Automatically moving robotic vacuum cleaner as well as system comprised of an automatically moving robotic vacuum cleaner robot and an external vacuum cleaning apparatus

Abstract

An automatically moving robotic vacuum cleaner has a housing and a filter chamber for receiving suction material. The housing has a housing opening that is formed on the upper side of the housing and has a displaceable sealing element, which can be displaced from a closed position that closes the housing opening into a released position that releases the housing opening, so as to enable access to the filter chamber. The closure element can be mounted on the housing in a linearly movable manner. There is a detection device that is set up to detect the presence of an external vacuum cleaning apparatus to be connected with the housing opening in the area of the housing opening of the robotic vacuum cleaner. The robotic vacuum cleaner also has a control device that is set up to control an opening of the housing opening upon detection of the external vacuum cleaning apparatus.

Claims

1. An automatically moving robotic vacuum cleaner comprising: a housing having a housing opening that is formed on an upper side of the housing relative to a usual orientation of the robotic vacuum cleaner during an automatic movement, a filter chamber disposed in the housing and being configured for receiving suction material, a displaceable closure element mounted on the housing in a linearly movable manner, the closure element being configured to be displaced from a closed position that closes the housing opening into a released position that releases the housing opening, so as to enable access to the filter chamber for vacuuming out of an interior of the filter chamber by means of an external vacuum cleaning apparatus manually guided by the user, wherein an engagement area of the closure element for shifting the closure element from outside of the housing is mechanically contactable, a detection device disposed in an area of the housing opening and being configured to detect the presence of the external vacuum cleaning apparatus to be connected with the housing opening, and a control device that is configured to control an opening of the housing opening if the presence of the external vacuum cleaning apparatus is detected, wherein the control device is configured to initiate the displacement of the closure element into the released position via a movement of the robotic vacuum cleaner against the external vacuum cleaning apparatus, so that the closure element is displaced into an open position through exposure to a mechanical force of the external vacuum cleaning apparatus.

2. The robotic vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, further comprising a guiding device configured for guiding a sliding displacement of the closure element, wherein the guiding device is arranged on the robotic vacuum cleaner relative to the housing opening in such a way that the closure element can be shifted along the guiding device from the closed position into the released position and vice versa.

3. The robotic vacuum cleaner according to claim 2, wherein the guiding device has two guiding elements that run parallel to each other, along and between which the closure element is slidably mounted, wherein the guiding elements are part of a slotted guide or rail guide.

4. The robotic vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, further comprising a displacement device that displaces the closure element.

5. The robotic vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the detection device has a contact sensor or a magnetic field sensor or an imaging device.

6. The robotic vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the detection device is configured to recognize a position and/or orientation of the external vacuum cleaning apparatus relative to the housing opening of the robotic vacuum cleaner.

7. The robotic vacuum cleaner according to claim 6, wherein the control device is configured to control a movement of the robotic vacuum cleaner relative to the external vacuum cleaning apparatus as a function of a detection signal of the detection device in such a way that the housing opening comes into contact with the external vacuum cleaning apparatus so as to establish a flow connection between the filter chamber of the robotic vacuum cleaner and a suction opening of the external vacuum cleaning apparatus.

8. A system comprised of an automatically moving robotic vacuum cleaner according to claim 1 and the external vacuum cleaning apparatus configured to be manually guided by a user, wherein the housing opening of the robotic vacuum cleaner and a correspondingly shaped suction opening of the vacuum cleaning apparatus are configured to be connected with each other in such a way that the filter chamber of the robotic vacuum cleaner can be vacuumed out by means of the vacuum cleaning apparatus.

9. The system according to claim 8, wherein the closure element of the robotic vacuum cleaner can be moved from the closed position into the released position by means of a partial area of the vacuum cleaning apparatus having the suction opening.

10. The system according to claim 9, wherein the robotic vacuum cleaner has a guiding device, which is designed both for guiding the closure element and for guiding the partial area of the vacuum cleaning apparatus having the suction opening.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Other objects and features of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings are designed as an illustration only and not as a definition of the limits of the invention.

(2) In the drawings,

(3) FIG. 1 shows a robotic vacuum cleaner according to the invention with a closure element in a closed position;

(4) FIG. 2 shows the robotic vacuum cleaner according to FIG. 1 with the closure element in a released position;

(5) FIG. 3 shows a system comprised of the robotic vacuum cleaner depicted on FIGS. 1 and 2 and an external vacuum cleaning apparatus in a first position; and

(6) FIG. 4 shows the system according to FIG. 3 in a second position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

(7) FIG. 1 shows an example of a robotic vacuum cleaner 1, which is designed for automatic movement. To this end, the robotic vacuum cleaner 1 conventionally has motor-driven wheels 16 (see FIGS. 3 and 4) and a navigation device, by means of which the robotic vacuum cleaner 1 can orient and localize itself in an environment. For this purpose, the robotic vacuum cleaner 1 has a distance measuring device 13, for example which can be a laser triangulation measuring device. Based on the determined distance values, the robotic vacuum cleaner 1 generates an area map, which the robotic vacuum cleaner 1 can use to plan a traveling path in the environment or localize itself.

