Method and appliance for mopping up an accumulation of liquid

Abstract

A method for controlling a mobile, self-propelled appliance, in particular a floor cleaning appliance such as a robot vacuum cleaner and/or a sweeper and mopping robot so as to mop up an accumulation of liquid, includes driving on a floor surface intended for cleaning in a direction of travel in a forward movement of the appliance and cleaning the floor surface by using a dry cleaning module and/or a wet cleaning module of the appliance. The accumulation of liquid is detected in the direction of travel in front of the appliance in a moist area. The forward movement in front of the moist area is terminated and the appliance is rotated about substantially 180. Driving on the moist area in a reversing movement in the direction of travel of the appliance and mopping up the accumulation of liquid using the wet cleaning module is carried out.

Claims

1. A method for controlling a mobile, self-propelled appliance, a floor cleaning appliance or at least one of a robot vacuum cleaner or a sweeper and mopping robot, for mopping up an accumulation of liquid, the method comprising: driving on a floor surface intended for cleaning in a direction of travel in a forward movement of the appliance or robot and cleaning the floor surface by using at least one of a dry cleaning module or a wet cleaning module of the appliance or robot; detecting the accumulation of liquid in the direction of travel in front of the appliance or robot in a moist area; terminating the forward movement in front of the moist area and rotating the appliance or robot about substantially 180; driving on the moist area in a reversing movement relative to the direction of travel of the appliance or robot and mopping up the accumulation of liquid by using the wet cleaning module; placing a cleaning liquid supply of the wet cleaning module in an active mode in the forward movement in the direction of travel of the appliance or robot and in an inactive mode in the reversing movement relative to the direction of travel of the appliance or robot; moistening a mopping unit with cleaning liquid from a container unit in the active mode, stopping the moistening from the container unit during the reversing movement of the appliance or robot while in the inactive mode, and resuming a reactivation of the supply of cleaning liquid to the mopping unit after a predetermined time, depending on a size of the accumulation of liquid.

2. The method according to claim 1, which further comprises performing the reversing movement relative to the direction of travel with rotational movements to one side of 30 to 90 relative to the reversing movement, when the moist area is located to one side of the reversing movement.

3. The method according to claim 2, which further comprises performing the reversing movement by including: a straight reversing movement of a first short distance toward the moist area; rotating the appliance or robot on the spot about 30 to 90 to one side or to both sides; rotating the appliance or robot back to an original starting position prior to rotation; and continuing to travel in a straight reversing movement of a second short distance into the moist area.

4. The method according to claim 3, which further comprises repeatedly rotating, rotating back and continuing to travel, until the moist area has been travelled through.

5. The method according to claim 1, which further comprises performing the reversing movement relative to the direction of travel with rotational movements to both sides about 30 to 90 relative to the reversing movement, when the moist area is located on both sides of the reversing movement.

6. The method according to claim 5, which further comprises performing the reversing movement by including: a straight reversing movement of a first short distance toward the moist area; rotating the appliance or robot on the spot about 30 to 90 to one side or to both sides; rotating the appliance or robot back to an original starting position prior to rotation; and continuing to travel in a straight reversing movement of a second short distance into the moist area.

7. The method according to claim 6, which further comprises repeatedly rotating, rotating back and continuing to travel, until the moist area has been travelled through.

8. The method according to claim 1, which further comprises determining a length of the moist area in the direction of travel upon detecting the accumulation of liquid prior to rotating the appliance or robot.

9. The method according to claim 1, which further comprises checking a presence of the accumulation of liquid after driving on the moist area after predetermined distances by rotating the appliance or robot back in the direction of travel in a forward movement and determining whether the accumulation of liquid continues to be present.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

(1) FIGS. 1A, 1B are diagrammatic, perspective views of an exemplary embodiment of a mobile, self-propelled appliance which can be controlled by a method in accordance with the invention;

(2) FIGS. 2A-2C are diagrammatic, perspective views of an exemplary embodiment of a control method in accordance with the invention having steps of 180 rotation;

(3) FIGS. 3A-3D are diagrammatic, plan views of an exemplary embodiment of a control method in accordance with the invention having rotational mopping movements to one side;

