Cleaning machine with collision prevention
AssigneeIntellibot Robotics LLC
InventorsHenry L. Hillman, Jr., Erick Frack, Daniel M. Daly, David M. Knuth, Jr.
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A floor cleaning machine includes a set of obstacle sensors that detect when the machine is approaching an obstacle. If the obstacle is less than a threshold distance away from the machine, the machine may output an alert and override the operator's command with a command to reduce the speed of the machine. If the obstacle is less than a minimum threshold distance away from the machine, the machine may come to a complete stop to prevent the collision.
Claims19
A floor cleaning machine, comprising:
- a drive wheel;
- a motor that, in operation, causes the drive wheel to turn;
- a speed controller that controls the motor;
- one or more motion sensors that, in operation, detect a speed and a direction of movement of the machine;
- one or more obstacle sensors that, in operation, detect data representative of an object that is external to the machine;
- a processor;
- and
- a memory containing programming instructions that are configured to instruct the processor to:
- receive an operator command to drive the machine;
- receive the speed and direction of movement of the machine;
- receive the data representative of the object;
- use the speed measurement and direction of movement to determine whether the machine is expected to collide with the object;
- and
- in response to determining that the motor is expected to collide with the object, generate one or more instructions to override the operator command and reduce the speed of the machine.
A floor cleaning machine, comprising:
- a drive wheel;
- a motor that, in operation, causes the drive wheel to turn;
- a speed controller that controls the motor;
- one or more motion sensors that, in operation, detect a speed and a direction of movement of the machine;
- an obstacle sensor that, in operation, detects data representative of an object that is external to the machine;
- a processor;
- and
- a memory containing programming instructions that are configured to instruct the processor to:
- receive an operator command to drive the machine;
- receive, from the obstacle sensor, data representative of an object within a range of the sensor;
- determine that the direction of movement of the machine is consistent with a direction of the obstacle sensor;
- in response to determining that the direction of movement of the machine is consistent with the direction of the obstacle sensor and receiving the data representative of the object:
- generating an alert;
- determining a maximum speed for the machine;
- and
- issuing a command to a drive controller to override the operator command and reduce a speed of the machine to the determined maximum speed.
A method of operating a floor cleaning machine, comprising, by a processor of the machine:
- receiving an operator command to drive the machine;
- receive, from an obstacle sensor of the machine, data representative of an object within a range of the sensor;
- determining that a direction of movement of the machine is consistent with a direction of the obstacle sensor;
- in response to receiving the data representative of the object and determining that the direction of movement of the machine is consistent with the direction of the obstacle sensor:
- generating an alert;
- determining a maximum speed for the machine;
- and
- issuing a command to a drive controller to override the operator command and reduce a speed of the machine to the determined maximum speed.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.