(8) While the robotic vacuum cleaner 1 has a suction device, other cleaning functions can also be integrated, for example an additional mopping function. The suction device has a fan and an electric motor (not shown) that drives the fan, which can draw suction material from a surface to be cleaned into a filter chamber 3 of the robotic vacuum cleaner 1. The robotic vacuum cleaner 1 further has several cleaning elements 17 for acting on a floor surface to be cleaned, here for example a rotating side brush and a bristle roller that rotates around an essentially horizontal axis. A switch 15 of the robotic vacuum cleaner 1 is used to turn on the suction device and/or cleaning elements 17 of the robotic vacuum cleaner 1, so as to start a conventional cleaning operation. In order to avoid a collision with obstacles in the environment, the robotic vacuum cleaner 1 further has obstacle sensors 14, for example ultrasound sensors, which relative to a conventional forward motion of the robotic vacuum cleaner 1 are arranged at the front on a housing 2 of the robotic vacuum cleaner 1.

(9) Formed on the upper side of the housing 2 is a housing opening 4 (see FIG. 2), which simultaneously opens the filter chamber 3. A flow connection can exist between the housing opening 4 and filter chamber 3, for example by way of a suction channel section, or the housing opening 4 can simultaneously be a filter chamber opening of the filter chamber 3, so that when the housing opening 4 is being opened, the filter chamber 3 is opened, and suction material can simultaneously be vacuumed out of the filter chamber 3.

(10) A closure element 5 is allocated to housing opening 4 of the robotic vacuum cleaner 1. Closure element 5 is mounted on the housing 2 in a linearly movable manner. The closure element 5 is here movably mounted via a guiding device 7 in such a way that the closure element 5 can be displaced from the closed position shown on FIG. 1 into the released position shown on FIG. 2. For example, the guiding device 7 here has two oblong guiding elements 8, which extend parallel to each other and form guiding rails for the closure element 5. The closure element 5 has allocated to it a displacement device 10, here for example a spring element, the restoring force of which is directed in the direction of the closed position of the closure element shown on FIG. 1. However, the displacement device 10 can also be an actuator, for example a linear drive with an electric motor or the like, which can displace the closure element 5 into the closed position, and possibly also into the released position. Also defined on the closure element 5 is an engagement area 20, which according to the embodiment shown here corresponds to a lateral edge of the closure element 5. The function of the engagement area 20 will be explained later. A detection device 9 is also allocated to the housing opening 4 of the robotic vacuum cleaner 1.

(11) FIGS. 3 and 4 show the robotic vacuum cleaner 1 with an external vacuum cleaning apparatus 6. For example, the vacuum cleaning apparatus 6 is here designed as a manually guided vacuum cleaner. The vacuum cleaning apparatus 6 has a stalk 18, with which the user can guide the vacuum cleaning apparatus 6 over a surface to be cleaned. The vacuum cleaning apparatus 6 further has a conventional suction fan with an electric motor, so that suction material can be collected in a separate filter chamber (not shown). A chamber cover 19 is formed on the housing of the vacuum cleaning apparatus 6, so that the filter chamber or a filter bag can be removed from the vacuum cleaning apparatus 6. A partial area 12 of the vacuum cleaning apparatus 6 has a suction opening 11, at which the fan generates a vacuum. In the system shown, the suction opening 11 is designed so as to correspond in terms of shape to the housing opening 4 of the robotic vacuum cleaner 1, so that the suction opening 11 or the partial area 12 can be connected with the housing opening 4 of the robotic vacuum cleaner 1 in order to vacuum out the filter chamber 3 of the robotic vacuum cleaner 1.

(12) If a user of the robotic vacuum cleaner—or preferably the robotic vacuum cleaner 1 autonomously—recognizes that the filter chamber 3 of the robotic vacuum cleaner 1 should be regenerated, the user guides the external vacuum cleaning apparatus 6 toward the robotic vacuum cleaner 1, specifically into the area of the housing opening 4, with which the partial area 12 of the vacuum cleaning apparatus 6 having the suction opening 11 is to be connected.

(13) In a possible embodiment, for example, the detection device 9 of the robotic vacuum cleaner 1 can be designed as an imaging device, and recognize when an external vacuum cleaning apparatus 6 is approaching the housing opening 4 of the robotic vacuum cleaner 1. A control device of the robotic vacuum cleaner 1 can then activate a displacement device 10, specifically in particular an electric motor, so as to displace the closure element 5 inside of the guiding device 7 from a closed position into a released position, until the housing opening 4 is open for connecting the suction opening 11 of the vacuum cleaning apparatus 6 with the housing 2 of the robotic vacuum cleaner 1 or its filter chamber 3. The filter chamber 3 can then be regenerated by means of the fan of the vacuum cleaning apparatus 6. As soon as the user has once again removed the vacuum cleaning apparatus 6 from the housing opening 4 of the robotic vacuum cleaner 1, the displacement device 10 and/or a spring element acts in the direction of a restoring force, until the closure element 5 has been displaced over the housing opening 4, thereby closing the latter.

