DEVICE AND METHOD FOR DETECTING CLEANING WORK WHICH HAS BEEN PERFORMED

Abstract

The present invention relates to a device that is in particular detachable, connectable, or connected with a cleaning device, wherein the device comprises at least one sensor means in order to record the position of at least one cleaning area of a cleaning device, which area can be or is used for cleaning, at least one display device, and at least one data processing unit which interacts or can be made to interact functionally with the display device, and with the at least one sensor means, wherein the data processing device is configured and adapted to display at least one representation of at least one surface to be cleaned in at least one first color or without color and, based on a recorded change in the position of at least the cleaning area of the cleaning device, to display the surface to be cleaned in at least one second color or without superimposition of color.

Claims

1. A device, in particular one that is detachable, connectable, or connected with a cleaning device, wherein the device comprises at least one sensor means in order to record the position of at least one cleaning area of the cleaning device, which area is usable or is used for cleaning, at least one display device, and at least one data processing unit that interacts or can be made to interact functionally with the display device and with the at least one sensor means, wherein the data processing unit is configured and adapted to display at least one representation of at least one surface to be cleaned in at least one first color or without color and, based on a recorded change in position of at least the cleaning area of the cleaning device, to display the surface to be cleaned in at least one second color or without superimposition of color, characterized in that the at least one sensor means records or can record a contact pressure exerted on the surface to be cleaned by the at least one area of the cleaning device that can be or is used for cleaning, wherein at least one threshold value can be or is determined for the contact pressure, and wherein the surface to be cleaned can be or is displayed in at least one second color only if the threshold value is reached or exceeded given a recorded change in the position at least of the area that can be or is used for cleaning, and/or the at least one sensor means records or can record the distance of the outlet of a jet nozzle of a cleaning device from the surface to be cleaned, the angle of the outlet of the jet nozzle or of the jet relative to the surface to be cleaned, the width and the strength of the jet, wherein in particular at least one threshold value of the strength of the jet on the surface can be or is determined, and wherein only upon reaching and/or exceeding the threshold value, given a recorded change in the position of the jet nozzle, can the surface to be cleaned be displayed, or is displayed, in at least one first color and/or one further color.

2. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the device can be or is connected to the cleaning device, in particular by means of a hook and loop fastener, a zipper, an adhesive connection, snap fasteners, a screw connection, a clamp connection, and/or bonding.

3. The device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the at least one sensor means [is] a laser range scanner, odometric sensors, contact sensors and/or acceleration sensors configured and adapted to perform a triangulation by means of camera and laser.

4. The device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the device comprises a camera and, based on the data of the camera, the data processing unit calculates the representation of the at least one surface to be cleaned and/or, based on the data of the camera, displays on the at least one display device the at least one surface to be cleaned on which is superposed the at least one first color and/or the at least one second color, and/or the at least one display device is provided in the form of a mobile terminal device, in particular a notebook, a netbook, a smartphone, a tablet PC, and or data glasses, preferably data glasses with an integrated camera, and or it comprises a location profile in a storage device of the data processing unit, which profile can be selected by means of an input device of the data processing unit and/or it is selected automatically, based on a position determination of the data processing unit, preferably by means of GPS, WLAN position location, GPRS triangulation and/or Bluetooth, wherein the location profile includes in particular surfaces to be cleaned in a building, a ship, a train, an aircraft, and/or an outside area.

5. The device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the display device displays the surface to be cleaned in the at least one first color and/or the at least one second color together with a current view of a user of the device in the form of an augmented reality, and/or the at least one display device is configured and adapted to display directional arrows, based upon the position of the user, the location profile, and in particular the current orientation of the display device in the room, which directional arrows point in the direction of surfaces to be cleaned that were not displayed, and/or the data processing unit is configured and adapted to display additional information with reference to a selected surface to be cleaned in response to a user input on the input device.

6. The device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the data processing unit is configured and adapted to identify a specific user, in particular through an input of the user by means of the input device, and to display surfaces to be cleaned, depending upon the identified user, in the at least one first color, the at least one second color and/or not superposed with color.

7. The device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the surface to be cleaned is displayed in at least one first color and, depending on a recorded change of the position of at least the cleaning area of the cleaning device, the surface to be cleaned is displayed in at least one second color, wherein depending on a recorded change of the position at least of the cleaning area of the cleaning device the surface to be cleaned is displayed in at least one further color, and/or depending on a date and/or a time and/or a time period the surface to be cleaned is displayed in at least one further color after a previous change of the display color.

