Mobile Robot Area Cleaning
AssigneeiRobot Corporation
InventorJasper Vicenti
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A cleaning robot includes a chassis, a drive system connected to the chassis and configured to drive the robot, a signal generator and sensor carried by the chassis, and a controller in communication with the drive system and the sensor. The signal generator directs a signal toward the floor surface. The sensor is responsive to reflected signals from the floor surface. The controller controls the drive system to alter direction of the robot responsive to a reflected signal indicating an edge of the floor surface.
Claims21
A cleaning robot comprising:
- a chassis;
- a drive system connected to the chassis and configured to drive the robot across a floor surface;
- a signal generator carried by the chassis and arranged to direct a signal toward the floor surface;
- a sensor carried by the chassis and responsive to a reflection of the directed signal from the floor surface;
- and
- a controller in communication with the drive system and the sensor, the controller configured to control the drive system to alter direction of the robot in response to the sensor receiving a reflected signal indicating an edge of the floor surface, so as to keep the robot from crossing the floor surface edge.
A method of maneuvering an autonomous robot across a floor within a bounded area having at least one open edge, the method comprising:
- driving the robot across the floor while sensing a signal from the robot reflected by the floor and received at a sensor carried by the robot;
- while continuing to drive the robot, evaluating the reflected signal to determine whether a characteristic of the received reflected signal indicates that the robot is adjacent an open edge of the bounded area;
- and,
- in response to determining from the reflected signal that the robot is adjacent an open edge of the bounded area, altering a direction of robot motion such that the robot is directed away from the open edge.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.