ES2863236T3 - System and procedure for cleaning a floor with a cleaning robot - Google Patents

Abstract

System for cleaning a floor - with at least one cleaning robot (2), - with control means (50) for controlling the cleaning robot (2) and - with communication means (52, 54) to detect at least one environmental event, - the environmental event being an event determined from a database, in particular a meteorological event, or being an event determined by means of sensors, characterized - in that the control means (50) adjust the intensity of use of the cleaning robot (2), to clean at least part of the floor, depending on the environmental event, and - because the control means (50) adjust the intensity of use of the cleaning robot (2) by changing the frequency of cleaning.

Description

DESCRIPTION

System and procedure for cleaning a floor with a cleaning robot

The invention refers to a system with at least one cleaning robot, with control means to control the cleaning robot and with communication means to detect at least one environmental event, the environmental event being an event determined from a base data, in particular a meteorological event, or an event determined by means of sensors, and to a method for cleaning a floor with at least one cleaning robot.

Cleaning robots are known as robotic units that move and navigate independently, in the form of robot vacuum cleaners, robot sweepers, and robot cleaners. For this, such cleaning robots are equipped with electrically operated suction-blowing units and / or electric motor-driven brushes and / or bristle rollers and / or cleaning elements, as well as a dust and dirt collection compartment.

The cleaning robots are capable of cleaning dust and coarse material independently by means of a suction air current and, if necessary, with the help of a mechanical brush, hard floors such as parquet, laminate, wooden floors. tiles or stone floors, as well as textile floor coverings. Sweeping robots, on the other hand, clean the floor in a purely mechanical way with brushes and collection containers without using a suction air stream. In the case of robot cleaners, a cleaning element that moves with high frequency is usually added that uses a cleaning agent, usually water-based, to collect dirt from the floor.

For the movement of the cleaning robot on a floor, at least one motor agent is provided to drive at least one of three wheels. Two electric motors are normally provided which drive two drive wheels independently of each other, a third wheel being provided to stabilize the cleaning robot.

Furthermore, known cleaning robots have at least one sensor, in particular several sensors for examining the space surrounding the cleaning robot. Through the sensors, the robot cleaner can detect the environment and the robot cleaner can navigate widely without contact with walls or objects.

The power supply of the cleaning robot for the operation of the electrical components, in particular the electric motors, the sensors and a control, is carried out by means of accumulators. To charge the accumulators and, if necessary, also to remove dirt or debris collected in a container inside the device, a stationary base station is associated with the cleaning robot, which is connected to the domestic electrical network.

The cleaning robots find the base station in an automated way, for example with the aid of a radio guide and / or a light signal or also a radio communication between the base station and the cleaning robot. The search command of the base station can be done automatically, for example, via radio communication between the base station and the cleaning robot. In the same way, the cleaning robot itself can be directed to the base station depending on the filling level of the dirt container of the appliance and / or the charge level of the accumulators. In addition, the robot cleaner can automatically go to the base station after a job is finished, for example cleaning a specific area of the floor.

The cleaning robots have control means that control the actions of the cleaning robot described above. The control means are configured as computer means with a data processing unit that controls the actions of the cleaning robot on the basis of input signals and / or stored data.

Cleaning robots can be programmed in such a way that the cleaning robot performs cleaning at predetermined times. Also, the robot cleaner can be started manually. In addition, it is possible to predefine a specific spatial area in which cleaning is to be carried out. This spatial zone can be the entire navigable space zone or just a part. The use of this cleaning robot can also be controlled only on the basis of data entered by the user.

From document WO 2016/080727 A1 subsequently published, a system for cleaning a floor with control means is known, the control means operating a cleaning robot based on meteorological information from a server. For example, if a dust warning is received, the control means can increase the suction intensity of the robot cleaner. If only a small amount of dust is advertised, the control means can reduce the suction intensity of the robot cleaner.

Therefore, the present invention is based on the technical problem of designing a system and a procedure for cleaning a floor with a cleaning robot in a more flexible way and with improved cleaning results.

The aforementioned technical problem is solved according to the invention by a system mentioned at the beginning for cleaning a floor, by means of which the control means adjust the intensity of use of the cleaning robot to clean at least a part of the floor depending on the environmental event and through which the media Controllers adjust the intensity of robot cleaner use by changing the cleaning frequency.

In this way, a system is indicated that can not only react to a person's manual commands, be it for a single action or a temporary programming, but can also react automatically when at least one predefined internal or external environmental event occurs. If a predefined environmental event occurs, the system automatically reacts according to the guidelines and controls the robot cleaner in such a way that at least a part of the floor surface is cleaned.