(4) FIGS. 4A-4C are diagrammatic, plan and perspective views of an exemplary embodiment of a control method in accordance with the invention without rotational mopping movements;

(5) FIGS. 5A-5C are diagrammatic, plan views of an exemplary embodiment of a control method in accordance with the invention having rotational mopping movements to both sides; and

(6) FIG. 6 is a flowchart relating to the control method in accordance with the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(7) Referring now to the figures of the drawings in detail and first, particularly, to FIG. 1A thereof, there is seen a perspective view of a mobile, self-propelled appliance 10, in particular a vacuum mop combination appliance or a vacuum mop robot, which is intended for autonomous floor cleaning. FIG. 1B shows a bottom view of the vacuum cleaning robot of FIG. 1A. In a front area 5, the robot has a dry cleaning module 1 that extends over a certain width. The dry cleaning module 1 includes a suction mouth 1a having a brush roller as well as a side brush 1b at a front housing corner. In a rear area 6 of the robot, there is a wet cleaning module 2 which includes at least one mopping cloth or mopping pad which can be moistened with cleaning liquid from a container unit 12 of the robot or externally. In order that the mopping unit 11 does not come into excessive contact with dirt on the floor, a width of the wet cleaning module is preferably equal to or less than a width of the dry cleaning module 1.

(8) In a central area, the robot has a drive facility, in particular drive wheels 3, for driving on a floor area to be cleaned. At least one sensor 4 is disposed on a front area. The sensor can evaluate information from the environment and is particularly suitable for detecting accumulations of liquid on the floor before the robot comes into contact with them, i.e. in particular before it travels through them. The sensor 4 is, for example, a forward-facing camera that identifies glossy surfaces in particular by image evaluation and object recognition, or a moisture sensor in the front area of the underside of the robot that detects a locally increasing humidity.

(9) Furthermore, the robot has a processing facility 8 that is configured so as to rotate the appliance about substantially 180 in front of the accumulation of liquid upon detecting the accumulation of liquid and so as to drive on the moist area in reversing movement in the direction of travel. If the robot therefore detects an accumulation of liquid, for example a liquid pool, using its sensor 4, the robot stops its forward movement before it touches the liquid.

(10) The driving behavior of the robot after a detected accumulation of liquid 7, is illustrated in FIGS. 2A to 2C.

(11) In order to clean the floor, the robot travels its intended paths in forward movement. If, using the sensor 4, the robot detects an accumulation of liquid 7 of any type, the robot stops its forward movement in front of the liquid without passing through it, as shown in FIG. 2A. The robot then rotates on the spot by approximately 180, so that its rear area 6 is now oriented forward in the direction of travel and its front area 5 is now oriented rearward in the direction of travel, as shown in FIG. 2B. The robot now approaches the accumulation of liquid 7 in reverse until the wet cleaning module has contact with the liquid (see FIG. 2C), so that the mopping cloth can absorb the liquid from the accumulation of liquid 7 before the robot travels over the liquid with its dry cleaning module.

(12) If the width of the wet cleaning module 2 does not cover all contact points of the robot with the floor, in particular the drive wheels 3 and the dry cleaning module 1, a simple, straight reversing movement continuous through the moisture is not suitable for mopping without exposing itself to the risk of smearing or distributing the liquid. In this case, the driving behavior of the robot, which is shown in FIGS. 3A to 3D, is advantageous. As shown in FIG. 3A, the appliance 10 travels a first short distance toward the moist area or with its front area into the accumulation of liquid 7 in a straight reversing movement until the distance travelled corresponds to approximately half to a maximum of the full length of the wet cleaning module 2. The robot then stops and rotates on the spot in the direction of the moist area in order to have the wet cleaning module 2 mop to the side of the actual path of the robot (see FIG. 3B). In this case, the robot is rotated on the spot about approximately 30 to 90 relative to the actual travel direction axis of the reversing movement of the robot, in other words to the reversing movement direction. The robot then immediately rotates on the spot back to the starting position of the reversing movement, i.e. back to the actual travel direction axis of the reversing movement of the robot. When the reverse direction of travel is reached, the robot travels a second short distance in a straight reversing movement into the moist area, as shown in FIG. 3C. The second short distance again corresponds to about half to a maximum of the full length of the wet cleaning module 2. Here, the robot stops and performs the rotation about 30 to 90 including rotating back a second time, as shown in FIG. 3D, in order to further mop up the accumulation of liquid 7 in the moist area. The steps of continuing to travel bit by bit into the moist area and then rotating about 30 to 90, including turning back, are repeated until the moist area has been completely travelled through. The robot then rotates again by 180 in the forward direction in order to clean the floor traveling in a forward direction in the usual manner in accordance with its cleaning task, wherein in this case the dry cleaning module 1 travels ahead of the wet cleaning module 2.

