zu Zeit ihre Position ändern, möglichst alle Umgebungsteilbereiche gereinigt werden.In order to clean partial areas of the surroundings with moving obstacles as completely as possible, it is known in the prior art to detect when a moving obstacle leaves a partial area of the surroundings. The cleaning device is then directed there. Alternatively, known cleaning devices also make use of a random travel route, assuming that moving obstacles change their position from time to time, as far as possible all partial areas of the surrounding area are cleaned.

Nachteilig ist dabei jedoch, dass keine regelmäßige Zugänglichkeit zu den Umgebungsteilbereichen mit beweglichen Hindernissen besteht, so dass eine Umgebung mit mehreren Umgebungsteilbereichen häufig unvollständig oder zumindest ungleichmäßig gereinigt wird und Umgebungsteilbereiche verbleiben, in welchen sich nach und nach Staub und Schmutz ansammeln und von dem Nutzer manuell entfernt werden müssen. Ein sich selbsttätig fortbewegendes Reinigungsgerät gemäß dem Obergriff des Anspruchs 1 ist z.B. aus EP-A-2508957 bekannt.The disadvantage here, however, is that there is no regular accessibility to the surrounding sub-areas with moving obstacles, so that an environment with several surrounding sub-areas is often cleaned incompletely or at least unevenly and surrounding sub-areas remain in which dust and dirt gradually accumulate and are manually cleaned by the user need to be removed. A self-propelled cleaning device according to the preamble of claim 1 is, for example, from EP-A-2508957 known.

Zusammenfassung der ErfindungSummary of the Invention

Ausgehend von dem vorgenannten Stand der Technik ist es daher Aufgabe der Erfindung, ein Reinigungsgerät zu schaffen, welches eine Umgebung selbsttätig so reinigt, dass manuelle Nachreinigungsvorgänge durch den Nutzer möglichst vollständig oder zumindest größtenteils entfallen und die Umgebung gleichmäßig gereinigt wird, insbesondere auch in solchen Umgebungsteilbereichen, welche bewegliche Hindernisse aufweisen.Based on the aforementioned prior art, it is therefore the object of the invention to create a cleaning device that automatically cleans an environment in such a way that manual subsequent cleaning processes by the user are eliminated as completely or at least as far as possible and the environment is cleaned evenly, especially in such partial areas of the environment , which have moving obstacles.

Zur Lösung dieser Aufgabe wird vorgeschlagen, dass die Recheneinrichtung des Reinigungsgerätes eingerichtet ist, die Position des ermittelten ersten Umgebungsteilbereiches mit der Position des ermittelten zweiten Umgebungsteilbereiches zu vergleichen und bei Übereinstimmung der Positionen eine das bewegliche Hindernis betreffende Mitteilung an einen Nutzer des Reinigungsgerätes über die Kommunikationsschnittstelle auszugeben, wobei die Recheneinrichtung eingerichtet ist, eine zeitlich wiederkehrende Positionsveränderung des beweglichen Hindernisses durch einen Vergleich mehrerer zeitlich aufeinanderfolgend erstellter Umgebungskarten zu ermitteln, und wobei die Mitteilung eine Aufforderung enthält, das Hindernis manuell aus dem definierten Umgebungsteilbereich zu entfernen, nämlich an einen bestimmten in der Mitteilung definierten Ort zu verlagern, welcher sich außerhalb des Umgebungsteilbereiches, in welchem sich die Position des beweglichen Hindernisses zeitlich wiederkehrend ändert, befindet.In order to solve this problem, it is proposed that the computing device of the cleaning device be set up to compare the position of the determined first partial area of the surrounding area with the position of the determined second partial area of the surrounding area and, if the positions match, send a message relating to the movable obstacle to a user of the cleaning device via the communication interface output, the computing device being set up to determine a change in the position of the movable obstacle that recurs over time by comparing a plurality of maps of the environment that have been created in chronological order, and the message contains a request to remove the obstacle manually from the defined partial area of the environment, namely to a specific location in the To shift message-defined location, which is outside of the surrounding sub-area in which the position of the movable obstacle changes repeatedly over time, is located.

Die Recheneinrichtung ermittelt somit Umgebungsteilbereiche, welche einerseits unvollständig oder ungleichmäßig gereinigt sind, und andererseits bewegliche Hindernisse aufweisen. Sofern auf denselben Umgebungsteilbereich der Umgebung beide vorgenannten Voraussetzungen zutreffen, wird darauf geschlossen, dass das dort vorhandene Hindernis eine optimale, insbesondere gleichmäßige, Reinigung des Umgebungsteilbereichs verhindert. Da die Recheneinrichtung auch Kenntnis darüber hat, dass es sich bei einem detektierten Hindernis um ein bewegliches Hindernis handelt, wird eine Mitteilung an den Nutzer des Reinigungsgerätes ausgegeben, damit dieser für eine optimale Reinigung des Umgebungsteilbereiches Maßnahmen treffen kann. Es wird somit ein Reinigungsroboter geschaffen, welcher zum Zwecke der Erreichung eines bestmöglichen Reinigungsergebnisses einen Hinweis an einen Nutzer ausgibt, dass in einem bestimmten Umgebungsteilbereich ein bewegliches Hindernis, beispielsweise ein Stuhl, vorhanden ist, welcher eine optimale Reinigung des Umgebungsteilbereiches verhindert. Dazu ermittelt das Reinigungsgerät zunächst Orte, an welchen sich bewegliche Hindernisse befinden. Des Weiteren ermittelt das Reinigungsgerät Umgebungsteilbereiche, welche gar nicht oder nur mit geringem Erfolg gereinigt werden konnten. Die ermittelten Orte der Verschmutzung und der beweglichen Hindernisse werden miteinander verglichen, wobei es bei einer Übereinstimmung zur Ausgabe einer Mitteilung an den Nutzer kommt. Es wird somit nicht darauf vertraut, dass das Reinigungsgerät bei einer nachfolgenden Reinigungsfahrt zufällig an eine Position gelangt, die zuvor von einem beweglichen Hindernis versperrt war.The arithmetic unit thus determines partial areas of the environment which, on the one hand, have been cleaned incompletely or unevenly and, on the other hand, have moving obstacles. If both of the aforementioned prerequisites apply to the same sub-area of the environment, it is concluded that the obstacle present there prevents optimal, in particular uniform, cleaning of the sub-area of the surroundings. Since the computing device is also aware that a detected obstacle is a moving obstacle, a message is sent to the user of the cleaning device, so that he can take measures for optimal cleaning of the surrounding area. A cleaning robot is thus created which, in order to achieve the best possible cleaning result, issues a message to a user that a movable obstacle, such as a chair, is present in a specific partial area of the environment, which prevents optimal cleaning of the partial area of the environment. To do this, the cleaning device first determines locations where there are moving obstacles. Furthermore, the cleaning device determines partial areas of the surroundings which could not be cleaned at all or only with little success. The determined locations of the pollution and the moving obstacles are compared with one another, with a message being output to the user if they match. It is therefore not trusted that during a subsequent cleaning run the cleaning device accidentally reaches a position that was previously blocked by a moving obstacle.