There are different ways for the system to determine the environmental event. The environmental event can be of different types, internal or external, through an electronic network or detected in situ with sensors.

A first design of the system consists of the media determining the environmental event as a meteorological event from an external meteorological database. To do this, the media establish a connection with a network, local or Internet, and determine the current meteorological data or the meteorological data of a forecast as environmental data. These data can refer in particular to the outside temperature, to precipitation events such as rain or snow or also to dry events such as sun, atmospheric pressure and / or humidity. All these data, individually or in combination with each other, result in environmental data that the system evaluates to determine whether or not additional cleaning is required by means of the robot cleaner.

In this regard, the media can record the number, duration and / or intensity of a precipitation event as intensity. Precipitation events, in particular, lead to increased fouling of a space and may require more frequent cleaning of the floor.

Alternatively or additionally, the communication means may determine the environmental event by at least one external sensor. To do this, the corresponding sensors are placed in the open air outside the space, which generate the measurement data to determine an environmental event in the form of meteorological data. In particular, the sensors can measure local meteorological data, such as the outdoor temperature and / or the amount of precipitation in the outdoor area, and transmit the measured data to the system via data transmission.

Furthermore, at least one internal sensor can also be arranged inside and, for example, detect the interior temperature or the state of the underfloor heating. Depending on whether the underfloor heating is switched on or off or depending on the set temperature it can be deduced, for example, if the space is used and with what intensity.

Another way to collect environmental data is to record the number of people in the area to be cleaned and thus determine the need for additional cleaning processes. In particular, people and other living beings (pets) can be registered by means of motion sensors and / or by means of at least one camera or by analyzing activities in local data networks or by means of information from a home automation system. Animals can also be registered using identification chips. Additionally, moving elements can be detected and, from their movement profile, the presence of furniture, pets or people can be deduced.

The cleaning robot perceives moving elements, for example, through its sensors, in such a way that, taking into account its own movement in space, the environmental data recorded by the sensor continuously perceives a change in the location of a element previously identified as a wall or obstacle. This change of location can be an indication of the presence of a living being moved by itself or by another person, or a movement of inert objects such as furniture, carried out automatically or by external action. An additional interpretation of the sensor data by the cleaning robot can allow conclusions to be drawn about certain living beings, objects and / or furniture by evaluating characteristic movement profiles, so that the environmental data obtained in this way allows to establish a cleaning behavior of the robot cleaner that adapts to the current situation.

Another embodiment of the present invention is for the media to record the environmental event as a calendar entry of an external electronic calendar. In this regard, environmental events can be recorded and identified by searching for certain terms such as "party", "visit", etc. Such an environmental event is a circumstance in which at least a part of the space to be cleaned is dirtier and therefore requires additional cleaning.

Once the environmental event is registered, the control means determine whether the cleaning robot should be used additionally and to what extent. Therefore, the control means is provided to adjust the intensity of use of the cleaning robot by changing the cleaning frequency. Preferably, it is further provided that the control means adjust the intensity of use of the cleaning robot by changing the cleaning intensity. Adjustment parameters can be the number of cleaning cycles, including a higher frequency in certain areas of the home, such as corridor areas, the type of cleaning, i.e. sweeping, vacuuming and / or scrubbing, and / or the area of use, that is, cleaning of a room or cleaning of several rooms or a single pass or several passes.

In addition, if the recorded environmental event means that a person or an animal is present in the space that is going to clean, the space can be set not to be cleaned or only cleaned in Eco mode with a reduced volume.

Furthermore, the operating mode of the cleaning robot can be adapted according to the determined environmental event, for example, the speed of rotation of the brush, the running speed, the pressure on the cleaning roller, drying or post-drying, the activation of the side brushes or the selection of the type of side cleaning units, the selection of the amount of water for damp or wet cleaning and / or the type and amount of cleaning agent.

The system may be configured in such a way that the communication means are arranged with the data record in the cleaning robot and connected to the control means, and that the communication means are connected to a network by means of a connection path. wireless communication. This means that the robot cleaner has all the data recording and the control itself on board. Therefore, such a system can be used with a high degree of autonomy.

Alternatively, the data record communication means can be arranged outside the cleaning robot and connected to a network and the communication means can be connected to the control means via a wireless communication path. In this case, the system could have more than one cleaning robot that in all cases receive the important information for control by means of the same communication means. Thus, the control means, including a data processing unit integrated therein, can be implemented in a base station or in an external appliance or server. The data processing unit can correspondingly control the cleaning apparatus via a wireless data connection. A distributed implementation in different components is also possible.