(13) If the robot moves on adjacent paths and reaches a moist area substantially tangentially, the method of FIGS. 3A to 3D is implemented, in which the appliance rotates in one direction to the side, i.e. in the direction of the moist area. If the wet cleaning module 2 on the robot has a width that covers all contact points of the robot with the floor, i.e. the wet cleaning module 2 is configured to be comparatively wide, lateral rotation during passage through the moist area while traveling in reverse, as shown in FIGS. 4A to 4C, is omitted. In this case, the robot performs a continuous, straight reversing movement. After the moist area, the robot rotates again about 180 in the forward direction in order to further process the floor as intended, with the dry cleaning module 1 being placed ahead of the wet cleaning module 2.

(14) If the moist area is not located to the side of the robot, but rather is located almost centrally, for example if the accumulation of liquid is in the vicinity of a room wall, or if the robot is on a transit journey, and the width of the wet cleaning module 2 is less than the contact points of the robot with the floor, the robot performs the partial rotation about 30 to 90 for mopping in both directions with respect to the direction of travel axis of the reversing movement before the robot travels back again bit by bit. This driving behavior is illustrated in FIGS. 5A to 5C. First, the robot travels a first short distance into the moist area (FIG. 5A). The robot then rotates on the spot about 30 to 90 in a direction relative to the direction of travel axis of the reversing movement (FIG. 5B), in order to subsequently immediately rotate back into the starting position. At the same point, a rotation about 30 to 90 in the other direction relative to the direction of travel axis of the reversing movement (FIG. 5C) is now performed in order to immediately likewise rotate back into the starting position. The appliance subsequently continues driving in the direction of travel axis in a straight reversing movement along a second short distance into the moist area. This driving behavior with bilateral rotation is also carried out if the robot cannot determine a lateral extension of the moist area.

(15) The extent to which the robot must travel rearward is determined in advance by the detecting facility upon detecting the accumulation of liquid. Alternatively, the robot rotates forward in the forward direction after a predefined distance of, for example, 0.5 m in order to check whether an accumulation of liquid is still detected. Further alternatively, the robot has a further detecting facility 9 on its rear side opposite the front side in order to determine the end of the moist area. If the moist area can no longer be identified, the robot can continue its journey as usual in the forward direction and continue its cleaning task.

(16) During the reversing movement, the robot stops moistening the mopping cloth of the wet cleaning module 2 from its own container in order to avoid too high a moisture content in the mopping cloth and thus less liquid absorption from the floor. Subsequently, i.e. after driving through the moist area and after rotating the robot in the forward direction, the reactivation of the pump for moistening the mopping cloth is resumed.

(17) FIG. 6 is a flowchart that illustrates the sequence of the driving behavior of the robot in the presence of an accumulation of liquid in its floor processing area. In step 101, the robot performs its cleaning task traveling in a forward direction. If the robot detects an accumulation of liquid on the floor in front of it (step 102), a mopping method is initiated. For this purpose, the robot rotates 180 on the spot in front of the liquid accumulation (step 103). The robot then approaches the accumulation of liquid traveling in reverse until the wet cleaning module, in particular the mopping cloth, has contact with the accumulation of liquid (step 104). Upon contact, the robot rotates to one or both sides about 30 to 90 on the spot and then back to the starting position (position before the rotational movement) (step 105). When the starting position is reached, the robot travels a little in reverse into the liquid accumulation (step 106). Steps 105 and 106 are repeated until the robot reaches the end of the accumulation of liquid (step 107). At the end of the accumulation of liquid, the robot rotates about 180 in the forward direction and continues its cleaning journey traveling in a forward direction (step 108).