Die Recheneinrichtung ist eingerichtet, eine Positionsveränderung des beweglichen Hindernisses durch einen Vergleich mehrerer zeitlich aufeinanderfolgend erstellter Umgebungskarten zu ermitteln. Beispielsweise kann das Reinigungsgerät eine während einer aktuellen Reinigungsfahrt erstellte Umgebungskarte mit einer zeitlich zuletzt erstellten Umgebungskarte vergleichen, um durch bestehende Unterschiede zwischen den beiden Umgebungskarten ein oder mehrere bewegliche Hindernisse zu identifizieren. Auf diese Art und Weise kann beispielsweise nach jeder Arbeitsroutine, insbesondere nach Abarbeitung eines vordefinierte zeitliche und örtliche Vorgaben enthaltenden Einsatzplanes, eine Umgebungskarte erstellt und mit einer oder mehreren vorausgehenden Umgebungskarten verglichen werden. Dadurch werden Positionsänderungen von beweglichen Hindernissen erfasst. Beispielsweise kann ein Stuhl, welcher zu einem früheren Zeitpunkt benutzt wurde, nicht wieder exakt an derselben Position wie vor der Nutzung stehen.The computing device is set up to determine a change in the position of the movable obstacle by comparing a plurality of maps of the surroundings that have been created in chronological succession. For example, the cleaning device can compare a map of the surroundings created during a current cleaning run with a map of the surroundings that was last created in terms of time in order to identify one or more moving obstacles based on existing differences between the two maps of the surroundings. In this way, a map of the surroundings can be created and compared with one or more previous maps of the surroundings, for example after each work routine, in particular after processing a deployment plan containing predefined time and location requirements. As a result, changes in the position of moving obstacles are detected. For example, a chair that was used at an earlier point in time may not be in exactly the same position as before it was used.

Die Mitteilung an den Nutzer, welche im Falle einer Übereinstimmung zwischen einer Position eines beweglichen Hindernisses und einer Position einer unvollständigen Reinigung ausgegeben wird, enthält eine Aufforderung, das Hindernis manuell aus dem definierten Umgebungsteilbereich zu entfernen, nämlich das bewegliche Hindernis an einen bestimmten in der Mitteilung definierten Ort zu verlagern. Durch die Mitteilung erhält der Nutzer des Reinigungsgerätes vorzugsweise einen Vorschlag, das bewegliche Hindernis nach einer nächsten Nutzung direkt an eine andere Position der Umgebung zu tragen. Beispielsweise kann er aufgefordert werden, einen Stuhl nicht mehr an die gleiche Position wie zuvor zu stellen, nämlich beispielsweise nicht mehr zurück an einen Tisch zu rücken, sondern von dem Tisch zu entfernen. Der Nutzer erhält somit nach der Identifikation von eine optimale Reinigung hindernden Hindernissen eine Empfehlung, diese Hindernisse in geeigneter Weise so zu verlagern, dass die Reinigung der zuvor von diesen Hindernissen versperrten Umgebungsteilbereiche erfolgen kann. In einem nächsten Arbeitsschritt kann das Reinigungsgerät dann eine Verschmutzung an dem betreffenden Ort beseitigen, wenn der Nutzer das Hindernis dort entfernt hat.The notification to the user, which is issued in the event of a match between a position of a movable obstacle and a position of incomplete cleaning, contains a request to manually remove the obstacle from the defined environmental sub-area, namely the movable obstacle to a specific one in the notification to relocate to a defined location. As a result of the notification, the user of the cleaning device preferably receives a suggestion to carry the movable obstacle directly to a different position in the environment after the next use. For example, he can be asked not to put a chair in the same position as before, for example no longer to move back to a table, but to remove it from the table. After the identification of obstacles that prevent optimal cleaning, the user thus receives a recommendation to relocate these obstacles in a suitable manner such that the partial areas of the environment previously blocked by these obstacles can be cleaned. In a next work step, the cleaning device can then eliminate dirt at the relevant location when the user has removed the obstacle there.

Des Weiteren weist das Reinigungsgerät vorzugsweise einen Schmutzsensor auf, welcher ausgebildet ist, einen Verschmutzungsgrad eines Umgebungsteilbereiches zu ermitteln. Der Schmutzsensor ist ausgebildet, solche Umgebungsteilbereiche zu identifizieren, welche gar nicht, unvollständig, ungleichmäßig und/ oder nur mit einem gegenüber einer Norm erhöhten Zeitaufwand gereinigt werden konnten. Somit können schlecht zu reinigende Umgebungsteilbereiche in der Umgebungskarte identifiziert und gespeichert werden.Furthermore, the cleaning device preferably has a dirt sensor, which is designed to determine the degree of dirt in a partial area of the surrounding area. The dirt sensor is designed to identify such sub-regions of the environment which could not be cleaned at all, incompletely, unevenly and/or only with an increased expenditure of time compared to a norm. In this way, sub-areas of the surrounding area that are difficult to clean can be identified and stored in the map of the surrounding area.

