Cleaner

• US 10,022,028 B2
• Filed: 01/10/2013
• Issued: 07/17/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 01/17/2012
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Tsuboi, Masanori, Sakamoto, Jitsuo, Matsumoto, Masashi, Yatake, Mami
• Primary Examiner(s): JENNINGS, MICHAEL DEANGILO
• Application Number:
  US14/372,046
• Publication Number:
  US 20150000068A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,014 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/4011 Regulation of the cleaning machine by electric means; Control systems and remote control systems therefor
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/4055 for lifting the tools to a non-working position
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 2201/00 Robotic cleaning machines, i.e. with automatic control of the travelling movement or the cleaning operation
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 2201/022 Recharging of batteries
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 2201/04 Automatic control of the travelling movement; Automatic obstacle detection
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 2201/06 Control of the cleaning action for autonomous devices; Automatic detection of the surface condition before, during or after cleaning
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 7/04 for using the exhaust air for other purposes, e.g. for distribution of chemicals in a room, for sterilisation of the air spraying or atomising in general B05
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/009 Carrying-vehicles; Arrangements of trollies or wheels; Means for avoiding mechanical obstacles
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/19 Means for monitoring filtering operation
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/2805 Parameters or conditions being sensed
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/281 the amount or condition of incoming dirt or dust
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/2831 Motor parameters, e.g. motor load or speed
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/2836 characterised by the parts which are controlled
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/2842 Suction motors or blowers
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/2847 Surface treating elements
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/2852 Elements for displacement of the vacuum cleaner or the accessories therefor, e.g. wheels, casters or nozzles
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/2857 User input or output elements for control, e.g. buttons, switches or displays
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/2873 Docking units or charging stations for autonomous or robotic vacuum cleaners A47L2201/02
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/2884 Details of arrangements of batteries or their installation
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/18 Numerical control [NC], i.e. automatically operating machines, in particular machine tools, e.g. in a manufacturing environment, so as to execute positioning, movement or co-ordinated operations by means of programme data in numerical form G05B19/418 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/45098 : Vacuum cleaning robot
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0088 : characterized by the autonomous decision making process, e.g. artificial intelligence, predefined behaviours using knowledge based models G06N5/00
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 901/01 : Mobile robot
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 901/40 : Vacuum or mangetic

Abstract

The self-propelled cleaner (1) of the present invention includes an event detecting section (101) for detecting an event which relates to cleaning and has occurred in the cleaner, a feeling selecting section (201) for selecting, from a plurality of options, an operation mode with which the cleaner carries out an operation in response to the event, in accordance with measured information which relates to the cleaning and is measured by the cleaner, and a response operation control section (301) for controlling the cleaner to carry out the operation based on the operation information which is associated with the event and the operation mode.

Claims

1. A cleaner that carries out cleaning, comprising:

event detecting circuitry that detects an event which relates to cleaning and has occurred in said cleaner;

operation mode selecting circuitry that selects, from a plurality of options, an operation mode with which said cleaner carries out an operation in response to the event detected by the event detecting circuitry, the operation mode selecting circuitry selecting the operation mode in accordance with measured information which relates to the cleaning and is measured by said cleaner and with an elapsed time from when a previous calculation was performed to select a previous operation mode;

an operation storage in which the event, the operation mode, and operation information indicative of the operation are stored so that the event, the operation mode, and the operation information are associated with each other; and

operation control circuitry that controls said cleaner to carry out the operation based on the operation information which is stored in the operation storage while being associated with the event that has been detected by the event detecting circuitry and with the operation mode that has been selected by the operation mode selecting circuitry.

2. The cleaner as set forth in claim 1, further comprising:

a cleaning number storage in which a number of times of cleaning is stored for each day; and

cleaning number update circuitry that updates the number of times, which is stored in the cleaning number storage while being associated with a date on which the cleaning is carried out, by increasing the number of times by 1 each time cleaning is carried out, wherein

the measured information, based on which the operation mode selecting circuitry selects the operation mode, is a total of the number of times which is stored in the cleaning number storage while being associated with a day(s) within a predetermined period.

3. The cleaner as set forth in claim 1, further comprising:

a cleaning day storage in which a day on which cleaning has been carried out is stored; and

cleaning-day number storing circuitry that causes the cleaning day storage to store the day on which cleaning has been carried out, wherein

the measured information, based on which operation mode the operation mode selecting circuitry selects, is a total of days on which cleaning has been carried out within a predetermined period and which are stored in the cleaning day storage.

4. The cleaner as set forth in claim 1, further comprising:

a secondary battery which is an electric power source that supplies electric power to said cleaner; and

remaining battery measuring circuitry that measures a remaining battery level of the secondary battery, wherein

the measured information, based on which the operation mode selecting circuitry selects the operation mode, is the remaining battery level which has been measured by the remaining battery measuring circuitry.

5. The cleaner as set forth in claim 1, further comprising:

a motor that suctions dust; and

electric current measuring circuitry that measures an electric current of the motor, wherein

the measured information, based on which the operation mode selecting circuitry selects the operation mode, is the electric current which has been measured by the electric current measuring circuitry.

6. A cleaner that carries out cleaning, comprising:

event detecting circuitry that detects an event which relates to cleaning and has occurred in said cleaner;

operation mode selecting circuitry that selects from a plurality of options, an operation mode with which said cleaner carries out an operation in response to the event detected by the event detecting circuitry, the operation mode selecting circuitry selecting the operation mode in accordance with the event and with an elapsed time from when a previous calculation was performed to select a previous operation mode;

an operation storage in which the event, the operation mode, and operation information indicative of the operation are stored so that the event, the operation mode, and the operation information are associated with each other; and

operation control circuitry that controls said cleaner to carry out the operation based on the operation information which is stored in the operation storage while being associated with the event that has been detected by the event detecting circuitry and with the operation mode that has been selected by the operation mode selecting circuitry.

7. The cleaner as set forth in claim 6, further comprising:

communication control circuitry that receives a control signal from an external device, wherein

the event is reception of a control signal by the communication control circuitry, the control signal being indicative of an operation instruction to said cleaner.

8. The cleaner as set forth in claim 6, further comprising:

a dust collector that collects dust, the dust collector being detachably provided,

the event being detachment of the dust collector.

9. The cleaner as set forth in claim 6, further comprising:

a secondary battery which is an electric power source that supplies electric power to said cleaner; and

movement control circuitry that controls said cleaner to move to be electrically connected with a battery charging dock that charges the secondary battery, wherein

the event is connection between the battery charging dock and said cleaner which has been controlled to move by the movement control circuitry.

10. The cleaner as set forth in claim 6, further comprising:

a secondary battery which is an electric power source that supplies electric power to said cleaner; and

movement control circuitry that controls said cleaner to move to be connected with a battery charging dock that charges the secondary battery, wherein

the event is a failure of connection between the battery charging dock and said cleaner which has been controlled to move by the movement control circuitry.