The technical problem presented above is also solved by a procedure for cleaning a floor with a cleaning robot in which at least one environmental event is detected, in which the intensity of the use of the cleaning robot to clean at least a part of the floor is adjusted based on the intensity of at least one environmental event and in which the intensity of the use of the robot cleaner is adjusted by changing the frequency of cleaning.

This procedure and the designs thereof described below have the same properties and benefits as previously described for the system. For this reason, it refers to the previous description.

The procedure described can be further refined by a development

- in which the at least one environmental event is determined from a database or through sensors and / or - in which a meteorological event is determined as an environmental event and / or

- in which the intensity of a meteorological event is recorded as the number, duration and / or intensity of a precipitation event and / or

- in which the intensity of use of the robot cleaner is adjusted by changing the intensity of the cleaning.

The invention is described below on the basis of exemplary embodiments in conjunction with the drawing. In the drawing they show:

Figure 1 shows an embodiment of a cleaning robot according to the invention in a perspective view from above,

Figure 2 shows the cleaning robot represented in Figure 1 in a perspective view from below and

Figure 3 shows a system for cleaning a floor according to the invention.

In Figures 1 and 2, a cleaning robot according to the invention is presented in the form of a robot vacuum cleaner 2. The robot vacuum cleaner 2 has a housing 4, a chassis 6 arranged in the lower part of the housing 4, a system sensors 8 to register the environment of the casing 4 and a control to automatically actuate the chassis 6.

The chassis 6 is arranged on the underside of the casing 4 and faces the floor surface to be cleaned. The chassis 6 has two motor-driven travel wheels 10 and one driven wheel 11, such that a three-point bearing of the floor cleaning robot 2 is obtained on the floor surface to be cleaned. By means of the different control of the two displacement wheels 10, the robot vacuum cleaner 2 can move in any direction, making a forward displacement in the direction of the arrow r according to figure 1. Likewise, a rotation on the site is possible. , as well as a backward displacement against the direction of the arrow r.

As can be seen in particular from FIG. 2, in the lower part of the housing 4, within a suction opening 14, an electric motor-driven brush 12 is arranged protruding from the lower edge. Furthermore, a suction fan motor (not shown) is provided which is also electrically driven. A shovel-like chute 16 is also provided by means of which the brushed dirt particles are transported to a container-like housing not shown.

The electrical supply of the individual components of the suction cleaning robot 2, that is, of the electric motor of the displacement wheels 10, of the electric drive of the brush 12, of the suction fan and of the other electronic control system, is carried out by means of a rechargeable battery not shown.

In order to be able to detect the environment, spatial limits and, if necessary, obstacles, and, in particular, to prevent the robot vacuum cleaner 2 from jamming, the already mentioned sensor system 8 is provided, which is configured for sensory detection of obstacles. It is made up of an optical transmitter unit and an optical receiver unit, which in both cases are integrated into the sensor system 8 shown in FIG. 1. The sensor system 8 is rotatably arranged in the present embodiment around a vertical axis x of the housing 4, as represented by the arrow c in figure 1. There are other sensors 20, 22 and 24 that are designed as ultrasonic sensors and / or infrared sensors. In addition, a screen 26 is provided which shows information for the user and, if necessary, serves as an aid for the input of operating commands.

Figure 3 shows a system according to the invention for cleaning a floor with at least one cleaning robot 2, which can be configured, for example, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, as a robot vacuum cleaner, in the Example environment of a house 30 with two rooms 32 and 34. Figure 3 shows a plan view of the house with walls 36, entrance door 38 and room door 39 and window 40.

In room 32 a robot vacuum cleaner 2 is arranged which is connected to a base station 42 for recharging at least one accumulator 44 provided in the robot vacuum cleaner 2. The base station 42 is positioned in this respect in room 32 and connected to a socket 46 for the power supply.

The robot vacuum cleaner 2 has control means 50 for controlling the robot vacuum cleaner 2 and communication means 52 for registering at least one phenomenon with high contamination of at least one part of the floor. The communication means 52 have as communication agent 54 a transmitting and receiving device for wireless communication with a transmitting and receiving device arranged in the room 32. In this case, the wireless communication is preferably carried out according to a standardized method such as WLAN or bluetooth.

Furthermore, the communication means 52 can also present a mobile telephone equipment, such that communication means 54 are not necessary.