Der Schmutzsensor kann eine Kamera mit einer zugeordneten Bildverarbeitungseinrichtung oder einen Partikelsensor aufweisen. Insbesondere weist das Reinigungsgerät eine Kamera auf, die Bilder der Umgebung aufnimmt, welche mittels einer zugeordneten Bildverarbeitungseinrichtung mit Referenzbildern der Umgebung verglichen werden. Alternativ oder zusätzlich kann das Reinigungsgerät auch einen Partikelsensor aufweisen, welcher von dem Reinigungsgerät, beispielsweise einem Sauggebläse oder einem Wischtuch, von einer zu reinigenden Fläche entfernte Schmutz- und/oder Staubpartikel misst, insbesondere quantifiziert. Dadurch kann für jeden Umgebungsteilbereich der Umgebung ein individueller Verschmutzungsgrad ermittelt und in der Umgebungskarte vermerkt werden. Des Weiteren kann festgestellt werden, wenn die ermittelten Verschmutzungsgrade Abweichungen von einer Referenz aufweisen.The dirt sensor can have a camera with an associated image processing device or a particle sensor. In particular, the cleaning device has a camera that takes pictures of the environment, which are compared with reference images of the environment by means of an associated image processing device. Alternatively or additionally, the cleaning device can also have a particle sensor, which measures, in particular quantifies, dirt and/or dust particles removed from a surface to be cleaned by the cleaning device, for example a suction fan or a wiping cloth. As a result, an individual degree of pollution can be determined for each sub-area of the environment and noted on the map of the environment. Furthermore, it can be determined if the determined degree of soiling deviates from a reference.

Besonders vorzugsweise enthält die Mitteilung an den Nutzer ein Bild oder eine graphische Darstellung des beweglichen Hindernisses. Sofern das Reinigungsgerät beispielsweise eine Kamera aufweist, kann dem Nutzer unmittelbar ein von der Kamera aufgenommenes Bild angezeigt werden, beispielsweise auf einem Display des Reinigungsgerätes selbst, oder auch auf einem externen Endgerät. Alternativ zu einer Fotografie kann die Mitteilung auch eine graphische Darstellung des beweglichen Hindernisses enthalten, beispielsweise ein Icon, welches stellvertretend ist für eine bestimmte Art von beweglichen Objekten, beispielsweise ein Icon, das einen Stuhl, einen Sessel, einen Beistelltisch oder ähnliches darstellt.The notification to the user particularly preferably contains an image or a graphic representation of the movable obstacle. If the cleaning device has a camera, for example, an image recorded by the camera can be displayed directly to the user, for example on a display of the cleaning device itself, or also on an external terminal device. As an alternative to a photograph, the message can also contain a graphic representation of the moving obstacle, for example an icon that represents a specific type of moving object, for example an icon that represents a chair, an armchair, a side table or the like.

Es wird des Weiteren vorgeschlagen, dass das bewegliche Hindernis ein Möbelstück ist, wobei das Reinigungsgerät einen Speicher mit Referenzparametern von definierten Möbelstücken aufweist, und wobei die Recheneinrichtung eingerichtet ist, Parameter eines detektierten beweglichen Hindernisses mit den gespeicherten Referenzparametern zu vergleichen. Auf diese Art und Weise kann ein detektiertes Hindernis in Bezug auf seine Art identifiziert werden und dem Nutzer beispielsweise direkt eine Mitteilung übermittelt werden, die die Art des zu bewegenden Hindernisses wiedergibt. Die Mitteilung kann beispielsweise direkt einen Textbestandteil wie "Stuhl" enthalten, oder ein graphisch dargestelltes Stuhl-Symbol.It is further proposed that the movable obstacle is a piece of furniture, the cleaning device having a memory with reference parameters of defined pieces of furniture, and the computing device being set up to compare parameters of a detected movable obstacle with the stored reference parameters. In this way, a detected obstacle can be identified with regard to its type and a message can be sent directly to the user, for example, which reflects the type of obstacle to be moved. For example, the message can directly contain a text component such as "chair", or a graphically represented chair symbol.

Es wird des Weiteren vorgeschlagen, dass die Kommunikationsschnittstelle ausgebildet ist, die Mitteilung unmittelbar als optisches Signal oder akustisches Signal an einen Nutzer auszugeben oder die Mitteilung per drahtloser Datenkommunikation an ein mit dem Reinigungsgerät in Kommunikationsverbindung stehendes externes Endgerät des Nutzers zu übermitteln. Gemäß der erstgenannten Ausgestaltung verfügt die Kommunikationsschnittstelle des Reinigungsgerätes beispielsweise über ein Display oder einen Lautsprecher. Auf dem Display des Reinigungsgerätes kann dem Nutzer ein Bild oder ein das bewegliche Hindernis darstellendes Symbol dargestellt werden, oder alternativ ein Text, welcher das bewegliche Hindernis bezeichnet. Alternativ kann dem Nutzer auch ein akustisches Signal ausgegeben werden, beispielsweise in Form einer Sprachausgabe, die eine Aufforderung wie "Bitte den Stuhl nicht zurück an den Tisch stellen" enthält. Gemäß einer weiteren Ausführungsform kann die Kommunikationsschnittstelle des Reinigungsgerätes die Mitteilung an ein externes Endgerät des Nutzers übermitteln, beispielsweise an ein Mobiltelefon, einen Tablet-Computer, ein Laptop oder ähnliches. Die Datenübertragung erfolgt vorzugsweise drahtlos über ein Heimnetzwerk oder das Internet. Ein Display des mobilen Endgerätes kann genutzt werden, um dann einen Text, ein Bild und/oder ein Symbol anzuzeigen. Alternativ kann auch das mobile Endgerät eine entsprechende Sprachausgabe tätigen, die eine Mitteilung für den Nutzer enthält.It is also proposed that the communication interface be designed to output the notification directly to a user as an optical signal or acoustic signal or to output the notification via wireless data communication to a communication link with the cleaning device to transmit the user's standing external device. According to the first embodiment, the communication interface of the cleaning device has a display or a loudspeaker, for example. An image or a symbol representing the moving obstacle can be shown to the user on the display of the cleaning device, or alternatively text which describes the moving obstacle. Alternatively, the user can also be given an acoustic signal, for example in the form of a voice output that contains a request such as "Please do not put the chair back at the table". According to a further embodiment, the communication interface of the cleaning device can transmit the message to an external end device of the user, for example to a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a laptop or the like. The data is preferably transmitted wirelessly via a home network or the Internet. A display of the mobile terminal device can be used to then display text, an image and/or a symbol. Alternatively, the mobile terminal can also make a corresponding voice output that contains a message for the user.

