Autonomous vacuum operation in response to dirt detection
AssigneeTti (Macao Commercial Offshore) Limited
InventorKevin L. Thomas
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An automated cleaning device includes a chassis, a controller operably connected to a drive assembly and configured to move the chassis within an area to be cleaned in repeated cleaning cycles, a cleaning unit carried by the chassis, a sensor configured to detect material drawn into the cleaning unit and provide a debris signal corresponding to an amount of material drawn into the cleaning unit, the controller being operably connected to the sensor and configured to generate a high-material indicator in response to the debris signal exceeding a predetermined debris threshold, and determining whether the autonomous cleaner is in a high traffic area when the chassis moves within the area to be cleaned based on locations of high-material indicators.
Claims16
An autonomous cleaner comprising:
- a chassis;
- a controller operably connected to a drive assembly and configured to move the chassis within an area to be cleaned in repeated cleaning cycles;
- a cleaning unit carried by the chassis, the controller being operably connected to the cleaning unit and configured to operate the cleaning unit in a first cleaning configuration and a second cleaning configuration;
- a sensor configured to detect material drawn into the cleaning unit and provide a debris signal corresponding to an amount of material drawn into the cleaning unit, the controller being operably connected to the sensor and configured to generate a high-material indicator in response to the debris signal exceeding a predetermined debris threshold;
- and
- an area sensing unit that is configured to map the area, the controller being operably connected to the area sensing unit and configured to determine the location of the autonomous cleaner in the area;
- the controller having a memory and an electronic processor, the controller configured to:
- store the location of the autonomous cleaner in the area where the high-material indicator was generated in each of a predetermined number of cleaning cycles;
- store high traffic area attributes based on locations of high-material indicators and configured to determine when the autonomous cleaner enters a high traffic area;
- and
- determine whether the autonomous cleaner is in a high traffic area when the chassis moves within the area to be cleaned.
A method of controlling an autonomous cleaner comprising:
- traveling in an area while performing a cleaning function;
- generating a map of the area and determining the location of the autonomous cleaner in the area while performing the cleaning function;
- detecting material drawn into a cleaning unit while performing the cleaning function;
- generating a high-material indicator in response to a quantity of material drawn into the cleaning unit exceeding a predetermined debris threshold;
- storing the location of the autonomous cleaner in the area where the high-material indicator was generated in each of a predetermined number of cleaning cycles;
- analyzing the location of the autonomous cleaner where the high-material indicators were generated in each of the predetermined number of cleaning cycles;
- identifying a region having the high-material indicator in each of the predetermined number of cleaning cycles as a high traffic area;
- determining high traffic area attributes based on locations of high-material indicators;
- and
- storing the high traffic area attributes based on locations of high-material indicators to facilitate determining when the autonomous cleaner enters the high traffic area.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.