(14) An alternative embodiment can provide that it not be the user who connects the partial area of the robotic vacuum cleaner 6 with the housing opening 4 of the robotic vacuum cleaner 1, but rather that the robotic vacuum cleaner 1 itself maneuver in such a way relative to the external vacuum cleaning apparatus 6 that the housing opening 4 lies under the suction opening 11 of the external vacuuming apparatus 6 or comes into contact with the latter. The housing opening 4 was preferably already opened automatically beforehand, so that a flow connection can be directly established between the robotic vacuum cleaner 1 and the vacuum cleaning apparatus 6.

(15) In another possible embodiment, the robotic vacuum cleaner 1 and external vacuum cleaning apparatus 6 are connected with each other fully automatically, without a user holding the vacuum cleaning apparatus 6 having to finely adjust the vacuum cleaning apparatus 6 by hand relative to the housing opening 4 of the robotic vacuum cleaner 1. According to this variant, the user guides the vacuum cleaning apparatus 6 up to the robotic vacuum cleaner 1, for example as shown on FIG. 3, until the partial area 12 having the suction opening 11 contacts the detection device 9, e.g., here specifically a contact sensor. For example, the detection device 9 has an electromechanical switch, which is activated by the partial area 12 of the vacuum cleaning apparatus 6 in such a way as to close an electrical circuit, whereupon the control device of the robotic vacuum cleaner 1 then controls the movement relative to the vacuum cleaning apparatus 6. The partial area 12 of the vacuum cleaning apparatus 6 is here located between the guiding elements 8 of the guiding device 7 of the robotic vacuum cleaner 1. The contact signal of the detection device 9 is transmitted to the control device of the robotic vacuum cleaner 1, which thereupon transmits a navigation command to the robotic vacuum cleaner 1 in such a way as to control a defined movement of the robotic vacuum cleaner 1 that is suitable to bring the housing opening 4 of the robotic vacuum cleaner 1 and the suction opening 11 of the vacuum cleaning apparatus 6 toward each other. The movement of the robotic vacuum cleaner 1 is here controlled in such a way that the engagement area 20 of the closure element 5 of the robotic vacuum cleaner 1 bumps against the partial area 12 of the vacuum cleaning apparatus 6, and given a continued movement of the robotic vacuum cleaner 1 is displaced from the closed position depicted on FIG. 3 into the released position depicted on FIG. 4. The closure element 5 is here displaced into the released position parallel to the longitudinal extension of the guiding elements 8 of the guiding device 7, while the partial area 12 of the vacuum cleaning apparatus 6 likewise changes its position inside of the guiding device 7 until the suction opening 11 comes into contact with the housing opening 4 of the robotic vacuum cleaner 1. For example, the closure element 5 is displaced against a restoring force of a displacement device 10 designed like a spring element. In this way, the spring element is tensioned, and once the vacuum cleaning apparatus 6 has been separated from the robotic vacuum cleaner 1 can be again displaced into the closed position. The guiding geometry of the guiding device 7 provides a deepened guiding area, so that the user cannot slip from the robotic vacuum cleaner 1 with the partial area 12 having the suction opening 11 upon stopping the vacuum cleaning apparatus 6. The autonomous movement of the robotic vacuum cleaner 1 is such that the user need only keep the vacuum cleaning apparatus 6 held in their hand in position, and possibly press it downward a bit against the robotic vacuum cleaner 1, wherein the inherent weight force of the vacuum cleaning apparatus 6 can also be enough for the contact sensor of the detection device 9 to respond.

(16) If necessary, the suction opening 11 or the partial area 12 of the vacuum cleaning apparatus 6 having the suction opening 11 can have a sensor, which detects a proper connection between the suction opening 11 and the housing opening of the robotic vacuum cleaner 1, wherein a control device of the vacuum cleaning apparatus 6 then turns on the fan of the vacuum cleaning apparatus 6 and sets a corresponding suction power level, which is suitable for achieving an optimal cleaning result while vacuuming out the filter chamber 3 of the robotic vacuum cleaner 1. If necessary, for example, an opening edge of the housing opening 4 of the robotic vacuum cleaner 1 could have a sensor, so as to start a fan of the robotic vacuum cleaner 1, which additionally vacuums out the filter chamber 3 in the direction of the vacuum cleaning apparatus 6, thereby advantageously supporting the vacuuming activity of the external vacuum cleaning apparatus 6.

(17) Although only a few embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it is to be understood that many changes and modifications may be made thereunto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

REFERENCE LIST

(18) 1 Robotic vacuum cleaner 2 Housing 3 Filter chamber 4 Housing opening 5 Closure element 6 Vacuum cleaning apparatus 7 Guiding device 8 Guiding element 9 Detection device 10 Displacement device 11 Suction opening 12 Partial area 13 Distance measuring device 14 Obstacle sensor 15 Switch 16 Wheel 17 Cleaning element 18 Stalk 19 Chamber cover 20 Engagement area