The communication means 52 and, where appropriate, 54 can be connected by cable or wirelessly to a local or external network, in particular to the Internet, to collect information on environmental events.

The control means 50 are connected to the communication means 52 and use this connection to determine the environmental event from a database, in particular, a meteorological event, and the control means 50 establish the intensity of use of the robot cleaning 2 to clean at least a part of the floor depending on the environmental event.

Preferably, the communication means 52, 54 determine the environmental event as a meteorological event from an external meteorological database, determining, in particular, the meteorological phenomena in the form of outside temperature, the weather forecast, rain or snow or sun. , as well as atmospheric pressure and / or humidity. In this regard, the communication means 52, 54 can record the number, duration and / or intensity of a precipitation event as intensity.

In a further design, the environmental event is an event determined by means of sensors, with the external sensors 60 or internal sensors 62 detecting the environmental event as measurement data. The external sensors 60 are placed, for example, in a weather station 64 outside the home, the weather station 64 presenting a communication agent 66 for wireless data transmission. The internal sensor 62 is integrated, for example, in the housing of the communication agent 54.

The external sensors 60 in the weather station 64 can be used to measure environmental data such as the outside temperature and / or the amount of precipitation. Internal sensors can be used, for example, to determine the internal temperature (temperature sensor) or the number of people in the cleaning area (motion sensor).

The communication means 52, 54 are also suitable for recording the environmental event as a calendar entry of an external electronic calendar. In this case, the ambient event type is inferred from default terms such as "party", "visit", and so on.

The control means 50 adjusts the intensity of use of the cleaning robot 2 by changing the frequency and preferably the intensity of the cleaning. Suitable parameters are available in this regard:

- the number of cleaning cycles by changing the frequency in certain areas of the home, such as the hallway area, - the type of cleaning with the distinction between dry and wet cleaning,

- activation of one-room cleaning or multi-room cleaning,

- the cleaning control depending on whether there is a person or an animal in the room, if necessary, the room is not cleaned or only in Eco mode with reduced volume,

- the adjustment of the operating mode by changing the speed of rotation of the brush, the running speed, the pressure on the cleaning roller, drying or post-drying, the activation of the side brushes or the selection of the type of cleaning units side,

- adjusting the amount of water for damp or wet cleaning and / or

- the selection of the cleaning agent based on the type and / or quantity).

Claims (13)

1. System for cleaning a floor - with at least one cleaning robot (2), - with control means (50) for controlling the cleaning robot (2) and - with means of communication (52, 54) to detect at least one environmental event, - the environmental event being an event determined from a database, in particular a meteorological event, or being an event determined by means of sensors, characterized - because the control means (50) adjust the intensity of use of the cleaning robot (2), to clean at least part of the floor, depending on the environmental event, and - because the control means (50) adjust the intensity of use of the cleaning robot (2) by changing the cleaning frequency. 2. System according to claim 1, characterized by what the media (52, 54) determine the environmental event as a meteorological event from an external meteorological database. 3. System according to claim 2, characterized the communication media (52, 54) detect as intensity of meteorological events the number, duration and / or intensity of a precipitation event. 4. System according to claim 1, characterized by what the communication means (52, 54) determine the environmental event by means of at least one external sensor or one internal sensor (60, 62). 5. System according to claim 1, characterized by what the media (52, 54) detect the environmental event as a calendar entry from an external electronic calendar. System according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized by what The control means (50) adjusts the intensity of use of the cleaning robot (2) by changing the intensity of the cleaning. 7. System according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized by what The communication means (52) are arranged in the cleaning robot (2) and are connected to the control means (50) and because the communication media (52) is connected via a wireless communication path to a network. 8. System according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized by what the communication means (54) are arranged outside the cleaning robot (2) and are connected to a network and because the communication means (54) are connected to the control means (50) by means of a communication path wireless. 9. Procedure for cleaning a floor with a robot cleaner, - in which at least one environmental event is detected, - in which the intensity of the use of the cleaning robot for cleaning at least a part of the floor is adjusted according to the intensity of at least one environmental event and - in which the intensity of use of the robot cleaner is adjusted by changing the frequency of cleaning. 10. Method according to claim 9, wherein the at least one environmental event is determined from a database or by sensors. 11. Method according to claims 9 or 10, in which a meteorological event is determined as an environmental event. 12. Method according to claim 11, in which the intensity of a meteorological event is recorded as the number, duration and / or intensity of a precipitation event. Method according to one of claims 9 to 12, wherein the intensity of use of the robot cleaner is adjusted by changing the intensity of the cleaning.