Vorzugsweise ist die Hindernisdetektionseinrichtung des Reinigungsgerätes eingerichtet, auch ein Entfernen des beweglichen Hindernisses aus dem Umgebungsteilbereich zu erkennen und dann an die Recheneinrichtung zu melden, wobei die Recheneinrichtung eingerichtet ist, daraufhin eine Reinigung des Umgebungsteilbereiches zu steuern. Die Hindernisdetektionseinrichtung kann bei einer Reinigungsfahrt erneut Hindernisse in der Umgebung detektieren und eine entsprechende Information an die Recheneinrichtung übermitteln, wobei die Recheneinrichtung daraufhin bei einem Vergleich mit älteren Umgebungskarten feststellt, dass ein bewegliches Hindernis nicht mehr in dem betreffenden Umgebungsteilbereich vorhanden ist. Sodann kann die Recheneinrichtung das Reinigungsgerät so steuern, dass dieses an die bisherige Position des beweglichen Hindernisses verfährt und dort eine Reinigung ausführt. Besonders bevorzugt kann der Nutzer daraufhin über die Kommunikationsschnittstelle des Reinigungsgerätes eine Mitteilung erhalten, dass die entsprechende Position der Umgebung gereinigt wurde und der Nutzer das bewegliche Hindernis nun wieder an den gewünschten Ort zurückstellen kann.The obstacle detection device of the cleaning appliance is preferably set up to also detect removal of the movable obstacle from the partial area of the surrounding area and then to report this to the computing device, with the computing device being set up to then control cleaning of the partial area of the surrounding area. During a cleaning trip, the obstacle detection device can again detect obstacles in the area and transmit corresponding information to the computing device, with the computing device then determining in a comparison with older maps of the environment that a moving obstacle is no longer present in the relevant partial area of the environment. The computing device can then control the cleaning device in such a way that it moves to the previous position of the movable obstacle and carries out cleaning there. Particularly preferably, the user can then receive a message via the communication interface of the cleaning device that the corresponding position of the environment has been cleaned and the user can now put the movable obstacle back to the desired location.

Des Weiteren kann vorgesehen sein, dass die Recheneinrichtung eingerichtet ist, über die Kommunikationsschnittstelle des Reinigungsgerätes eine Information des Nutzers zu empfangen, dass das Hindernis aus dem Umgebungsteilbereich entfernt wurde, und daraufhin eine Reinigung des Umgebungsteilbereiches zu starten. Gemäß dieser Ausgestaltung muss das Reinigungsgerät bzw. dessen Hindernisdetektionseinrichtung nicht selbst detektieren, dass das bewegliche Hindernis entfernt wurde. Vielmehr macht der Nutzer eine entsprechende Eingabe über die Kommunikationsschnittstelle des Reinigungsgerätes, bevorzugt auch unter Zuhilfenahme eines externen Endgerätes. Die Recheneinrichtung des Reinigungsgerätes verarbeitet die Information des Nutzers dann so, dass die Reinigung des von dem beweglichen Hindernis freigeräumten Umgebungsteilbereiches ausgeführt wird. Sofern dies erledigt ist, kann dann auch wiederum eine entsprechende Mitteilung an den Nutzer ausgegeben werden.Furthermore, it can be provided that the computing device is set up to receive information from the user via the communication interface of the cleaning device that the obstacle has been removed from the surrounding partial area, and then to start cleaning the surrounding partial area. According to this refinement, the cleaning device or its obstacle detection device does not have to detect itself that the movable obstacle has been removed. Rather, the user makes a corresponding entry via the communication interface of the cleaning device, preferably also with the aid of an external terminal device. The arithmetic unit of the cleaning device then processes the information from the user in such a way that the partial area around the area cleared of the movable obstacle is cleaned. If this is done, a corresponding notification can then be issued to the user.

Kurze Beschreibung der ZeichnungenBrief description of the drawings

Im Folgenden wird die Erfindung anhand von Ausführungsbeispielen näher erläutert. Es zeigen:

Fig. 1
ein erfindungsgemäßes Reinigungsgerät;
Fig. 2
eine Umgebungskarte mit mehreren Umgebungsteilbereichen, die bewegliche und nicht bewegliche Hindernisse aufweisen;
Fig. 3
ein externes Endgerät eines Nutzers mit einem Display zur Anzeige von Mitteilungen.
The invention is explained in more detail below using exemplary embodiments. Show it:
1
a cleaning device according to the invention;
2
a map of the environment with a plurality of sub-regions of the environment, which have movable and non-movable obstacles;
3
an external end device of a user with a display for displaying messages.