8. The device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the dimensions of the cleaning area of the cleaning device can be stored and/or are stored and/or can be input in the data processing unit, wherein the display of the representation of the at least one surface to be cleaned is carried out section by section, depending on the recorded change of the position of at least the cleaning area of the cleaning device in the at least one second color, depending on the dimensions of the cleaning area, and/or the user and/or a further user can update the location profile by an input, and/or in that the location profile is automatically updated by identifying soiling, in particular by detecting color deviations, by means of the camera.

9. The device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the device interacts or can be made to interact functionally with a server, wherein data, particularly the location profile, of the data processing device and of the server are synchronized, and/or the data processing unit is configured and adapted to store cleaning data comprising the position of at least the cleaning area of the cleaning device, a timepoint or a time period, a first parameter representative for a user and/or a second parameter representative for a cleaning device, wherein these data are or can be synchronized in particular with a server.

10. The device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the device is not an autonomous cleaning device, in particular not a cleaning robot.

11. Use of a device according to one of the preceding claims, with a vacuum cleaner, a glove, a floor cleaning machine, a steam cleaner, a high-pressure cleaner, Padholder and/or a window cleaning device.

Description

DRAWINGS

[0083] FIG. 1: shows a schematic lateral view of a device according to the invention and its functional connection with a vacuum cleaner; and

[0084] FIG. 2: is a schematic perspective view of a room on a display device according to the invention.

[0085] FIG. 1 shows a schematic lateral view of a device 1 according to the invention. This device includes a sensor means 3 and a data processing unit 5. The sensor means 3 here is attached to the suction foot 7 of a vacuum cleaner 9 and registers the position of the suction foot as well as a contact or a contact pressure.

[0086] In this context, data from the data processing device 5 are transmitted to the data glasses 11, and the data processing device 5 in this case uses augmented reality data in the form of a camera 13, which is arranged on the data glasses 11, in order to superpose additional information into the current view of the user.

[0087] For this purpose, the data glasses 11 communicate wirelessly and continuously with the data processing unit 5 and register via the sensor means 3 whether the part which performs the cleaning, in this case the suction foot 7, has sufficient contact pressure with the floor, i.e. whether the at least one sensor means has adequate contact pressure greater than or equal to the threshold value, and whether and how fast the suction foot 7 moves. This movement is displayed to the user in real time on the data glasses 11 by transition of the at least one first color to the at least one second color and therefore the movement of the suction foot 7 is stored. This representation in the data glasses 11 is presented for example to the user as if a floor originally superposed with red coloration is gradually being covered with green. For this purpose, the width of the colored marking corresponds to the width of the cleaning part of the suction foot and the length of the path traveled.

[0088] The changes of the colored superimposition are maintained up to the point when the status is changed or when a change is due, so that the user can recognize exactly where cleaning has been performed. As a result, cleaning is possible close to the edges with little overlapping. In the case of multiple cleaning processes according to the invention, the color transition from the first to the second color can occur by means of multiple intermediate colors, with for example a transition from red (not cleaned) to green (cleaned) being carried out by multiple cleaning in this case. Only when the surface to be cleaned appears completely green does the user receive a display that the surface just worked on is completely cleaned.

[0089] FIG. 2 shows a schematic perspective view of a room 20 on a display device according to the invention. The actual device according to the invention is not shown in FIG. 2. In the schematic representation of FIG. 2, a user 21 sees a room with colored superimpositions. A first window 23 is already cleaned, for example, and represented in a second color, whereas a further window 23 is still to be cleaned and is therefore still represented in the first color. A directional arrow 24 points to an upper surface 25 of a cabinet 25, which upper surface 25 is not visible from the user's perspective. The floor area 29 has already been partly cleaned, in particular in the area of the table 27, which is displayed by coloration in a second color 29. The further area 29 of the floor 29 has not yet been cleaned and is therefore represented again in the first color.

[0090] The table 27 has also already been partially cleaned in area 31, while the area 31 must still be cleaned.

[0091] As clearly shown by FIG. 2, it is possible to indicate to a cleaning staff member by simple means, by superimposing on surfaces to be cleaned at least one first color and, following cleaning, by superimposing at least a second color, which cleaning tasks are still to be performed and which are already completed.

[0092] The features of the invention disclosed in the above description, in the claims, and in the drawings can be essential both individually as well as in any combinations for the realization of the invention in its different embodiments.