Method for operating a system with two automatically moving floor processing devices as well as system for implementing such a method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11934199-B2
Application number	US-202117144404-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 8, 2021
Priority date	Jan 10, 2020
Publication date	Mar 19, 2024
Grant date	Mar 19, 2024

Abstract

A method for operating a system with a first automatically moving floor processing device and a second automatically moving floor processing device in which the first floor processing device detects environmental features in an environment of the first floor processing device. The first floor processing device or a shared computing device allocated to both the processing devices generates a first area map based on the detected environmental features, and the first floor processing device also detects the second floor processing device, and the position of the second floor processing device is thereupon stored within the generated first area map. The second floor processing device receives information about a current position of the second floor processing device within the first area map, and controls a second floor processing activity as soon as the first floor processing device has detected the second floor processing device.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for operating a system with a first automatically moving floor processing device and a second automatically moving floor processing device, comprising the steps of:
detecting with the first floor processing device environmental features in an environment of the first floor processing device, the first floor processing device and the second floor processing device communicating with each other by data communication means,
generating a first area map by the first floor processing device or a shared computing device allocated to both the first floor processing device and the second floor processing device, the first area map being based on the detected environmental features, and
detecting with the first floor processing device the second floor processing device,
storing a position of the second floor processing device within the generated first area map of the first floor processing device,
transmitting, by the first floor processing device, the first area map created during the step of generating to the second floor processing device,
receiving with the second floor processing device the first area map and information about a current position of the second floor processing device within the first area map already during a first floor processing activity performed by the first floor processing device, and
controlling, by a control device of the second floor processing device, a second floor processing activity independently based on the first area map and the received information about the current position of the second floor processing device with in the first area map as soon as the first floor processing device has detected the second floor processing device, wherein the second floor processing device does not generate an area map, and receives information required for navigation during second floor processing activity based on information received from only the first area map already generated by the first floor processing device,
wherein the first floor processing device and the second floor processing device each have individual identification codes in the form of optical codes or electronic codes that are recognized by other floor processing devices, wherein the first floor processing device and the second floor processing device have corresponding detection devices, with which the identification codes are read out, and wherein the identification codes of the floor processing devices are stored in a database that is accessible by all floor processing devices of the system.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the first area map and the position of the second floor processing device noted therein are continuously updated during a movement of the first floor processing device.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the first floor processing device detects floor parameters of partial environmental areas of the environment, in particular a floor type, a contamination type or a contamination level, or detects an operating state of partial environmental areas processed or not processed by the first floor processing device, or a movement route of the first floor processing device through one or several partial environmental areas, and stores them in the first area map, or transmits them to the shared computing device.

4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the second floor processing activity is performed at a location on a movement route of the first floor processing device.

5. The method according to claim 4 , wherein the second floor processing activity of the second floor processing device is only performed in a specific partial environmental area when a first floor processing activity was performed in this partial environmental area beforehand by the first floor processing device, or is only performed if the second floor processing device is suitable for processing the floor of this partial environmental area.

6. A system comprising a first floor processing device and a second floor processing device, wherein the system is designed for implementing the method according to claim 1 .

Assignees

• Vorwerk Co Interholding

Inventors

• Mosebach Andrej
• Papenheim Marc
• Hayn Henning

Classifications

• G05D1/0287 Primary

  involving a plurality of land vehicles, e.g. fleet or convoy travelling (traffic control systems for road vehicles G08G1/00, particularly anticollision systems G08G1/16) · CPC title

• G05D1/0231

  using optical position detecting means (position-fixing by using electromagnetic waves other than radio waves, e.g. optical position detecting means G01S5/16) · CPC title

• G05D1/0274 Primary

  using mapping information stored in a memory device (navigation using map-matching G01C21/30) · CPC title

• G05D2201/0203

  Physics · mapped topic

• A47L9/28 Primary

  Installation of the electric equipment, e.g. adaptation or attachment to the suction cleaner; Controlling suction cleaners by electric means · CPC title