Beschreibung der AusführungsformenDescription of the embodiments

Figur 1 zeigt ein Beispiel eines sich selbsttätig fortbewegenden Reinigungsgerätes 1. Das Reinigungsgerät 1 ist hier ein Saugroboter mit einem Reinigungselement 16 in der Form einer Reinigungsbürste, die sich um eine im Wesentlichen horizontale Achse dreht. Zur selbsttätigen Fortbewegung weist das Reinigungsgerät 1 Räder 15 sowie eine Antriebseinrichtung 2 für die Räder 15 auf, welche Antriebseinrichtung 2 einen nicht weiter dargestellten Elektromotor umfasst. Des Weiteren weist das Reinigungsgerät 1 eine Kommunikationsschnittstelle 3 zur drahtlosen Kommunikation mit einem externen Endgerät 14 (siehe Figur 3) auf. Über die Kommunikationsschnittstelle 3 kann das Reinigungsgerät 1 beispielsweise in ein Heimnetzwerk eingebunden sein oder auch mit dem Internet verbunden werden. Eine Hindernisdetektionseinrichtung 5 des Reinigungsgerätes 1 ist ausgebildet, Hindernisse 6, 7 in der Umgebung des Reinigungsgerätes 1 zu detektieren. Bei den Hindernissen 6, 7 kann es sich einerseits um ortsfeste Hindernisse 6 handeln, beispielsweise große Möbelstücke wie Schränke, Betten und dergleichen, und andererseits bewegliche Hindernisse 7, wie Kleinmöbel, unter anderem beispielsweise Stühle, Beistelltische und ähnliches. Die Hindernisdetektionseinrichtung 5 ist hier beispielsweise eine Abstandsmesseinrichtung, welche Abstände von dem Reinigungsgerät 1 zu den Hindernissen 6, 7 misst. Insbesondere kann die Hindernisdetektionseinrichtung 5 eine optische Messeinrichtung sein, beispielsweise eine Triangulationsmesseinrichtung, die in einem 360-Grad-Winkelbereich um die Hindernisdetektionseinrichtung 5 herum misst. Das Reinigungsgerät 1 verfügt über eine Recheneinrichtung 8, welche anhand der von der Hindernisdetektionseinrichtung 5 ermittelten Abstände eine Umgebungskarte 9 (siehe Figur 2) erstellen kann, die einen Grundriss der Umgebung darstellt. Der Grundriss entspricht hier einer Etage einer Wohnung oder eines Hauses mit mehreren Räumen, welche wiederum in Umgebungsteilbereiche 10, 11 unterteilt sind. Die Umgebungskarte 9 weist neben den Raumbegrenzungen auch die detektieren Hindernisse 6, 7 auf, sowie einen aktuellen Ort des Reinigungsgerätes 1. Anhand der Umgebungskarte 9 kann die Recheneinrichtung 8 die aktuelle Position des Reinigungsgerätes 1 erkennen und in der Umgebungskarte 9 fortlaufend aktualisieren. Mittels eines Schmutzsensors 12 kann das Reinigungsgerät 1 des Weiteren einen Verschmutzungszustand der Umgebung erkennen. Der Schmutzsensor 12 kann beispielsweise eine Kamera in Verbindung mit einer Bildverarbeitungssoftware aufweisen, welche anhand eines Bildvergleiches aktuelle Verschmutzungszustände als durchschnittlich, unterdurchschnittlich oder überdurchschnittlich erkennt. Andere Einteilungen können beispielsweise gering, mittel, hoch oder ähnliche sein. Die Recheneinrichtung 8 kann diese ermittelten Verschmutzungsgrade des Weiteren auch in die Umgebungskarte 9 eintragen. Ein Speicher 13 des Reinigungsgerätes 1 kann Bilder von Referenzverschmutzungsgraden aufweisen, mit welchen ein aktuell von dem Schmutzsensor 12 aufgenommenes Bild verglichen werden kann, um einen Verschmutzungsgrad zu ermitteln. Die Umgebungskarte 9 kann ebenfalls in dem Speicher 13 gespeichert sein. figure 1 1 shows an example of a self-moving cleaning device 1. The cleaning device 1 is here a vacuum robot with a cleaning element 16 in the form of a cleaning brush, which rotates about a substantially horizontal axis. For automatic locomotion, the cleaning device 1 has wheels 15 and a drive device 2 for the wheels 15, which drive device 2 comprises an electric motor (not shown). Furthermore, the cleaning device 1 has a communication interface 3 for wireless communication with an external end device 14 (see FIG figure 3 ) on. The cleaning device 1 can be integrated into a home network, for example, or also be connected to the Internet via the communication interface 3 . An obstacle detection device 5 of the cleaning device 1 is designed to detect obstacles 6 , 7 in the vicinity of the cleaning device 1 . The obstacles 6, 7 can be stationary obstacles 6, for example large pieces of furniture such as cupboards, beds and the like, and mobile obstacles 7, such as small furniture, including chairs, side tables and the like. The obstacle detection device 5 is here, for example, a distance measuring device which measures distances from the cleaning appliance 1 to the obstacles 6, 7. In particular, the obstacle detection device 5 can be an optical measuring device, for example a triangulation measuring device that measures in a 360-degree angular range around the obstacle detection device 5 . The cleaning appliance 1 has a computing device 8 which uses the distances determined by the obstacle detection device 5 to create a map of the surroundings 9 (see figure 2 ) that represents a floor plan of the environment. The floor plan corresponds here to a floor of an apartment or a house with several rooms, which in turn are divided into partial areas 10, 11. In addition to the room boundaries, the area map 9 also has the detected obstacles 6, 7 and a current location of the cleaning device 1. The computing device 8 can use the area map 9 to identify the current position of the cleaning device 1 and continuously update it in the area map 9. The cleaning device 1 can also use a dirt sensor 12 to detect a level of dirt in the environment. The dirt sensor 12 can, for example, have a camera in connection with image processing software, which uses an image comparison to identify current soiling conditions as average, below average or above average. Other classifications can be, for example, low, medium, high or the like. The computing device 8 can also enter these determined degrees of contamination in the map 9 of the surroundings. A memory 13 of the cleaning device 1 can have images of reference degrees of soiling, with which an image currently recorded by the dirt sensor 12 can be compared in order to determine a degree of soiling. The environment map 9 can also be stored in the memory 13 .

Figur 2 zeigt eine beispielhafte von dem Reinigungsgerät 1 erstellte Umgebungskarte 9. Diese Umgebungskarte 9 kann beispielsweise im Rahmen eines sogenannten SLAM-Verfahrens (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) erstellt sein. Dabei misst die Hindernisdetektionseinrichtung 5 des Reinigungsgerätes 1 fortlaufend Abstände zu Hindernissen 6, 7 in der Umgebung und erstellt daraus die Umgebungskarte 9, während sich das Reinigungsgerät 1 gleichzeitig anhand der bereits vorhandenen Teile der Umgebungskarte 9 lokalisiert und aktuell detektierte Hindernisdaten fortlaufend mit den in der Umgebungskarte 9 gespeicherten Daten abgleicht. Die Umgebungskarte 9 enthält hier lediglich beispielhaft eine Mehrzahl von Hindernissen 6, 7, wobei ortsfeste Hindernisse 6 (welcher der Nutzer üblicherweise nicht verlagert) zur besseren Veranschaulichung der Erfindung von beweglichen Hindernissen 7 (welche der Nutzer häufig verlagert) unterschieden werden. In der Umgebungskarte 9 sind mehrere Umgebungsteilbereiche 10, 11 markiert, wobei die Umgebungsteilbereiche 10 Bereiche der Umgebung darstellen, die ein bewegliches Hindernis 7 beinhalten und die Umgebungsteilbereiche 11 Bereiche der Umgebung kennzeichnen, an welchen der Schmutzsensor 12 des Reinigungsgerätes 1 einen gegenüber einer Referenz erhöhten Verschmutzungsgrad festgestellt hat. figure 2 12 shows an exemplary environment map 9 created by the cleaning device 1. This environment map 9 can be created, for example, as part of a so-called SLAM method (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping). The obstacle detection device 5 of the cleaning device 1 continuously measures distances to obstacles 6, 7 in the area and uses this to create the area map 9, while the cleaning device 1 simultaneously localizes itself using the already existing parts of the area map 9 and currently detected obstacle data continuously with the in the area map 9 stored data. The area map 9 contains here only an example of a plurality of obstacles 6, 7, where stationary obstacles 6 (which the user usually does not move) can be distinguished from movable obstacles 7 (which the user frequently moves) to better illustrate the invention. A plurality of partial environmental areas 10, 11 are marked in environmental map 9, environmental partial areas 10 representing areas of the environment that contain a moving obstacle 7 and environmental partial areas 11 identifying areas of the environment in which dirt sensor 12 of cleaning device 1 has an increased degree of soiling compared to a reference Has been established.

Die Figur 3 zeigt ein externes Endgerät 14 eines Nutzers des Reinigungsgerätes 1 in Form eines Mobiltelefons. Das externe Endgerät 14 weist in üblicher Art und Weise ein Display 17 auf, auf welchem dem Nutzer Mitteilungen 4 angezeigt werden. Hier zeigt das Display 17 eine Aufforderung an den Nutzer an, ein bestimmtes Hindernis 7 (Stuhl) von einem definierten Umgebungsteilbereich 10, 11 (Umgebung des Tisches) fernzuhalten.The figure 3 shows an external terminal 14 of a user of the cleaning device 1 in the form of a mobile phone. The external terminal 14 has a display 17 in the usual way, on which messages 4 are displayed to the user. Here the display 17 shows a request to the user to keep a specific obstacle 7 (chair) away from a defined partial area 10, 11 (surroundings of the table).

Die Erfindung im Rahmen einer möglichen Ausführungsform erfolgt nun so, dass das Reinigungsgerät 1 mittels seiner Recheneinrichtung 8 zunächst eine Umgebungskarte 9 der Umgebung erstellt. In dieser Umgebungskarte 9 werden, wie beispielhaft in Figur 2 dargestellt, Hindernisse 6, 7 vermerkt, die die Hindernisdetektionseinrichtung 5 des Reinigungsgerätes 1 während einer Erkundungs- oder Arbeitsfahrt ermittelt hat. Des Weiteren ermittelt das Reinigungsgerät 1 mittels seines Schmutzsensors 12 solche Umgebungsteilbereiche 11 der Umgebung, welche über einen Standardwert hinaus verschmutzt sind. Solche Umgebungsteilbereiche 11 befinden sich beispielsweise im Bereich kleinerer Möbelstücke, deren Umgebung das Reinigungsgerät 1 nicht vollständig reinigen kann. Umgebungsteilbereiche 11 mit solchen Hindernissen 7 sind beispielsweise Bereiche unter Stühlen, zwischen deren Stuhlbeinen das Reinigungsgerät 1 nicht hindurchfahren kann. In Folge dessen kann der Umgebungsteilbereich 11, in welchem sich dieses Hindernis 7 befindet, nicht optimal gereinigt werden. Kleinmöbel wie beispielsweise Stühle gehören zu den beweglichen Hindernissen 7, die durch einen Nutzer häufig hin und her getragen oder geschoben werden. Daher werden diese in der Umgebungskarte 9 als bewegliche Hindernisse 7 gekennzeichnet, im Gegensatz zu größeren, nicht mobilen Möbelstücken, die hier beispielhaft als Hindernisse 6 gekennzeichnet sind. Zu diesen nicht mobilen Möbelstücken gehören Küchenschränke, Sideboards, Betten und ähnliche.The invention within the scope of a possible embodiment now takes place in such a way that the cleaning appliance 1 first creates a map 9 of the surroundings using its computing device 8 . In this environment map 9, as shown by way of example in figure 2 shown, obstacles 6, 7 noted that the obstacle detection device 5 of the cleaning device 1 has determined during a reconnaissance or work trip. Furthermore, the cleaning device 1 uses its dirt sensor 12 to determine those partial areas 11 of the surroundings that are dirty beyond a standard value. Such subregions 11 of the surroundings are, for example, in the region of smaller pieces of furniture, the surroundings of which cannot be completely cleaned by the cleaning device 1 . Surrounding areas 11 with such obstacles 7 are, for example, areas under chairs, between the chair legs of which Cleaning device 1 cannot drive through. As a result, the partial area 11 in which this obstacle 7 is located cannot be optimally cleaned. Small pieces of furniture such as chairs are among the movable obstacles 7 that are frequently carried or pushed back and forth by a user. For this reason, these are marked as moving obstacles 7 in the environment map 9, in contrast to larger, non-mobile pieces of furniture, which are marked here as obstacles 6, for example. These non-mobile pieces of furniture include kitchen cabinets, sideboards, beds and the like.

Das Reinigungsgerät 1 erstellt mittels der Recheneinrichtung 8 auf der Basis der von der Hindernisdetektionseinrichtung 5 detektieren Hindernisse 6, 7 sowie den Detektionssignalen des Schmutzsensors 12 fortlaufend eine neue, aktuelle Umgebungskarte 9 und speichert diese vorzugsweise in dem Speicher 13. Nach jeder Erkundungsfahrt oder Reinigungsfahrt wird die erstellte Umgebungskarte 9 mit einer oder mehreren älteren Umgebungskarten 9 verglichen und in Bezug auf Ortsänderungen beweglicher Hindernisse 7 analysiert. Die Recheneinrichtung 8 kann durch den Vergleich zeitlich nacheinander aufgenommener Umgebungskarten 9 feststellen, dass ein bewegliches Hindernis 7 an eine andere Position innerhalb der Umgebung gestellt wurde. Ein solches bewegtes Hindernis 7 kann beispielsweise ein Stuhl sein, welcher zuvor an einer Essgruppe stand und anschließend in etwas anderer Position wieder zurückgestellt wurde, nachdem der Nutzer sich von dem Esstisch entfernt hat. Des Weiteren werden die zeitlich aufeinanderfolgend erstellten Umgebungskarten 9 auch in Bezug auf Umgebungsteilbereiche 11 analysiert, die Verschmutzungsgrade aufweisen, welche von einer Norm abweichen. Beispielsweise kann es sich um Umgebungsteilbereiche 11 handeln, welche gar nicht, unvollständig, inhomogen oder nur mit einem hohen Zeitaufwand gereinigt werden konnten.The cleaning device 1 uses the computing device 8 on the basis of the obstacles 6, 7 detected by the obstacle detection device 5 and the detection signals of the dirt sensor 12 to continuously create a new, up-to-date map of the area 9 and preferably stores this in the memory 13. After each reconnaissance trip or cleaning trip, the created environment map 9 compared with one or more older environment maps 9 and analyzed in relation to changes in location of moving obstacles 7. By comparing maps 9 of the surroundings recorded one after the other, the computing device 8 can determine that a movable obstacle 7 has been placed at a different position within the surroundings. Such a moving obstacle 7 can be, for example, a chair that was previously at a dining table and was then put back in a slightly different position after the user has moved away from the dining table. Furthermore, the maps 9 of the surroundings which are created in chronological succession are also analyzed in relation to sub-areas 11 of the surroundings which have degrees of pollution which deviate from a norm. For example, it can be a question of partial areas 11 of the surroundings which could not be cleaned at all, could be cleaned incompletely, inhomogeneously or only with great expenditure of time.

Anschließend vergleicht die Recheneinrichtung 8 die Positionen der detektierten Umgebungsteilbereiche 11 mit einem unvollständigen oder auf andere Art und Weise nicht optimalen Reinigungsergebnis und die Umgebungsteilbereiche 10, welche bewegliche Hindernisse 7 aufweisen. Wenn die Recheneinrichtung 8 feststellt, dass ein Umgebungsteilbereich 10, 11 der Erfindung sowohl zu den Umgebungsteilbereichen 10 mit beweglichen Hindernissen 7, als auch zu den Umgebungsteilbereichen 11 mit einer unvollständigen oder nicht optimalen Reinigung gehört, wird dieser in der Umgebungskarte 9 markiet. Durch einen Vergleich der Umgebungsteilbereiche 11, welche schlecht zu reinigen sind, mit den Umgebungsteilbereichen 10, welche Positionen von beweglichen Hindernissen 7 aufweisen, ermittelt die Recheneinrichtung 8 einen Lösungsvorschlag, der wie in Figur 3 dargestellt als Mitteilung 4 auf dem Display 17 des externen Endgerätes 14 des Nutzers ausgegeben wird. Hier wird die Mitteilung 4 "Bitte Stuhl nicht zurück an den Tisch stellen" ausgegeben, was den Nutzer dazu auffordert, das bewegliche Hindernis 7 "Stuhl" nach einer nächsten Nutzung nicht wieder zurück an die bisherige Position, nämlich nicht in den Umgebungsteilbereich 10 zu stellen. Dies kann dadurch erfolgen, dass der Nutzer den Stuhl beispielsweise nicht mehr in die Essgruppe zurückstellt bzw. an den Tisch heranrückt, sondern etwas abseits davon platziert. Dadurch, dass die beweglichen Hindernisse 7 somit gezielt bewegt werden, wird sichergestellt, dass alle Umgebungsteilbereiche 10, 11 der Umgebung gleichmäßig, regelmäßig und homogen gereinigt werden.The computing device 8 then compares the positions of the detected partial areas 11 of the surroundings with an incomplete cleaning result or one that is not optimal in some other way and the partial areas 10 of the surroundings which have movable obstacles 7 . If the computing device 8 determines that a sub-area 10, 11 of the invention belongs both to the sub-areas 10 with moving obstacles 7 and to the sub-areas 11 with incomplete or sub-optimal cleaning, this is marked in the area map 9. By comparing the partial areas 11 of the surroundings, which are difficult to clean, with the partial areas 10 of the surroundings, which have positions of movable obstacles 7, the computing device 8 determines a proposed solution which, as in figure 3 shown as a message 4 on the display 17 of the external terminal 14 of the user. Here the message 4 "Please do not put the chair back at the table" is issued, prompting the user not to put the movable obstacle 7 "chair" back in its previous position, namely not in the partial area 10, after the next use . This can be done in that the user no longer puts the chair back in the dining area or moves it closer to the table, but places it somewhat apart from it. The fact that the movable obstacles 7 are thus moved in a targeted manner ensures that all partial areas 10, 11 of the surroundings are cleaned evenly, regularly and homogeneously.

Im Gegensatz zu der in Figur 3 dargestellten Mitteilung 4 in Textform kann der Nutzer eine Mitteilung 4 auch in Form eines Bildes oder eines Icons erhalten, welches das zu bewegende Hindernis 7 darstellt. Zusätzlich kann beispielsweise auch ein Bild des Raumes dargestellt werden, welcher dieses bewegliche Hindernis 7 enthält. Das Bild selbst kann von einer Hindernisdetektionseinrichtung 5 des Reinigungsgerätes 1, insbesondere einer Kamera, erfasst worden sein. Alternativ zu der Ausgabe von Mitteilungen 4 auf einem externen Endgerät 14 kann auch das Reinigungsgerät 1 selbst ein Display 17 aufweisen, auf welchem dem Nutzer Mitteilungen 4 angezeigt werden. Des Weiteren kann auch die Kommunikationsschnittstelle 3 des Reinigungsgerätes 1 eine optische oder akustische Mitteilung 4 ausgeben, beispielsweise eine Sprachnachricht, ein an eine Wand projiziertes Signal oder ähnliches.In contrast to the in figure 3 message 4 shown in text form, the user can also receive a message 4 in the form of an image or an icon, which represents the obstacle 7 to be moved. In addition, for example, an image of the space containing this movable obstacle 7 can also be displayed. The image itself can have been captured by an obstacle detection device 5 of the cleaning device 1, in particular a camera. As an alternative to issuing messages 4 on an external Terminal 14 can also have cleaning device 1 itself a display 17 on which messages 4 are displayed to the user. Furthermore, the communication interface 3 of the cleaning device 1 can also output an optical or acoustic message 4, for example a voice message, a signal projected onto a wall or the like.

Nachdem der Nutzer die Mitteilung 4 empfangen hat und das bewegliche Hindernis 7 an einen Ort gestellt hat, welcher derzeit nicht durch das Reinigungsgerät 1 gereinigt wird, kann der Nutzer beispielsweise über ein berührungsempfindliches Display 17 des externen Endgerätes 14 eine Information an die Recheneinrichtung 8 des Reinigungsgerätes 1 übermitteln, dass das bewegliche Hindernis 7 aus dem zu reinigenden Umgebungsteilbereich 11 entfernt wurde. Sodann kann die Recheneinrichtung 8 eine Reinigung in dem jeweiligen Umgebungsteilbereich 11 starten. Alternativ kann das Reinigungsgerät 1 auch autonom, insbesondere unter der Mitwirkung seiner Hindernisdetektionseinrichtung 5, feststellen, dass das bewegliche Hindernis 7 aus dem Umgebungsteilbereich 11 entfernt wurde und dann entsprechend die Reinigung des Umgebungsteilbereiches 11 steuern.After the user has received the message 4 and has placed the movable obstacle 7 at a location which is not currently being cleaned by the cleaning device 1, the user can send information to the computing device 8 of the cleaning device, for example via a touch-sensitive display 17 of the external terminal device 14 1 transmit that the movable obstacle 7 has been removed from the partial area 11 of the surrounding area to be cleaned. The computing device 8 can then start cleaning in the respective partial area 11 of the surrounding area. Alternatively, the cleaning device 1 can also determine autonomously, in particular with the cooperation of its obstacle detection device 5, that the movable obstacle 7 has been removed from the partial area 11 of the surrounding area and then control the cleaning of the partial area 11 of the surrounding area accordingly.

Liste der BezugszeichenList of References

11
Reinigungsgerätcleaning device
22
Antriebseinrichtungdrive device
33
Kommunikationsschnittstellecommunication interface
44
Mitteilungcommunication
55
Hindernisdetektionseinrichtungobstacle detection device
66
Hindernisobstacle
77
Hindernisobstacle
88th
Recheneinrichtungcomputing device
99
Umgebungskarteenvironment map
1010
Umgebungsteilbereichsurrounding area
1111
Umgebungsteilbereichsurrounding area
1212
Schmutzsensordirt sensor
1313
SpeicherStorage
1414
Externes EndgerätExternal device
1515
Radwheel
1616
Reinigungselementcleaning element
1717
Displayscreen

Claims (8)

  1. Self-propelled cleaning device (1) having a drive device (2) for propelling the cleaning device (1) within an environment, a communication interface (3) for outputting a message (4) to a user of the cleaning device (1), an obstacle detection device (5) for detecting obstacles (6, 7) within the environment and a computing device (8) which is set up to generate an environment map (9) on the basis of the obstacles (6, 7) detected by the obstacle detection device (5) and to transmit control commands to the communication interface (3), wherein the computing device is further set up, on the one hand, to determine a first environment subarea (10, 11), in which a position of a moving obstacle (6, 7) changes repeatedly over time, and, on the other hand, to determine a second partial area (10, 11) of the environment which could only be cleaned incompletely, characterized in that the computing device (8) is set up to compare the position of the determined first environment subarea (10, 11) with the position of the determined second environment subarea (10, 11) and, if the positions correspond, to output a message (4) relating to the movable obstacle (6, 7) to a user of the cleaning device via the communication interface (3), the computing device (8) being set up to determine a temporally recurring change in position of the movable obstacle (6, 7) by comparing a plurality of successively generated environment maps (9), and wherein the message (4) contains a request to manually remove the obstacle (6, 7) from the defined environment subarea (10, 11), namely to relocate it to a specific location defined in the message (4), which location is outside the environment subarea (10) in which the position of the movable obstacle (6, 7) changes in a time-recurring manner.
  2. Cleaning device (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the cleaning device (1) has a dirt sensor (12) which is designed to determine a degree of contamination of an environment subarea (10,11).
  3. Cleaning device (1) according to claim 2, characterized in that the dirt sensor (12) comprises a camera with an associated image processing device or a particle sensor.
  4. Cleaning device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the message (4) contains a picture or a graphic representation of the moving obstacle (6, 7).
  5. Cleaning device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the movable obstacle (6, 7) is a piece of furniture, wherein the cleaning device (1) has a memory (13) with reference parameters of defined pieces of furniture, and wherein the computing device (8) is set up to compare parameters of a detected movable obstacle (6, 7) with the stored reference parameters.
  6. Cleaning device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the communication interface (3) is designed to output the message (4) directly as a visual signal or acoustic signal to a user or to transmit the message (4) by wireless data communication to an external terminal (14) of the user which is in communication with the cleaning device (1).
  7. Cleaning device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the obstacle detection device (5) is arranged to detect a removal of the movable obstacle (6, 7) from the environment subarea (10, 11) and to report this to the computing device (8), wherein the computing device (8) is arranged to thereupon control a cleaning of the environment subarea (10, 11).
  8. Cleaning device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the computing device (1) is set up to receive information from the user via the communication interface (3) of the cleaning device (1) that the obstacle (6, 7) has been removed from the environment subarea (10, 11) and thereupon to start cleaning of the environment subarea (10, 11).
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KR101856502B1 (en) * 2011-04-07 2018-05-11 엘지전자 주식회사 Robot cleaner, remote controlling system and method of the same
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US11400595B2 (en) * 2015-01-06 2022-08-02 Nexus Robotics Llc Robotic platform with area cleaning mode
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US11449061B2 (en) * 2016-02-29 2022-09-20 AI Incorporated Obstacle recognition method for autonomous robots
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DE102019101338A1 (en) 2019-01-18 2020-07-23 Vorwerk & Co. Interholding Gmbh System consisting of an exclusively manually operated soil tillage implement and an exclusively automatically operated soil tillage implement as well as a method for operating such a system
US11191407B2 (en) * 2019-01-31 2021-12-07 Irobot Corporation Cleaning of pet areas by autonomous cleaning robots
US11537141B2 (en) * 2019-12-19 2022-12-27 Diversey, Inc. Robotic cleaning device with dynamic area coverage

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